Godorf Mill
The Godorf Mill is a former windmill in Cologne's Godorf district and is regarded as the neighbourhood's landmark.
since 1735
The Godorf Mill is a former windmill in the south of Cologne and is considered the landmark of Godorf. Its origins go back to the 18th century, while the tower that shapes its appearance today was built in the 19th century.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- District
- Cologne-Godorf
- Origin
- built in 1735 as a post mill
- Mill tower
- erected 1841, seven storeys, 45 metres tall
- Construction
- brick; from 1849 a tower mill (Dutch type with gallery)
- In operation until
- 1959
- Heritage status
- protected since 1 October 1981 (no. 777)
- Coordinates
- 50.847258, 6.979114
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
18th-Century Beginnings
The story began in 1735 with a post mill that Jakob Stemmel, a town miller from Brühl, set up on the Heldenberg in Godorf. In 1807 and 1808 the site was recorded as the "Moulin de Godorf" on the Tranchot map.
The Mill Tower
In 1841 Josef Glasmacher, a miller and farmer by trade, had a seven-storey brick tower some 45 metres high constructed. His family had already run the earlier post mill. In 1849 the box-shaped mill was replaced by a tower mill of the Dutch type with a surrounding gallery. That same year Glasmacher sold the mill estate to Peter Wirtz for 3,000 talers. A stone tablet above the gateway records the date of the tower mill's construction.
From Wind to Electricity
The mill was driven by wind power until 1890, after which steam took over. An electric drive was added in 1910. The tower stayed in service until 1959; afterwards the roof in particular fell into decay, and the grinding mechanism was eventually removed.
Preservation and Present Use
In 1980 the craftsman Hermann Schmitz moved onto the mill estate with his family and had the complex restored between 1981 and 1983. Since 2005 the tower has been used as a storage space. Of the former interior fittings, only the old wooden floors remain. On 1 October 1981 the mill was entered under number 777 in the list of protected monuments in Godorf.
Map
Blue dots: other places nearby — tap to explore.
You might also like — related or nearby
Comments
- Loading comments…
Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-08-23
How this page is made
This page draws on open sources — Wikipedia, Wikidata, official websites and the city’s open data. Every statement is checked against the sources linked here, and pages are refreshed regularly.
Spotted a mistake anyway? Tell us below — we read every submission.