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The Kapellenmühle in Saarlouis-Lisdorf - 250th anniversary

During the flood catastrophe in 1970, our mill stood half a metre high in water. In the course of repairs being carried out to the floor in the miller's former living-room, today our accounts office, two coins were discovered between the clay and oak beams. One of these was a silver thaler with the head of the Austrian empress Maria Theresia dated 1764.

Our business premises, called the Kapellenmühle (Chapel Mill), was established by the Wadgassen Premonstratensian abbey (ordo praemonstratensis). The abbot Hermann Mertz had the mill built during his term of office (1705-1743). It was given the name "Kapellenmühle" in 1746 when his successor, abbot Stein, had a Lady chapel erected next to the mill.

The mill was part of Lisdorf, documented for the first time in 570, but was situated outside the village near the mouth of the mill stream, a tributary of the river Saar. It was about 4 km upstream to the Wadgassen monastery and about 4 km downstream to the fortress of Saarlouis.

Established in 1680 by Louis XIV, the "Sun King", and built as a water fortress by Vauban, his fortress builder, the main purpose of Saarlouis was to strengthen the eastern border of France.

The Kapellenmühle is said to have been a ban mill and a place of refuge. The term "ban" denotes a delimited area under the reign of a landlord. Anyone within the "ban" was forced to use this mill, i.e. he was banned, and anyone daring to have his crop milled in a different place was severely punished.

An entry in the records of the Lisdorf Weistum reads: "Wadgassen abbey hath two mills, one at Lisdorf... where subjects are forced to have their crop milled." Another reads: "The abbey hath a ferry at Lisdorf which is to carry anyone across the water against the payment of a toll."

It reads further: "The mills located at Lisdorf and Ensdorf and the ferry across the river Saar are places of refuge. Any offender who reaches them is free as long as he stays there."

A subterranean tunnel is said to have linked the Kapellenmühle, which was accessible to the monks of the Wadgassen monastery, to the convent of higher nobility in Fraulautern - but this, unfortunately, is just a rumour...

In 1789, the first year of the French Revolution, all monasteries were dissolved by a decree of the National Assembly in Paris and their estates declared state property.

In 1792, also the Wadgassen monastery was dissolved. On the 4th of September, troops of the District-Comit‚ were sent to Wadgassen in order to search the abbey. The monks pretended to celebrate a religious holiday and invited the soldiers to join in the celebrations. The soldiers drank plenty of the wine. In the still of the night, the monks succeeded in fleeing across the river Saar by ferry. Abbot Bordier took refuge in Prague and died there in 1799.

The Kapellenmühle, also, changed from monastery to private property during the French Revolution. It was sold to a certain Monsieur Morguet.

In the course of the years, the mill had many owners. In 1918, it became the property of Franz Reinhardt.

Famines and floods, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the Franco-German War and two World Wars have befallen the Kapellenmühle, and it has survived. It was completely destroyed by the oldest enemy of all mills - fire.

In 1951, the mill was destroyed by fire and, after that, was no longer used as a corn mill.

But the Kapellenmühle has been spared the destiny shared by many disused small corn mills - slow decay.

In line with former mill operation, our company, Theodor Rietmann GmbH Labor und Werk, began with the development and production of baking products in 1967.

Today, the old mill houses advanced production facilities, offices, an analytical baking laboratory and employs 70 people.

By Ms. Ruth Rietmann