Schweger Windmühle

About the museum

The Schweger Mühle was built in 1848/49 as a gallery-style Dutch mill on a plot in Schwege near Dinklage; its first millers were the sons of one of the builders. From 1864 the Wehebrink family leased the mill, built a bakehouse for dark rye bread in 1870/71, and later added a motor-driven mill to the windmill. After storm and lightning damage in 1914 and 1925, the windmill fell into disrepair.

In the early 1960s it was to be demolished. The Heimatverein Dinklage campaigned for its preservation, the town leased the mill, and from 1962 it was restored with new sails, a gallery and shingle cladding. In 1964 it received the status of a protected historic building. Since 2004 the Freundeskreis Schweger Mühle, a department of the Heimatverein, has maintained and operated the site.

The two-story Dutch windmill with gallery, tail pole and four sails is about 19 meters tall. The grounds also include the bakehouse with two stone ovens, the Göpelhaus (horse-gin house) for events, the Klöönhus, and the grain garden, which illustrates the path "from grain to bread".

Highlights

• The only mill in the Vechta district that again grinds with wind power
• Gallery-style Dutch mill with four sails, about 19 m tall
• Bakehouse with stone ovens and bread-baking days
• Grain garden with historic and current grain varieties
• Guided tours and learning site for school classes

Permanent exhibitions

• Schweger Mühle – Mühlentechnik – The fully preserved mechanism of the Dutch windmill, with flour floor, grinding stones and sails, shows how grain was ground using wind power.
• Backhaus – Historic bakehouse with two stone ovens, where bread is baked the traditional way on baking days.
• Getreidegarten – Small fields of current and historic grain show how the plants develop up to the harvest.

Operated by

Heimatverein Herrlichkeit Dinklage e. V. (Freundeskreis Schweger Mühle)

Admission & discounts

The prices apply to guided tours.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The Klöönhus has three toilets, one of which is wheelchair-accessible.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

For school classes and children: grinding grain with hand mills, exploring the grain garden and the bakehouse; on action days such as the Christmas baking day, children bake together.

Getting there & parking

Navigation address: Schwege 25, 49413 Dinklage. The mill is at junction 30 of the Oldenburger Münsterland cycle network (including the Burgen-Tour, 3-Seen-Route and Boxenstopp-Route).

Amenities & dining

No café on site; nearby are the half-timbered settlement Busjans Hof with a farm café, and the grain garden.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit