Lambertsmühle

The Lambertsmühle stands in Burscheid, a small town in the wooded Wiembachtal valley. It is the only surviving water mill in the region, set beside a mill pond fed by the Wiembach stream. The main building is a multi-storey timber-framed structure with a pitched roof, built after a fire in 1766. A large overshot waterwheel, 5.60 metres across, still turns beside the gable wall. The site once belonged to the Lords of Landscheid, who required local farmers to grind their grain here and pay dues.

The mill documents the journey from grain to bread through restored machinery and displays. A 200-year-old handloom stands in the former salt chamber, and original living rooms retain their ‘Kölner Decken’ ceilings. Other buildings include a 1880s stable now used for events, a smithy with forge, workshops for wood, wheels and shoes, and a working apple press. The complex also features a wine cellar, a bridal room and an ecological cottage garden.

Visitors follow a path along the mill pond to reach the overshot wheel and the restored milling machinery. Water is drawn from the stream two hundred metres upstream, channelled through sluices and an open headrace, then returned via a tailrace. One of the three milling stones was rebuilt by a Dutch firm in 2002; the others remain as exhibits. The wooden gearing, made from oak, larch and elm, drives a full-grain mill that produces coarse meal for baking.