Letter Windmill

As a replacement for the watermill, the innkeeper Anton Hülskamp built a windmill on Horst-Esch in 1813. In 1820, he sold the mill to the farmer Johann Wilhelm Baumeister, who leased it to the miller Johann Rütter 22 years later. In 1891, the mill became the property of the Rütter family, which has not changed to this day.
Today, the old mill is a listed monument. It is a true monumental building, as its sails reach over 25 meters high. It belongs to the type of cap or tower windmill. In this type of mill, the entire substructure (tower) remains stationary, and only the cap is turned into the wind.
The tower windmill is also referred to as a Dutch windmill. However, the Dutch are not necessarily the inventors of the mill named after them. It is called so simply because we encounter it so often in Holland.
The inventor of this mill is said to be the famous painter Leonardo da Vinci, who was known to be an equally significant engineer.
In earlier times, the Letter windmill was covered with 20,000 wooden shingles. When it was restored between 1967 and 1969, only the cap was re-roofed with wooden shingles, while the body received support sheathing.
For the locals, the windmill is a proud landmark of their community. For visitors, it represents a historical sight, as the enormous sails remind one of a time when the millers in our region utilized wind power to grind grain. Since the interior is still completely intact, the mill illustrates vividly how it functioned back then.
The windmill can be visited by appointment and arrangement with Mr. Rütter at Tel. 017678393943.

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