Wendhausen Windmill

Lehre, Germany, Germany

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Wendhausen Windmill is a historic tower mill in Wendhausen, part of Lehre in Lower Saxony, Germany, built in 1837 by publishers Carl and Eduard Vieweg to replace a local watermill on the Schunter River after they converted it for paper production.

Designed in the Dutch Holländer style using the innovative "English System" with imported parts, cast-iron gearing, a windrose, jalousie sails, and a unique fifth sail for greater power, it ground grain across three millstones and remains Germany's only operational five-sailed windmill.

Extensively restored in the 1980s through 2021 with public and lottery funding, including a new cap bearing and historical elevator, it's maintained by a preservation association, featured on the local coat of arms, and open for guided tours showcasing 19th-century milling techniques.