Hirzlimühle
(Vordere Spiegelmühle)
2 Räder, 26.18 PS

Spitalmühle
2 Räder, 26.18 PS
1883 teilweise abgebrannt

Orismühle
(Tabakmühle, Vordere Schleife)
2 Räder, 32.60 PS
1854 abgerissen, Fabrikgebäude 1890 errichtet

Spittelmüllersmühle
(Steinenklostermühle)
32.60 PS, 1883 abgebrannt.
Neubau 1978 abgebrochen.

Spisselimühle
2 Räder, 72.45 PS
1891 abgebrochen

Lippismühle
(Leimermühle)
2 Räder, 72.45 PS
1891 abgebrochen

Rychmühle
40 PS (zusammen
mit der Zunzgermühle)

Zunzgermühle
40 PS (zusammen mit der Rychmühle)
1853 abgebrochen

Gallicianmühle
(Klingentalmühle) 23.23 PS

Stegreifmühle, 23.23 PS
1963 abgebrannt.
1980 originalgetreuer
Wiederaufbau

Haus "Zum Esel"

Hintere Schleife
(Almosenmühle)
3 Räder, 36.54 PS
1896 abgebrochen

Herbergsmühle (Hintere
Spiegelmühle)
3 Räder, 36.54 PS
1960 abgebrochen

Rheinmühle (Spiegelmühle)
2 Räder, 96.25 PS
1888 abgebrochen

Hirzli Mill (Vordere Spiegelmühle), 2 wheels, 26.18 hp

The Hirzli Mill is one of the few mills in the St. Alban Valley that were used exclusively as grain mills until the 19th century.
It owes its name to the mural of a stag, which a miller had had painted on the southern façade in the 17th century. In 1837, the Hirzli Mill became part of the so-called St. Alban pumping station. The water from two abundant springs on the slope was collected and led through a long tunnel into the cellar of the Hirzli Mill. This is where the pumping station driven by a water wheel was located; it was used to pump the spring water into a reservoir in St. Alban-Vorstadt.
The water intake that still exists today is currently used to supply the air conditioning system of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

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Spital mill, 2 wheels, 26.18 hp, partly burnt down in 1883

In the Middle Ages, the hospital miller was subject to a twofold vassalage: on the one hand, he was a tenant of the Spital (hospital) in the Freie Strasse, and on the other, he had to pay an annual fee to the St. Alban monastery. This fee consisted of four sacks of grain and a pig. In addition, he had to provide a harvest worker at har-vest time and grind the monastery’s grain free of charge. The obligations to the monastery ceased in 1529 with the Reformation. The grain mill, however, remained in the possession of the hospital until 1822. In 1884, the Spital Mill, which had been badly damaged by a fire, was sold to the Stöcklin paper factory.

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Oris mill (Tobacco mill, Front Grinding Mill - Vordere Schleife), 2 wheels, 32.60 hp
demolished in 1854, factory building erected in 1890

Like many other mills, the Oris mill served various purposes in its history. In the first records from 1366, it is referred to as a cutler mill, before Rutsch von Oris converted it into a grain mill in 1422. Later it was owned by the saffron guild for almost 300 years, which used the mill as a “Wurtzmühlin” (spice pounder). The guild entrusted the operation to a spice pounding worker who was subordinate to two spice quality controllers. In 1707, the guild had a fulling mill set up for the hosiers or trouser-makers (who were also members of the saffron guild) in addition to the pounding mill. In 1770, the mill was sold to Ch. Burckhardt, who had it converted into a tobacco stamping mill. After 1840, the Oris mill was extended by various alterations and additional buildings, and converted into a silk ribbon factory with 200 employees. Finally, in 1878, the property was purchased by Samuel Stöcklin. Thereby the Oris mill became the original company building of the Stöcklin & Cie company, which was the first in the St. Alban Valley to produce paper on a large scale by machine; thus they took the step from artisanal manufacture to industrial paper production. It was also to be the last: although the company successively acquired all the water rights and land on the Vordere Teich, the narrow strip of land between the steep slope of St. Alban-Vorstadt and the Rhine was no longer sufficient to meet the requirements. In 1955, the company moved its headquarters to Arlesheim.

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Spittelmüllers mill (Steinenkloster mill), 32.60 hp, burnt down in 1883. Reconstruction discontinued in 1978

Upon the purchase of the Spittelmüllers Mill in 1452, the hospital in the Freie Strasse was the owner of two grain mills in the
St. Alban Valley until the 17th century. There is also an ecclesiastical institution among the later owners: in 1679, the miller Hans Ulrich Sulger sells the mill to the “Gotthaus Maria Magdalena an der Steinen” (the house of God Maria Magdalena at the stones), i.e. to the Steinen monastery. This may seem surprising, 130 years after the Reformation. The fact is that the monasteries of Basel were not simply closed and abolished after the Reformation. The monks and nuns were only forbidden to accept novices. The status of monasteries as legal entities remained unchanged, their property was placed under the control of municipal administrators. In this way, the Council ensured that the lavish revenues from the extremely rich monastery estates in Alsace and the Black Forest continued to come to Basel. Until the 19th century, the Steinenkloster Mill served exclusively as a grain mill. The building was only converted into a carpenter’s workshop in 1874. The Bodenmüller & Cie company had the waterwheel replaced by a turbine, which they used to drive woodworking machines and a grinding machine. In 1934, the mill and its water rights came into the possession of the Stöcklin paper factory.

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Spisseli mill, 2 Räder, 72.45 hp, discontinued in 1891

The mill owes its name to the Spisselin family of millers, who owned the fief in the 14th century. Subsequently, there were more changes of ownership than at any other mill in the St. Alban Valley. This was probably due to its location right at the mouth of the canal. Clearly, water stagnation had a negative effect on profitability. Remarkably often, the owners of the Spisseli Mill were “indulged”, i.e. supported. When ownership changed, the use of the mill often also changed. The Spisseli Mill served alternately as a grain mill, hammer mill, grinding mill and paper mill. One of the last owners, Gustav Rensch-Miville, set up a spice and mustard mill as well as a butcher’s shop in 1886. Five years later he had the old mill demolished and replaced by the present neo-baroque building. The Stöcklin paper factory set up its management building here in 1912.

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Lippis mill (Leimer mill), 3 wheels, 72.45 hp
discontinued in 1967

For 700 years, grain was ground in the mill at the mouth of the canal, which belonged to a man named Henman Leymer around 1400 and later to the Lippe miller dynasty. It was put to new uses only after it was acquired by the Stöcklin paper factory in 1885. The waterwheels were replaced by turbines and generators to produce electricity. Subsequently, the company also acquired the other water rights on the Vordere Teich (with the exception of the Hirzli Mill) and, in 1937, it was able to further develop the plant into a small power station that generated 1.75 million kWh. After the Stöcklin company relocated in 1955, the plant was taken over by the “Elektrizitätswerk Basel” (Basel power company; now IWB) under the name “KW Mühlenberg” until it had to be shut down in 1971.

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Rych mill, 40 hp (together with the Zunzger mill)

Today, the Rych mill is part of the Basel Paper Mill. Among other things, it houses the museum shop. It owes its name to one of its medieval owners, the noble Heinrich Rych von Rychenstein.
The five hundred year long history of paper production in the St. Alban Valley began in the Rych mill in 1448. Heinrich Halbysen, who had operated a paper mill in front of the Riehentor in Kleinbasel since 1433, moved production to the St. Alban Valley, where the mills were protected by the city wall. From then on, paper was produced in the Rych mill until 1924, among others by the Gallician, Heusler, and Thurneysen paper-making families. In 1807, the owner at the time, Marcus Heusler, had a wing built on the south side, which was used for drying paper. This elongated, three-storey building is considered the oldest preserved industrial building in Basel. Today it houses the Münsterbauhütte (Minster masonry workshop).

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Zunzger mill, 40 hp (together with the Rych mill)
demolished in 1853

The water rights of the Zunzger mill passed to the Rych mill on the opposite side around 1530. Since then, both mills were operated together.
The former flour mill owes its name to the last miller, Hans von Zunzgen, who sold the mill to Heinrich Halbysen in 1448. Later, the Zunzger mill was owned by the Heusler Family of paper-makers for over 200 years, passed into the possession of the Thurneysen family in 1796 and was finally part of the Oser & Thurneysen paper mill until 1924. H. R. Thurneysen had the mill demolished in 1853 and replaced by the existing new factory building.

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Gallician mill (Klingental mill), 23.23 hp

One of the showpieces of the renovated St. Alban Valley is undoubtedly the Gallician mill, which today houses the Basel Paper Mill (Swiss Museum of Paper, Writing and Printing). The core of the three-part building complex dates from the 12th century, the four-storey residential building from the 15th century. The striking three-storey roof structure above the commercial building dates from 1788. Paper was dried here. The narrow dormers by means of which one could regulate the air supply are typical. The mill was probably built immediately after the construction of the St. Albanteich. In 1284, it was owned by the Klingental convent in Kleinbasel. In 1433, the grain mill was converted into a hammer mill. Twenty years later it was bought by Anton Gallician. This descendant of a Piedmontese papermaking family quickly rose to become the most important paper producer in Basel. His Stab-Papier (staff paper; named so because of the Ba-sel staff watermark) was traded all over Europe. However, the Gallician family’s rapid social and political ascent was abruptly halted in 1523. The mill came into the possession of the Thüring family, who operated it for over 200 years. In 1850, the mill that was once the most important paper mill was converted into a tobacco stamping mill and used until 1931. In 1975, the municipality transferred the development rights of the Gallician Mill to the Christoph Merian Foundation. The foundation established the museum, which opened in 1980.

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Stegreif mill, 23.23 hp
burnt down in 1963. Reconstructed to its original form in 1980

The mill was named after one of its medieval owners, Wilhelm Stegreif. In 1480, Antonio Gallician, the owner of the Gallician mill opposite, purchased the grain mill, where paper was produced from then on until the early 20th century. With a brief interruption: from 1842 to 1859, the mill was in the possession of the J.R. Geigy company, which had coloured woods crushed and ground here. It supplied the Basel silk ribbon industry with dyes. Shortly afterwards, the company specialized in the production of chemical dyes and developed into a global corporation in the 20th century (Ciba-Geigy, today Novartis). In 1963, the Stegreif mill burnt down to the ground. In 1980, the CMF had a new building constructed, with an exterior more or less true to the original Stegreif mill. Today it houses the Café Papiermühle.

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House "Zum Esel"

The house “Zum Esel” belonged to the building complex of the Herbergs mill. The millers’ tavern was located inside. It is likely to have been much more than a simple pub. Taverns and public houses were usually the social centres of neighbourhoods, where people exchanged ideas and celebrated important events such as weddings and christenings. The meetings of the Teich Corporation possibly also took place in the house “Zum Esel” (there is no evidence of any prophetic reference to future chairpersons of the corporation in the house name – Ger-man for “donkey”). In 1984/86, the CMF had two residential buildings and studios built by the architects Diener & Diener on the site where the Almosen mill, the Rhein mill, the Herbergs mill and the house “Zum Esel” used to be.

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Hintere Schleife (Almosen mill), 3 wheels, 36.54 hp
demolished in 1896

The mill, originally called “Weisse Mühle” (White Mill), was rebuilt several times before it was demolished in the 19th century. It first served as a grinding and cutler mill, then as a paper mill, and finally it came into the possession of the “Grosse Almosen” (Great Alms) in 1650. This state institution provided poor residents of Basel with clothing and bread. That is why it had the “Hintere Schleife” converted into a grain mill. In 1725, the mill was converted again, into a paper mill that was incorporated into the Oser & Thurneysen paper factory in 1883. The “Kleine Mühle” (small mill), first mentioned in the 17th century, was located right next to it; it was operated by the respective owner of the Almosen mill.

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Herbergs mill (Hintere Spiegelmühle), 3 wheels, 36.hp PS
demolished in 1960

Besides the mill, the building complex also included the house “Zum Esel”, the millers’ tavern. The mill’s older name derives from its noble owner in the 13th century, Niklaus zum Spiegel (ad speculum). It too was put to different uses over the course of history. In 1418, for example, the Council of Basel leased a wheel of the grain mill to grind gypsum. In 1699, the mill came into the possession of a social institution, the “Elenden Herberge” (shelter for the wretched) on Petersberg. It kept the name Herbergs mill even after its (late) conversion into a paper mill in 1752.
Among those who owned the mill were the paper-making dynasties Heusler and Oser-Thurneysen. Some wheels were also leased out for other purposes: ratiné fabrics were produced between 1788 and 1800, dyewoods were ground from 1831 to 1841. The leaseholder was Carl Geigy, who moved his dyewood mill to the Stegreif mill after a fire. In 1912, Eugen Oser had a turbine installed, which increased the mill’s output to 160 hp. In 1942, it was developed into a small power station that generated 592,320 kWh annually and supplied electricity to the city grid until 1955.

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Rhein mill (Spiegel mill), 2 wheels, 96.25 hp
demolished in 1888

The most powerful mill in the St. Alban Valley was not part of the 12 fiefs, but was considered an “industry”. Originally, it belonged to the Hintere Spiegel mill (Herbergs mill); after the mills were partitioned, there was apparently no desire to change the number of fiefs in the Teich Corporation. Like most of the mills at the Hintere Tecih, the former grain mill was used for paper production from the 15th century onwards. The location of the mill directly on the Rhine also harboured risks. If the river carried too much water, operations had to stopped. In 1808, Heinrich Oser purchased the mill. His son Christoph founded the Oser & Thurneysen paper factory, which was in production until 1925.

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