Skive Mølle was 4 windmills that after fires succeeded each other with 5 different owners over the years 1827-1919 at the current Møllegade in Skive. The mill stood as a significant eye-catcher, rising high above the roofs of the city.
Carl Vilhelm Ring (1827-1851)
In the early 1800s, there was a growing need for a mill in Skive. It was relatively far from the surrounding mills, but the lack of commercial freedom in the milling industry made it difficult to establish new mills without clashing with the privileges of other mills.
Local merchant Carl Ring became the person who broke the deadlock.
He acquired Vestertoft (later Mølletoft) west of Vor Frue Church. Together with a small part of Vesterfælled , there was a basis for building a mill on the mound. Ring donated the eastern part of the mill site to the city, which later became a trading center and the newly built Skive Church.
When Vesterfælled was closed, it was also possible for Ring to move his farm to the mill. The farm would later be used as a granary.
With his great influence, Ring managed to get a very favorable agreement on taxation and to limit the privileges of the other mills, so the mill became busy and a good business.
However, with the constitution in 1949 and the subsequent freedom of trade at the mills, Ring abandoned the mill and sold it to the mill manager at Dueholm mill in 1851.
Niels Frederik Jahnsen (1851 – 1873)
Jahsen modernized the business. The freedom of trade for the mills made it possible to set up a bakery in connection with the mill. In addition, a steam engine was set up in the mill, which ensured that flour could continue to be ground when there was no wind. Previously, the miller was responsible for transporting the grain to a water mill when there was no wind, so this secured the business quite significantly.
On June 16, 1855, the windmill burned down. The subsequent rebuilding was stopped several times by unknown perpetrators who sabotaged the construction. The sabotages involved, among other things, another burning down when the windmill was almost complete.
However, in 1857, Jahnsen managed to get the mill up and running again.
In 1873, Jahnsen sold the mill to telegraphist Christian Nielsen.
Christian Nielsen (1873-1882)
Christian Nielsen was responsible for further modernization inside the mill and at the bakery. For example, the bakery was equipped with a modern kneading machine, which meant that you no longer had to knead with your feet, freeing up working hours.
There were attempts to set up a competing mill in Brårup. Instead of stopping the project altogether, Nielsen took it over and from 1877 owned Østre Mølle, which primarily functioned as a sawmill.
The mills were sold to Brødrene Christensen in 1882.
Christen Christensen and Niels Christian Christensen (1882-1892)
The brothers from Vium between Oddense and Roslev had some tough years ahead of them. With a trend in agriculture towards more and more dairy farming and less grain, the mill was not so busy. This was further exacerbated by the fact that the mill was in serious need of renovation.
In 1884, Gammelgaard Mill was built in Brårup, which further increased competition for the market. The town’s bakers had also modernized, which put pressure on the bakery business.
In 1887, the mill burned down again – this time under what were perceived as suspicious circumstances. There were police investigations and arrests but never a conviction. The mill was rebuilt and sold in 1892 to C. Th. Damgaard.
C. Th. Damgaard (1892-1917)
Damgaard further modernized the mill. In 1896, with the establishment of the gasworks in the town, a gas engine was added as a driving force.
Mogens Chr. Pedersen (1917-1919)
Pedersen became the last and very short-lived owner of the mill, which burned down again in August 1919, after which it was not rebuilt.
See also the
When Skive Mill at Vestertoft burned down for the last time, August 12, 1919
Sources
- Skivebogen 1920, p. 150-208