Kriemhild-Mühle Xanten

The Kriemhildmühle is a historic windmill in Xanten and the only mill in the Lower Rhine that is operated daily.

The mill was built as part of the Xanten city fortifications in the form of a watchtower and defensive tower (as a so-called bear windmill) at the end of the 14th century. The towers, which were badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War, which lasted until 1648, served as living quarters for city employees until the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763. At that time, the Kriemhildmühle was called the night watchman's tower, as the city's night watchmen had been quartered there.

In the following period, the towers were sold for cost reasons and largely demolished by the buyers. In 1778, the Nachwächterturm was sold to the merchant Gerhard Schleß, who had the walls of the tower renewed and set up a garden house in the tower. In 1804 he converted the tower into an oil mill in the form of a 19.3 m high windmill. Soon afterwards he sold the mill to a miller, whereupon the Kriemhildmühle became a grain mill and later came into the possession of the city of Xanten. In 1843, the demolition of the mill and the nearby Klever Tor was rejected by the Xanten city council, after large parts of the city fortifications had already been demolished.

Since 1992, bread has been baked in the mill again and sold directly there as well as at weekly markets in the area. The mill can be visited during opening hours.

The wings of the mill are equipped with an old Dutch-style sail gate. Since 1992, the wings have been equipped with a Fokwiek according to the patent of the Dutchman P.L. Fauël (1891–1992).

The Kriemhildmühle owes its name to Kriemhild from the Nibelungen saga. A mill bearing the name Siegfried von Xantens also existed, but it is no longer in operation.

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