Horizontal waterwheel

About the sound

The Sawmill Remblinghausen in Meschede (Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia) has been using the horizontal steel-waterwheel for generating electric light since 1901. The water wheel powers one of the oldest machines (lighting dynamo) for generating electricity in Southern Westphalia.
When required water is lead from a reservoir to the water wheel.The water power sets the wheel in motion, the rotation driving a generator which converts the kinetic energy of the wheel into electricity (1kW). This type of electricity-generating was solely meant to provide light for the sawmill, since its low capacity would not have been strong enough to power machines.
At the turn of the century the Sawmill Remblinghausen was one of the first small businesses in the Southern Westphalia to use electric lighting. In the evenings, when large parts of Southern Westphalia were dark, the sawmill was able to work late into the night.
The sounds heard here reflect the water falling in, the turning of the water wheel and the humming of the generator.

The Sawmill Remblinghausen is a heritage-protected building in Meschede (Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia). The oldest part of the sawmill still standing today was built in 1809. Up until its shutdown in 1983 the sawmill threshed clover and it manufactured lumber, boards, wooden wheels and wooden tools. Today the sawmill still has its system of line shafts and belts for power transmission, which extends throughout the entire building, as well as an ensemble of historical machines from the wood processing business and threshing equipment of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In 1987 the sawmill was placed under heritage-protection. In 1994 the Sawmill-Association of Remblinghausen took over the sawmill and restored it.

Sound recordist: Konrad Gutkowski/Julian Blaschke
Photographer: Konrad Gutkowski/Julian Blaschke
Video recordist: Konrad Gutkowski/Julian Blaschke