Digital collection

Everyday mill life

Insights into the daily operations of the historic mill.

Hard and sensual

Lugging heavy sacks in the heat and cold. Breathing in flour dust from morning till night: only robust guys were fit to be millers. But these guys also needed their senses: On his inspection rounds, the miller hears whether the mill is singing correctly. He smells if the flour is burning somewhere and tastes how good the grain is.

Millers of Tiefenbrunnen mill checking grain. 1945. photo: G. Tièche. Zurich City Archives.

Quality standard

The Tiefenbrunnen mill mostly purchased grain directly from local farmers. Only one fifth of foreign grain was allowed - that was about one railroad car per week. The quality of this natural product fluctuated, so the millers carefully checked what was delivered to their silo.

  1.  Grain reception in the Mühle Tiefenbrunnen, 1950s.
     
  2. Grain silo of Tiefenbrunnen mill, around 1960.
     
  3. Factory regulations of the Tiefenbrunnen mill, 1920. Reproduction.
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Caution Danger!

In such a mill is a fire hazard. To lubricate the moving parts used the food grade linseed oil. Plaster threads full of linseed oil ignite easily; flour dust in the air can explode as soon as even a small spark jumps. That's why there had been a sprinkler system since 1926. Besides warning posters, fire extinguishers hung on the walls, and metal buckets were available for the plaster threads full of oil.

  1. Warning poster from the Mühle Tiefenbrunnen.Around 1920.

  2. Notes on risks and mishaps from the workbook of Heinz Gygax, miller's apprentice at Tiefenbrunnen from 1976 to 1979. Reproduction.

 

Mueller's pride

A beautifully tied flour sack was the pride of every miller. The sacks were once made of cloth. Cleaning the sacks was a lot of work, and the bakers didn't always bring them back.
Since 1950, disposable paper sacks have been used and, from 1964, lorries have also been collecting the flour openly from the Tiefenbrunnen mill.

  1. Wehrli flour sack, year unknown.

  2. First transport of unpacked flour from the Tiefenbrunnen mill, 1964.

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This and other exciting content on the cultural history of milling, food culture and food policy can be found at the museum Mühlerama. Plan your visit now

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