The ancient craft of milling has been protected by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage since 2018. The millers’ work was gruelling and full of hardship and of some 50,000 mills that once operated in Germany, only around 50 remain to this day.
In centuries gone by, wind and water mills were often cutting-edge processing facilities for grain or wood which made efficient use of the forces of nature, namely wind and water. Many mills from these days have been maintained and can still be found in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), continuing to characterise the landscape and granting a glimpse into the past. Various wind and water mills from across the centuries can be discovered at the International Wind and Water Mill Museum in Gifhorn as well as along the Lower Saxon Mill Road.
