906 05 Sobotište, Slovakia
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Technical solution of the anabaptists mill in Sobotište

In the past,  building of the mill was divided into a residential and an operational part. The living spaces were situated along the front facade. The mill premises were located in the rear wing of the building with a separate entrance on the first floor, accessible by a wooden staircase and a shelter. There were grinding and auxiliary equipment for preparing various kinds of flour.

The original water mill grinding machine consisted of grinding stones with a diameter of approximately 1 m. Such devices made it possible to achieve an output of 40 to 50 kg of milled grain per hour, the milled products were sown on hand sieves. A significant change in the grinding technology occurred after the mill was rebuilt in 1739. The mill was probably equipped with two grinding mills. The power source was a water wheel, which achieved an increase in grinding performance of up to 120 kg per hour.

At the breakthrought of the 18th and 19th centuries, the plant was further modernized by the use of bucket elevators for vertical grain transport. The obtained products in the form of individual types of flour were mixed by hand in wooden desserts using wooden shovels and filled into sacks. In the first quarter of the 20th century, part of the stone grinding machines were replaced by cylindrical stools. More modern sieving and sorting of grist provided newer types of sifting equipment – prismatic sifters. Transmission bucket elevators have been largely applied in the field of grinding manipulation and transfer, which greatly mechanized the entire mill technology process.

Until 1930,  exploitation of hydropower energy was used by two wooden wheels over the top drive. After this year, one wheel was removed and one wooden wheel remained. Another fundamental change occurred in 1930, when the drive system of the mill was, besides the water power, also powered by an auxiliary electric motor. Drilling of the mill by electric motor also served as a substitute source of energy in case of lack of water, which was mainly related to summer months. The plant worked as a periodic mill for grinding wheat, rye and barley. The second wheel was dismantled in the 1950s. In order to improve the grinding technology, the transport and the transfer of the products, other auxiliary devices such as fans, a mixer roller and conveyor screws were installed. The mill was used to grind bread grain until 1959.