Wippermühle
Encyclopedia
The Wippermühle was a watermill in the historic landscape of Vorsfelder Werder in the North German state of Lower Saxony
. It was first mentioned in the records in 1366 and was finally closed in 1936. It was driven by the Wipperaller stream which drained the old pond known as the Wipperteich. Today the old mill lies within the city of Wolfsburg
immediately on its boundary with the municipality of Rühen
(Gifhorn district).
from Vorsfelde to Brome
ran past several hundred metres to the west. Since the road was moved in the 19th century it has run through the middle of the mill yard, which has one building on either side of the road. On 19th century maps there are several buildings in the shape of a small hamlet. Today the state road from Wolfsburg-Wendschott to Brechtorf carries a large amount of through traffic that runs past the old watermill.
, prefixed by the word Wipper. Wipper comes from the Old Slavic
word vepri which means Eber or wild boar. The Slavic tribe known as the Wends
, who lived here on the Vorsfelder Werder until the middle ages, named many villages and streams in their own language.
as a watermill, powered by the Wipperaller stream. This stream rises on the ridge of the Vorsfelder Werder near Hoitlingen. It still drains the gently sloping, expanse of the Wipperteich bowl today and flows down into the Drömling
. After about 11 km the Wipperaller discharges into the Aller
near Wolfsburg-Vorsfelde. Because the Wipperaller is only a small stream, it is likely that the Wipperteich had already been dammed by the Middle Ages. The exit to the pond enables the mill to be operated all year round even in times of low precipitation. In 1841 however the pond did run dry.
, which says: De mole up deme wipperbeke ghift VI.sol (The mill on the Wipperbach gives 6 schillings). The villages of the Vorsfelder Werder were required to pay levies to the town of Brunswick, which the Duke William of Brunswick-Lüneburg
retained as a pledge.
During the Thirty Years War, that saw the areas like the Vorsfelder Werder ravaged by plundering, devastation and famine, the watermill collapsed. In 1654 it was named once more in an enfeoffment
. The mill owner, Heinrich Wippermüller borrowed 30 talers for six years after the end of the war from Vorsfelder citizen Hans Hoppe to rebuild the mill and paid the tax with grazing rights on his meadows. In 1658 it was recorded in the documents that the miller had paide 25 groschen
house interest for his mill, the property tax
of its day. From 1674 the miller was regularly reminded to keep the Wipperaller free of vegetation and, in 1709, issued with a warning about it. In 1850 the mill burned down and was rebuilt 50 metres further south at its present location. In 1936 the mill was closed. Electrically-driven mills were more profitable. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, former forced labourers killed the last miller near his mill as they plundered it.
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
. It was first mentioned in the records in 1366 and was finally closed in 1936. It was driven by the Wipperaller stream which drained the old pond known as the Wipperteich. Today the old mill lies within the city of Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...
immediately on its boundary with the municipality of Rühen
Rühen
Rühen is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-History:Between 1945 and 1990 Rühen served as West German inner German border crossing for inland navigation on the Mittellandkanal...
(Gifhorn district).
Location
In previous centuries the mill lay off the beaten track. The old military roadMilitary road
A military road is a type of road built by the United States Army. They are used mostly by soldiers, government officials, and sometimes the public. Most military roads are not accessible by public vehicles, however, some are designated as state highways that maintains it. Some military roads are...
from Vorsfelde to Brome
Brome
Brome can refer to:*several species of grass, see Bromus*Brome, Suffolk*Brome, Germany, a municipality in Lower Saxony, Germany*Brome, Quebec, a village in Quebec, Canada* Brome, a former provincial electoral district in Quebec now part of Brome-Missisquoi...
ran past several hundred metres to the west. Since the road was moved in the 19th century it has run through the middle of the mill yard, which has one building on either side of the road. On 19th century maps there are several buildings in the shape of a small hamlet. Today the state road from Wolfsburg-Wendschott to Brechtorf carries a large amount of through traffic that runs past the old watermill.
Name
The name Wippermühle comes from the name of the stream that drives it, the Wipperaller. This name in turn is derived from the river it flows into, the AllerAller
The Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...
, prefixed by the word Wipper. Wipper comes from the Old Slavic
Old Slavic
Old Slavic may refer to:*the Old Church Slavonic language*the Proto-Slavic language language...
word vepri which means Eber or wild boar. The Slavic tribe known as the Wends
Wends
Wends is a historic name for West Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It does not refer to a homogeneous people, but to various peoples, tribes or groups depending on where and when it is used...
, who lived here on the Vorsfelder Werder until the middle ages, named many villages and streams in their own language.
Mill
The mill has been in existence since the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
as a watermill, powered by the Wipperaller stream. This stream rises on the ridge of the Vorsfelder Werder near Hoitlingen. It still drains the gently sloping, expanse of the Wipperteich bowl today and flows down into the Drömling
Drömling
The Drömling is a sparsely populated depression on the border of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt in Germany with an area of about . The larger part belonging to Saxony-Anhalt in the east has been a nature park since 1990. The former swampland was transformed by drainaged from a natural into a...
. After about 11 km the Wipperaller discharges into the Aller
Aller
The Aller is a river, long, in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony in Germany. It is a right-hand, and hence eastern, tributary of the River Weser and is also its largest tributary. Its last form the Lower Aller federal waterway...
near Wolfsburg-Vorsfelde. Because the Wipperaller is only a small stream, it is likely that the Wipperteich had already been dammed by the Middle Ages. The exit to the pond enables the mill to be operated all year round even in times of low precipitation. In 1841 however the pond did run dry.
History
The first recorded mention of the Wippermühle is in 1366 in a list of levies drawn up by the town of BrunswickBraunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
, which says: De mole up deme wipperbeke ghift VI.sol (The mill on the Wipperbach gives 6 schillings). The villages of the Vorsfelder Werder were required to pay levies to the town of Brunswick, which the Duke William of Brunswick-Lüneburg
William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Wilhelm , called William the Younger, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince of Lüneburg from 1559 until his death. Until 1569 he ruled together with his brother Henry of Dannenberg....
retained as a pledge.
During the Thirty Years War, that saw the areas like the Vorsfelder Werder ravaged by plundering, devastation and famine, the watermill collapsed. In 1654 it was named once more in an enfeoffment
Enfeoffment
Under the European feudal system, enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of title in land by a system in which a landowner would give land to one person for the use of another...
. The mill owner, Heinrich Wippermüller borrowed 30 talers for six years after the end of the war from Vorsfelder citizen Hans Hoppe to rebuild the mill and paid the tax with grazing rights on his meadows. In 1658 it was recorded in the documents that the miller had paide 25 groschen
Groschen
Groschen was the name for a coin used in various German-speaking states as well as some non-German-speaking countries of Central Europe , the Danubian principalities...
house interest for his mill, the property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
of its day. From 1674 the miller was regularly reminded to keep the Wipperaller free of vegetation and, in 1709, issued with a warning about it. In 1850 the mill burned down and was rebuilt 50 metres further south at its present location. In 1936 the mill was closed. Electrically-driven mills were more profitable. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, former forced labourers killed the last miller near his mill as they plundered it.
See also
- WipperWipperWipper can refer to:*Wipper , a river in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, originating in the Harz*Wipper , a river in Thuringia, Germany*Wipper, the name of the river Wupper in its upper course*the German name for the river Wieprza in Poland...