Windmill in Šenov

The turbine windmill in Šenov is a small historic wind mill from 1922, now standing on Kostelní street in Šenov, in the Ostrava-město district of Czech Silesia.

Where did this windmill come from?

The mill was built in 1922 and originally stood on Škrbeňská street 65 in Šenov. It was later moved to its current location at Kostelní 128, next to the Church of Divine Providence. In 2013 it underwent a renovation that kept it in good condition to this day.

What exactly is a "větřok"?

Small wind-turbine mills of this kind, locally nicknamed "větřoky", were a common sight in the strip of land between the Moravian-Silesian Beskids and Ostrava. Smallholder farmers built them at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries as a cheap, private way to grind their own grain. Production stopped during the First World War, but afterwards local blacksmith workshops picked it up again, turning out similar mills for farms across the region. Construction of these small mills continued right up until the 1940s, when it finally came to an end.

How is the Šenov windmill built?

The wind turbine has twelve blades and a diameter of 2 metres. Power runs through a conical reduction gear with a 1:2 ratio down to the milling mechanism, which includes a hopper spreader and millstones 0.5 metres in diameter — all of it original, dating back to when the mill was first built. The building itself has a rectangular footprint of 3.75 by 2.8 metres, a gabled roof 3.5 metres high, and reaches a total height of 5.7 metres including the turbine on top.

Where can you see it today?

The windmill is now part of the open-air exhibition of the Šenov Museum, set up outdoors near the Church of Divine Providence. That makes it easy to visit — there's no building to enter, just a walk through the museum grounds to see it up close.

Why is it worth a look?

It's a rare surviving example of the small-scale, farmer-built industrial architecture that once dotted the area between the Beskids and Ostrava. The original milling mechanism shows how simple but effective technical solutions were used in the countryside a century ago, before electrification and farm mechanization changed that landscape for good.

Frequently asked questions

When was the turbine windmill in Šenov built? In 1922. It originally stood on Škrbeňská street before being relocated to its current site on Kostelní street.

Does the windmill still work? The milling mechanism, with its 0.5-metre millstones, is original and preserved, though the mill today mainly serves as an open-air museum exhibit.

How does it differ from a classic Dutch windmill? It's a much smaller "větřok"-type construction typical of the region between the Moravian-Silesian Beskids and Ostrava, built by smallholder farmers and local blacksmiths rather than professional millers working at scale.

Where exactly does the windmill stand? At Kostelní 128 in Šenov, next to the Church of Divine Providence, as part of the Šenov Museum's outdoor exhibition.