Kaleko Mill

Facts

Denmark's oldest watermill

By Lise Andersen, Museumsinspektør, mag.art. (17 stories)

Kaleko Mill near Fåborg is Denmark's oldest preserved watermill. It is thought to date back to King Valdemar Atterdag's reign in 1340-1375. The mill was last built in 1440, when Isse Petersen is mentioned as the miller of Kaleko Farm. The medieval mill had only one waterwheel and one grinder, but in the 17th century it was rebuilt and another waterwheel was added. The oldest part of the present mill dates back to this time. The mill was modernised in 1832 and remained in use until 1912. In 1917, it opened as a museum. Kaleko Mill became famous throughout Denmark in the 1980s as the setting for the Nissebanden Christmas show featuring a gang of mischievous sprites.

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More grist to the King's mill

Story written by Lise Andersen

Time / Periode 1440

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Watermills were introduced to Denmark by the monks who built the abbeys in the Middle Ages. The water power freed up the workforce. The mills' progress therefore made a big difference to the country's economic development. Kings, the clergy, and nobility all wanted to control the use of the mills. King Valdemar Atterdag (1340-1375) was so intent on developing the mills that he said no river should meet the sea without first having benefited the country". The mills were soon taxed by the King. Hand grinders and private mills were banned. Millers were only allowed to operate by royal decree. The mill monopoly was enforced to make sure the millers could pay taxes to the Crown. Milling was not privatised until 1852. "