BM24 - Watermills within the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin

BM24 “Watermills within the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin” by Dániel Gábor Ozsváth is the latest publication in the series "Bibliotheca Molinologica". 

Originally published in 2010 in hungarian, this english edition is fully updated with new material. The author recounts the history of this region and its watermills, spanning present-day Romania and Hungary. This was shaped by geo-political change; repeated attacks by the Turkish Empire led to 150 years of subjugation, then liberation by the Habsburgs and later assimilation into the Soviet bloc.

The necessary cooperation to keep mills running resulted in special water and mill laws. Then of course the changes in milling technology from the 19th century onwards; but, throughout, the mills kept going and now there still remain large numbers of small traditional working watermills situated on the many creeks.

The building and machinery of traditional grain mills and their systems of water supply are explored. Then follows a chapter describing a local specialty, palinka mills, where mills share their buildings with distilleries. Moving on to industrial uses, we see how the power of water was used to saw wood and to process textiles, with detailed descriptions of fulling mills, and then crushing mills used to process ores.

The next two chapters look at the ownership of mills, by the church, the nobility and by the rural population. Mill communities held meetings to organize the operation and maintenance of mills, with powers to enforce regulations. Lastly, a look at how these social systems coped with changing borders and political systems of the 20th century.

The whole book counts 180 pages and is illustrated with photographs together with the locations of hundreds of surviving mills.

The publication can be ordered by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Price: 25 Euro + postage.

BM23 - Greek Mills, From the Middle Byzantine Period to the 20th Century

"Greek Mills, From the Middle Byzantine Period to the 20^th Century” is a publication in the series "Bibliotheca Molinologica".

It is as the title mentions, dealing with topics on any type of mill that has been recorded in the bibliography or still surviving in Greece the last 700 years but mainly in the last two centuries up to the early industrial period. It is in two volumes with a total of 700 pages with 92 articles written by 49 authors.

It took 6 years to materialize from the conception of the idea to its final publication involving people from all over Greece even in the remotest places.

There are more than 1200 pictures, plans and maps in colour to support and aid the reader to better understand the topics including a small map at the top of each article pinpointing the area where the subject is located to help the people who are unfamiliar with the geography of Greece.

The book is divided in the following parts:

Volume 1 - The social and cultural aspect of mills, Millstones, Man driven mills, Animal driven mills, Wind driven mills (tower mills), Wind driven mills (other mechanisms), Case studies,

Volume 2 - Water driven mills from medieval times up to the 18^th century, Water driven mills from more recent times, Other water driven mechanisms, Early industrial mills.

The publication can be ordered by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Price for the 2 volumes: 55 Euro + postage.