Stockmühlen am Kalserbach
Ensemble of historic Stockmühlen (horizontal-wheel mills) on the Kalserbach, freely accessible at any time and on Thursdays in summer with demonstrations and fresh bread.
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About the museum
On the Kalserbach (Dorferbach) in Kals am Großglockner stand seven so-called Stockmühlen, called Fluttermühlen by the locals; five of them are listed monuments. They bear the farm names of their former owners and represent the type of mill that was common in East Tyrol between the 16th and 18th centuries: a horizontal water wheel sits beneath a vertical shaft and drives the millstone directly without gears. The simple wooden buildings probably date from before 1800 and are about 250 to 300 years old.
In the mid-20th century there were still over 50 such mills in Kals. With the shift from arable farming to livestock farming they lost their purpose, some kept running until about 1964, and the floods of 1965 and 1966 destroyed many of them. A holiday guest, Fritz Börstling, and some people from Kals had the remaining buildings secured; from 1975 individual mills were restored together with the Kalser Mühlenverein (mill association), and later the Hohe Tauern National Park also provided support. One mill (Rogler) was washed away by a flood in August 2018.
Today the mills are in working order and form a kind of open-air museum. They can be viewed from the outside at any time; in summer, members of the mill association demonstrate the operation on Thursday afternoons, explain the technology and sell flour and freshly baked farmhouse bread.
Highlights
- Five listed Stockmühlen with water wheels and wooden flumes
- Short mill trail along the Kalserbach
- Demonstrations with a miller in summer
- Fresh farmhouse bread and flour from the Stockmühlen
- Free admission, accessible from the outside all year round
Permanent exhibition
- Kalser Stockmühlen – Mill trail along the Kalserbach with several surviving Stockmühlen; in summer on Thursdays with a demonstration.
- Operated by
- Kalser Mühlenverein
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Free admission; flour and freshly baked farmhouse bread can be bought on site.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
Freshly ground flour and farmhouse bread are sold during the demonstrations.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Good to know | During the Thursday demonstrations the miller explains the function and history of the mills. The walk along the mills takes about ten minutes. |
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