Vareler Windmühle
Gallery-type Dutch windmill from 1847/48, the second-tallest windmill in Germany, with a viewing gallery and local history collection – free admission.
About the museum
The windmill was built in 1847 and 1848 at the behest of Gustav Adolf von Bentinck, the last Count of Varel. This gallery-type Dutch mill consists of a five-story brick base, a wooden octagonal tower and a rotating cap; it stands just under 30 meters tall to the tip of the cap and about 39 meters including the sails. That makes it the second-tallest windmill in Germany. As early as 1854, it passed to the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg.
In 1919 the machinery was modernized: since then a fantail has automatically turned the cap into the wind, and the canvas-covered sails were replaced with adjustable shuttered sails. The mill ground grain commercially until 1965.
After it was shut down, the town of Varel bought the listed building in 1972 and had it thoroughly restored in 1973/74. Since then the mill has served as a museum run by the Heimatverein Varel (local history society). Spread over several floors, the society displays more than 2,000 objects on everyday life and work in the region – from fishing, beekeeping and flax processing to crafts, brickmaking and dike building, as well as farm equipment. A separate section commemorates the Hansa-Automobilwerke, which built cars in Varel from 1905 to 1929. Also on view is a millstone measuring a good two meters in diameter, considered the largest known in Germany.
In fall 2023 the mill had to close after residues of old wood preservatives were found in the timber; following a special cleaning, it has been open again since May 2024.
Highlights
- Second-tallest windmill in Germany (about 30 m to the cap)
- Walk around the gallery at a height of about 15 m
- Millstone more than 2 m in diameter, weighing about 4.5 t
- Exhibition on the Hansa-Automobilwerke in Varel (1905–1929)
- More than 2,000 exhibits on crafts, farming and fishing
Permanent exhibitions
- Heimatkundliche Sammlung des Heimatvereins Varel – Objects from crafts, households, farming, fishing, beekeeping, brickmaking and dike building, spread across the floors of the mill.
- Hansa-Automobilwerke Varel – Permanent exhibition on the car factory that operated in Varel between 1905 and 1929.
- Founded
- 1974
- Operated by
- Heimatverein Varel e. V. (Eigentümerin der Mühle: Stadt Varel)
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Free admission; the Heimatverein welcomes donations.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Getting there & parking
By car
Parking available
Parking on the mill grounds and along the street.
Amenities & dining
A webcam on the mill can be viewed online.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Guided tours for groups by appointment with the Heimatverein (ideally 14 days in advance). For elementary schools there is the program "Vom Korn zum Mehl" (From Grain to Flour, approx. 2.5–3 hours) on threshing, cleaning and milling methods, with a demonstration garden; please book before the summer holidays if possible. Annual mill festival at Pentecost. |
