Mühlen

Mühlen are devices and buildings that convert energy into mechanical work for processing materials. In German, Mühlen is the plural of Mühle (mill). The term covers traditional wind and water mills as well as modern milling facilities used for grain, wood, and other products.

Windmühlen use rotating sails on a windshaft to drive milling machinery. Tower mills, post mills, and smock mills are common designs. Wassermühlen rely on water wheels—overshot, breastshot, or undershot—to power gears that drive mills.

In grain milling, a pair of millstones grinds grain between a fixed bedstone and a rotating runner stone. Power is transmitted through gear trains and a brake to control speed. Modern mills often use roller mills and sieving to separate flour from bran and germ.

Historically, mills emerged in antiquity and spread in medieval Europe, enabling local food production and industrial activity. With the Industrial Revolution, mills adopted steam, then electricity, expanding scale and efficiency. Mills also served as sawmills, fulling mills, and other processing sites.

Today many Mühlen are preserved as cultural monuments or tourist attractions, while others continue to operate or have been repurposed for housing, museums, or educational facilities. The term also appears in place names in German-speaking regions.