Ożarów Windmill (Kocilew)

On a hill in Kocilew, a hamlet of Ożarów near Wieluń, stands a wooden post mill built in 1914 by the Kowalski family. Its sails sweep a circle about 17 metres across, with a surface of more than 50 m². After years as a ruin it was rebuilt together with its interior and milling machinery, and today it is looked after by the museum in the nearby manor.

History: three generations of millers

According to local tradition, a windmill already stood on the Kocilew hill in the mid-19th century, and the present one replaced an older structure. Documents from the Kowalski family, donated to the Museum of Manor Interiors in Ożarów, show the continuity: in 1911 Roman Kowalski took over the lease of the mill holding from his father Marcin, who had inherited it from Felicjan. In 1937–1938 the owner of the Ożarów estate, Kuniberd Meske, tried to force an auction of the holding through the court in Kalisz, but the Kowalskis held out until the war. A surviving grinding ledger from 1940 shows that the mill kept working during the occupation.

The last miller of Ożarów

After 1945 the mill was run by Henryk Kowalski, Roman's son. A private business was inconvenient for the authorities, and in 1960 the regional council in Łódź banned him from grinding grain into flour. Henryk Kowalski was the last miller in Ożarów. The idle windmill served as a storehouse and decayed: first the sails were removed, then the roof collapsed, the shaft with the brake wheel fell, and the floors and walls were destroyed.

Rescue and reconstruction

In 1996, when the post mill was a ruin, the Museum of Manor Interiors in Ożarów and its Friends' Society started a rescue campaign. Witold Kowalski handed the windmill over on condition that it would not be moved and would be opened to visitors after reconstruction. The major renovation lasted until 2006 – the mill was rebuilt in full and its machinery recreated.

Tripto tips

The windmill stands about 1 km from the Ożarów manor, a branch of the Wieluń Land Museum, so combine both visits. The museum has opened the manor park, the viewing tower and the windmill on weekdays, but the mill interior is unlocked by museum staff – call Ożarów before you travel to confirm access. Ożarów lies in the Mokrsko municipality, about 12 km from Wieluń. Allow 30 minutes for the windmill and two hours including the manor and park.