A Balaton-felvidék népi építészete. A Balatonfüreden, 1997. május 21-23-án megrendezett konferencia anyaga (Szentendre-Veszprém, 1997)

Vajkai Zsófia: A kapolcsi vízimalmok

The water-mills in Kapolcs VAJKAI ZSÓFIA Water-mills in the hilly country along the northern shore of the lake Balaton bear marks characteristic to the region, just like press-houses, cellars or dwelling-houses. The same holds true of the watermills in the village Kapolcs as well. However, these nice specimen of Hungarian industrial architecture do not enjoy protection of monuments, though some of them would deserve it, being fine buildings resembling mansions of the neighbourhood as if they were expressing the intention of their builders to become one with local community. Charters from as early as 1237 refer to three mills in Kapolcs, while in 1358 there were already six mills and six mill-sites. These numbers seem to have remained unchanged during several centuries in view of the fact that later sources as well as the first maps of the region show about the same figures. Censuses from the 18th—

19th centuries allow us to trace the lot of mills and millers' families. Milling was a traditionally highly esteemed trade until quite recently as this can be judged from reccollections of country folk and millers' descendants. Comparing written sources with oral history it appears that the lot of watermills at Kapolcs developed in a similar way. In the last century they were owned by the landlord or the village community. Sawmills were the property of German settlers. By the turn of the century mills gradually had gone over into the millers' proprietorship who began to modernize them. First phase of the modernization took place between 1906-12 when low-capacity roller-frames were purchased in addition to millstones and power-driven sifting was introduced. At the same time millbuildings were rebuilt to have a second storey. The second wave of modernization ensued in the 1920s when roller-frames of higher capacity, grain-cleaners and new-type sieves were purchased. Almost all mills supplied themselves, and often a part of the village, with electric power. Third phase of the modernization process was broken by the nationalization and/or the cessation of milling at the end of the '40s. The subsequent forty years brought about deterioration of both building and equipment of mills. Recently we can witness revival of some mill-buildings as restaurants, boarding-houses or holidayhouses. Though traditional milling industry is over, renovated buildings, restored water-wheels recall its memory. 362