Lyngby Mill Marker 2.

Lyngby

The first written mention of Lyngby Watermill, however, is in a document from 1608. An older flour mill was already operating, and a fulling mill was being built. Since then there have been two mills in Lyngby, always with the same owner.

The mills were once owned by Caspar Herbach, a jeweller. He was commissioned to make many pieces of jewellery for King Christian IV (1588 - 1648) and later King Frederik III (1648 - 1670). One of his tasks was to repair and maintain the royal regalia and create a new crown for the Queen, when King Frederik III and Queen Sophie Amalie were crowned in 1648.

Ludvig Holberg (Danish/Norwegian playwriter, died 1754) says in his "History of the Danish Kingdom" that while Caspar Herbach was in the process of making the Queen's new crown, her sister-in-law, Leonora Christina Ulfeldt, came to visit his workshop in Lyngby Mill. Leonora Christina demanded to see the Queen's crown and put it on her own head to try it. Unfortunately she dropped the crown on the floor and a large gemstone broke. Caspar Herbach informed the King about the incident, but was told to keep quiet about it and just fix the crown. However, when Queen Sophie Amalie heard about the unfortunate incident she thought that Leonora Christina had dropped the crown on purpose. Holberg tells the story as an explanation for why the Queen did not like Leonora Christina and later had her serve many years in prison as her husband's accomplice in treason.

The mill was used for production of weapons and for fulling of cloth in the 17th and 18th centuries and then exclusively as a flour mill. Since 1965 Lyngby Mill has belonged to Lyngby-Taarbæk municipality.

The present-day Northern Mill with the large water wheel was built in two parts in 1846 and 1850. One part contains the millwork and the other part is a warehouse for the storage of cereals.

Lyngby Northern Mill is the last functioning watermill along the Mill Stream (Mølleåen). The large water wheel has a diameter of 4 metres, even though the fall of water at the mill is only 80 centimetres, so the water flows under the wheel (an undershot wheel).

The Southern Mill was built in 1903 after a large fire. The old mill had been built similar to the Northern Mill, but the new one was built as a stately building in three storeys. It was powered by a water turbine, which still exists. The Southern Mill is still intact and the turbine can operate. Today, however, an electric motor provides the power, but flour is no longer being ground. You can, however, buy organic grain and flour from the mill shop.

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