A Water Mill Surrounded By A Polish Folklore
Every fan of Polish folklore should know Łowicz – a small town in the middle of Poland. Open-air museums with colorful houses, colorful Corpus Christi processions, folk dances create a specific atmosphere of this place. Although it is not a big city, you can go there during your trip to Warsaw. It’s just an hour’s drive and unforgettable experiences. But what if you would like to see some abandoned places? Near Łowicz, we have a building that is interesting for urban explorers. If you fancy urbex in this area, you should visit nearby Strugienice. There, you can find an abandoned water mill. We were in this abandoned object, and we strongly recommend you add it to your abandoned places map.
Rural Exploration - Abandoned Building in a Picturesque Cottage
Did we say urbex? Ok, we have to correct it. We meant rurex. When the building is located in a cottage, we cannot talk about urban exploration. It’s a rural exploration, and we find it a nice change from the well-known factories. Don’t get us wrong. We’re still loving abandoned industrial buildings, but the device in each factory is similar. Here, we found something completely different. The brick building located on the river and surrounded by greenery looks astonishing. It’s impressive outside, but you are probably interested in what we found inside. On each of the four floors, we found mill equipment. The mill wheel was inside the building, and the rest of the device was quite well preserved. Old querns looked impressive. Even flour and seeds were there. We felt like in the olden days when the mill was working, and we loved it!
What Happened in Strugienice? - The Abandoned Mill Owners History
The Mill belonged to Piotr and Zofia Świderscy. They probably lived in a nearby house. Piotr and Zofia had a daughter – Halina Świderska-Koneczna (born on 25th of July 1899). Halina probably didn’t want to continue her career in a water mill. She was interested in the Polish Language, especially in her local dialect. She studied in Warsaw and became a professor at the University of Warsaw. She was an outstanding researcher of the Dialect of the Duchy of Lowicz. She died in 1961. On 22th of May 2016, a stone was placed with a commemorative plaque next to the settlement in memory of Halina Świderska-Konieczna. The stone is located near the water mill.
Ok, but who took over the mill after Mr. Świderski’s death? It’s hard to say because of the lack of trustworthy sources. In the nearby house, we found the sign on the door with the surname Pająk. Probably he was the last owner of the mill. Local people told us, that Mr. Pająk had left this house a few years ago. Unfortunately, his story is still shrouded in mystery today.
Photos from the Water Mill - Abandoned Mill Photography
We find the abandoned water mill as a magical place. We took a lot of photos to capture each detail. It was hard to omit any part of the equipment, so prepare for the solid portion of the photos. We hope you’ll enjoy them!
