History

Schaubmar´s Mill is the biggest stream mill in Europe. The Pezinok Pálfis had it built on the Cajla stream in 1767. It bears the name of its last owners, the Schaubmars, who bought it in 1857.

The building and its technology

The mill is a one-floor building with an attic, and a flat of the miller attached to it. The large area included a room for carts, stables, a room for chopping of food for animals, a barn, a woodshed, and an apiary. Some of these buildings have been preserved; however, their purpose is new.

The Schaubmar´s had an extraordinary ability to merge the classical, thousand-year-old technology with the modern one. In 1913, they replaced the old milling system of millstones by the new system of rolling mills, thus improving not only their working environment, but the work as such.

Traditional water mills were gradually replaced by steam, electric or motor mills. They were more powerful, their operation was cheaper, and they were also closer to the inhabited areas. All private mills in Slovakia stopped milling definitely in 1951, after the state and the ruling communist party suppressed entrepreneurship.

Mill as part of SNG

In 1972, the Slovak National Gallery purchased the mill from its last owner, Kornélia Schaubmar. It was at the initiative of her husband, a long-year depository keeper Milan Blaško, who mentioned the mill to the then director. Thanks to this, the mill together with its equipment has been preserved and is functional, capable of operation, and heritage-listed.

In the 80´s, the mill and its entire area underwent a thorough reconstruction. Since 1997, it has been open to public, together with the Gallery of Naïve Art. Since 2017, Schaubmar´s Mill has been under transformation again. The gallery focuses on modern and contemporary fine art. We have been revitalising the orchard, working on improvement of services, expanding the public programme offer.