The windmill at Ruprechtov is a technical monument in Ruprechtov in the Czech Republic. It is one of the most important and unique technical monuments in the country from the historical and technical point of view.[1] It is equipped with the Halladay patent turbine, the only machine of this type in the Czech Republic and in Europe.
History
The mill was built in 1873 as a classic Dutch-type mill, with a four-blade wind wheel and a revolving roof. After a windstorm damage, the original owner and builder Cyril Wagner decided to modernize the mill. He installed the so-called Halladay turbine instead of the classic wind wheel. The turbine was named after its inventor and designer, the American farmer Daniel Halladay. The runner consists of a chain of operable vanes controlled by rods, enabling them to be tilted as required automatically according to the wind. Double tail vane maintained the wheel at the right course.[2]
The turbine is now rotating at a height of 16 m above the ground, its diameter is 10 m and it weighs about 2 tons. The mill still has the original mill machines. Even though grinding stopped in the 1960s the roof turbine is still in operation.[3]
The mill was completely restored in 1998 and is open to the public.
Recognition
It was declared a Czech cultural monument in 1958.[1]
In autumn 2009, a postage stamp depicting the mill was issued. The stamp with a face value of CZK 10 was designed by Petr Melan, engraved by Václav Fajt.[4][5]
In 2009 the Czech National Bank issued a 2,500 CZK commemorative gold coin as part of the Industrial Heritage Sites series. The coin was designed by Jiří Harcuba.[6]
References
