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.

Gerald Bost made a video of the Midterm Tour in Bulgaria. Just click here

The 16th TIMS Symposium will take place in Portugal in 2024

Provisional Dates:

17 - 20 September 2024      -  Pre-Symposium Tour

21 - 27 September 2024      -  Symposium

28 September - 3 October   -  Post-sympsoium Tour

The next TIMS Online Presentation will be on the 12th of November, 19:00 hours (Amsterdam, Paris & Berlin time).

Topic :  “Ingenious adaptations found in English mills”

Members will get an invitation by email.

If you are not a member and would like to attend, then please send a request by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

is available for download. Just click HERE

A new TIMS Calendar for 2023 made by Olga. She used the beautiful sketches by Johan De Punt of mills seen during the Midterm Tour in Bulgaria.

The PDF can be downloaded here

TIMS E-News Issue 34 (Spring 2023) is now available for download.

Enjoy reading!!

The 16th TIMS Symposium will take place in Chorzów, Poland from 16th to the 25th of June 2023.

In addition, there will be a post-tour organized from Toruń. During the Post-Tour participants will visit the medieval towns of Toruń and Gdańsk and numerous mills in the area.

The Post-Tour will start on the 25th and will end on the 30th of June. Full details will be posted later on.

The venue of the Symposium

Symposium will take place at the Museum “Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park in Chorzów”.

Chorzów is a city next to Katowice and has a very good connection with Katowice Pyrzowice Airport.

Call for papers
We call on all TIMS members to present their molinological research as a formal paper and/or as an informal short contribution. Papers on all molinological topics are welcome.

Our theme will be: “The Future of mills”.

Papers are expected to be about mills' protection, renovation, giving them new functions, law adjustments, promotion of mills, the functionality of mills in the modern world, and the way of saving them for future generations.