In Tésen, unique industrial monuments rise from the plane of the fields: two robust windmills. One of them awaits visitors in a restored form, and at the entrance you can see a blacksmith's workshop.
The Tési Plateau is a limestone plateau at an altitude of 400 meters. Nothing casts a wind shadow on the plateau, which stands out from the low terrain: the winds flowing eastward along the Alps are let into the Little Plain by the Danube valley, which is only separated from the area by low hills. A flat area borders the Tési plateau from the south, so the wind can sweep across the karst plateau relatively unimpeded. In the earlier eras of Earth's history, these winds transported a significant amount of loess from the ice-polished northern landscapes here, which they also spread. The loess soil creates excellent conditions for agriculture, which is why the beech trees around Tés are replaced by large fields.
The crops had to be processed somehow: since the limestone area absorbs rainwater like a sponge, it was not possible to build water mills. However, from the middle of the 19th century, the available energy was captured by the construction of four Dutch-type windmills.
The first mill was built in 1840 under the ownership of József Helt, a bogan, with the construction of millwright János Pircher, and it is still operational today. The other windmill, still standing today, belonged to carpenter János Ozi. The latter is somewhat smaller than the former. Both buildings have a circular floor plan, and their shingle roofs can be rotated on rails - adjusted to the current wind direction. There are two pairs of stones in the Helt mill, and one mill in the Ozi mill. The mills were able to process up to 4 mash of grain per day if the wind speed was adequate.
Táncsics u. Entering the 20th courtyard, you can also see the original workshop of the manor master blacksmith Ferenc Cseszneki. For the mill visit, we get a huge iron key with which we can open the building.
A guided tour can be requested during the visit, but a mobile guide is also available with a QR code that can be read on the door of the mill.
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