Hotel Demminer Mill

For centuries, mills shaped the landscape of northern Germany. This was also true in Demmin, as the Hanseatic city had held mill privileges since the Middle Ages. The mill on Pensiner Weg was built in 1806 as an eight-post tower windmill. It is one of the oldest surviving windmills in northern Germany still equipped with some of its original fixtures and is a protected historic monument due to its unique construction.

Built according to the Dutch model, the Demmin mill featured a gallery for setting the sails—which were later converted to a louvered system—as well as a carriage passage. The interior design demonstrates the principle of the “wood-on-wood” technique

In this system, wooden teeth and combs interlock with the wooden rods and shafts of the gear mechanism. The mill’s cap features an internal turning mechanism to orient the sail cross against the wind.

The mill remained in operation until 1921; it lost its sails in 1932. The mill tower, with its movable mill head, originally had wooden clapboard siding, which was replaced with wooden paneling in 1970. The mill was used as a residence until 1987 and stood vacant thereafter.