Windmühle Podersdorf am See

About the museum

In the Seewinkel region by the Neusiedler See there are no streams to power watermills, so wind traditionally drove the mills here. The area originally had seven windmills; the Podersdorf mill is the only one that is fully preserved and open to visitors. It is first mentioned in 1820 in an archival document of the Heiligenkreuz Abbey, when it was still a wooden post mill (Bockwindmühle), in which the entire building turned.

In 1849 the Lentsch family acquired the mill and rebuilt it in stone and brick. The roughly 14-meter-tall structure has a rotatable roof cap. A steam engine was added in 1898, later a diesel-powered grain-grinding mill; milling operations ended in 1926. During World War II, the roof and sails were destroyed by bombing, after the mill was mistakenly suspected of housing an arms depot.

In 1975 the windmill was placed under monument protection, and by 1980 it had been fully restored jointly by the Bundesdenkmalamt (Federal Monuments Office), the state and the municipality. It then gradually deteriorated again until 2001, when the association "Windmühle Podersdorf am See" was founded to take over its preservation and visitor operations. Another comprehensive restoration, funded by EU grants, began at the end of 2014; parts of the internal mechanism were overhauled in the Netherlands. To this day the mill has remained privately owned by the Lentsch family, and it also serves as a venue for events such as the Nostalgisches Mühlenfest (nostalgic mill festival).

Highlights

• The only fully preserved windmill in the Seewinkel
• Tower about 14 meters high with a rotatable roof cap
• Milling technology across several floors, from Fluder to the grinding floor
• Listed since 1975, still family-owned

Permanent exhibition

• Windmühle mit Mühlentechnik – The tour covers the mill floors, including the drive floor (Antrieb), Schüttboden (grain-hopper floor), grinding floor (Mahlboden) and adjustment floor (Einstellboden), and explains how the windmill works.

Operated by

Verein Windmühle Podersdorf am See

Admission & discounts

According to Burgenland Tourismus, the tour is free with the Burgenland Card.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The windmill stands on Mühlstraße in Podersdorf am See; the association's address is Hauptstraße 10.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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