Miller's Farmstead Open-Air Museum in Uniejów

In one windmill in Uniejów you can spend the night beneath the wind shaft and the great brake wheel; in the other you can see how flour was milled in the 1930s. Zagroda Młynarska (the Miller's Farmstead) is a small open-air museum on ul. Arcybiskupa Jakuba Świnki, a few minutes from the thermal baths and the castle. The town built it in 2010–2012 from original timber buildings moved here from around the Łódź region.

Two post mills from Świnice Warckie

Both windmills are post mills (koźlaki) – the oldest windmill type in Poland, where the whole body turns on a massive post so the sails can face the wind. The first comes from Chorzepin. An inventory of industrial monuments mentions the date 1644 carved on a beam above the door, but conservators could not find it, and the regional heritage record lists the mill as 19th-century. Probably only the key beams of the trestle and the moving body survive from the oldest phase. Today it is a holiday let: the interior was never split into rooms, and on the upper floor the wind shaft, brake wheel and brake are still in place.

The second post mill, from Zbylczyce, was built around 1870 according to the same inventory. In 2000 its owners were about to demolish it, so architect Filip Tomaszewski – later the designer and curator of the museum – bought it and took it apart. About 60% of the original fabric was saved; missing machinery such as millstones, a sifter and the brake wheel came from other mills being dismantled. The equipment was chosen to reflect the 1930s, when windmills were modernised to compete with motor-driven mills.

What else is here

The site also has a manor house from Nagórki and a cottage from Skotniki near Zgierz, now an inn with a characteristically low doorway. They are joined by a replica barn from Besiekiery and a replica brick livestock building from Uniejów. Farm animals live on site, and the Zbylczyce mill has hosted workshops for all ages, such as "Abecadło o chlebie" (an ABC of bread).

Did you know?

• The Zbylczyce mill works and can still be turned into the wind, but keeping it running has proved difficult – the craft of the windmiller has all but disappeared.
• The Chorzepin mill has reconstructed sails that can still turn, although the building itself no longer rotates because it is connected to water and heating.
• No mill operates in the Uniejów district today; only four mill buildings survive, and two of them are these relocated post mills.

Tripto tip

Allow 30–60 minutes for the farmstead and combine it with the thermal baths and a walk to the castle. The museum mill is opened mainly for organised groups, so if you want to go inside and see a milling demonstration, ask in advance. Check current opening hours of the inn and prices for staying in the windmill directly with the operator – we could not find them on a current official source.