Schiefes Haus: A Former Fulling Mill and Museum in Wernigerode

Site at a Glance

Rating: 4.4
Popularity: Low
Country: Germany
Primary era: Early Modern
External website: Open

Eras represented: Early Modern
Civilizations: Holy Roman Empire
Site type: Economic
Remains: Watermill

On this page6 sections

History

Schiefes Haus is a former fulling mill and museum in Wernigerode, Germany, built in 1680 in the half-timbered tradition of the period. A fulling mill had stood on the site by the thirteenth century at the latest, and the present building was commissioned by the guilds of clothmakers and bark tanners. Around 100 mills operated in and around Wernigerode at the time, while the steep ground of the Klint provided the gradient needed to drive the mill’s waterwheel.

The Fulling Mill

In 1630, the mill was sold to the clothmakers’ and bark tanners’ guilds. The mill used an overshot waterwheel, driven by water delivered to the top of the wheel. Its supply came from the Zillierbach through a millrace that flowed from south to north. The same channel drained water from neighboring houses and tanneries. The Klint was also the site of Wernigerode’s earliest settlement because it formed the city’s highest point, giving the mill the steep fall required for its operation.

The fulling mill probably contained six hammers. These water-powered devices processed hides and compressed or felted cloth. Their prolonged vibrations placed pressure on the ground beneath the building, eventually causing one side to sink by more than 60 centimeters. The mill ceased operating in 1894. Its machinery was removed, the cellar was filled, and about a century later the millrace was enclosed in a pipe.

From Residence to Museum

Until about 1970, the building served as a residence. The city administration then used it as offices, installing straight walls and leveling the sloping areas as far as possible. A youth club later occupied the cellar. Brick walls placed in front of the timber framing caused the infill panels between the wooden members to develop mold.

The city administration moved out in 2006. By 2010, the building had sunk another 10 centimeters, and a new use had not been found. In 2009, the Wernigerode Cultural Foundation proposed converting it into a museum. After three years of renovation, Museum Schiefes Haus opened in 2012. Its exhibitions include presentations on Paul Renner and Karl Blossfeldt, together with spaces for temporary photography exhibitions. A private collector’s doll collection has been housed there since 2022.

Paul Renner was born in Wernigerode in 1878. He became director of the Master School for German Printers in 1927 and developed Futura, a geometric sans-serif typeface first issued in the 1920s. Renner fled to Switzerland in 1933. Karl Blossfeldt was born in Schielo near Harzgerode in 1865. He taught plant modeling from 1899, became a professor in 1921, and gained wider recognition through his 1928 publication Urformen der Kunst. His highly magnified photographs of plant forms made him known as an inventor of macro photography.

Remains

Mill, Watercourse, and Half-Timbered Structure

Schiefes Haus stands unusually close to Wernigerode’s town hall on the site of the former fulling mill. The millrace began at Schöne Ecke in Nöschenrode, passed through the market square and the Heideviertel, supplied the Heide Mill, and continued to the Klaren Loch, an opening in the city wall protected by a town tower. A pond beside the building stored water but also kept the ground damp.

The cellar walls are about one metre thick. Despite the pressure and vibration associated with the mill’s hammers, the strongly built half-timbered house survived the subsidence. One side now projects outward by about 130 centimeters and is held by several visible anchors. The timber frame consists of exposed wooden structural members with infill panels between them, preserving the construction system that helped the building withstand the movement of the ground.

Museum Displays

The ground floor permanently presents models of several types of watermill, including the Wernigerode fulling mill, an oil mill, a sawmill, and a paper mill. Unemployed people at the Oskar Kämmer School made the models. A short film by media-informatics students from Harz University explains the history and operation of the fulling mill.

Photographs by Friedrich Maesser occupy the ground-floor rooms. Maesser worked as a photographer in Wernigerode until 1880, and his images from 1860 to 1880 show the city during that period. The original photographs measured 20 by 15 centimeters and are displayed in greatly enlarged form. The first-floor corridor and large room provide spaces for temporary photography exhibitions, while the upper floor presents Paul Renner and Karl Blossfeldt. The building also houses a private collection of rare dolls dating from approximately 1830 to 1960.