Our oldest documents about the mill operation of the old water mill Vinnenberg date from the year 1842. At that time the owner was Baron von Ketteler, born in Harkotten. In 1876, a contract for the leasing of the mill and the associated land was signed between Baron von Ketteler and his then worker, Mr. Josef Horstmann (the original lease agreement has been preserved). Originally the old mill building, which is now a listed building, like the surrounding lands, belonged to the Vinnenberg monastery and came under the Napoleonic, French military administration (1807-1811) in the course of the secularization of 1810 to a new owner. Whether it came into the hands of those from Ketteler back then still has to be researched.
In 1883, Freiherr von Ketteler decided to sell the property. The conditions for the buyer comprised 10 handwritten pages, some extracts of which are attached here.
The name Horstmann, our ancestor, appeared for the first time in § 4, namely since 1876 as the then leaseholder of the mill. This Josef Horstmann, born on October 4th, 1843, grew up on a farm near Vinnenberg with seven siblings. As was customary at the time, he was supposed to inherit the farm as the eldest son, but turned it down because he saw his professional advancement more in the miller's trade as well as the grain and timber trade. In 1880 Josef Horstmann married an Elisabeth Gocken from neighboring Milte.
Together with her, his future began in Vinnenberg. Immediately after completing his training as a miller on October 30, 1882, he leased the mill from Baron von Ketteler. When the property was up for sale a year later, Josef Horstmann was one of three applicants. He sincerely hoped that the bid would be accepted. His hope was not in vain: he became the new owner of the watermill. In 1883 he bought the mill with all the parcels, buildings and land.
Since the area of the acquired property also included agricultural land, his unmarried brother Carl, known as "Ohm" Carl was customary at the time, came with him to Vinnenberg and ran the farm. Josef processed the grain delivered by the farmers and took care of the expansion of the business, which also included a sawmill. Over time, his wife Elisabeth gave birth to 10 children.
But how did the inn come about?
When there was a correspondingly high water level in the Bever, which drove the mill wheel, when there was a lack of water it often happened that the grinding process was not possible. These waiting times for the delivering farmers sometimes extended to over a week if the water level remained low! So the grain deliverers stayed with the draft horses and carts until the grain was ground. In this case, accommodation for humans and animals had to be found. Remisen and stable buildings were built and at the end of the 19th century the original building of the inn, which is still preserved today.
The first son of Elisabeth and Joseph, actually intended heir, fell during the First World War in 1916 in Thiepal in France. On June 18, 1920, the inheritance was transferred to the next son, who was also given the name Josef. He, too, was a miller and sawmill. Under his management, the hall extension with the 5 guest rooms above was built in 1934. He and his wife Aenne, née Borgmann, soon began to focus on the coffee industry and catering for day trippers.
The guest garden with its idyllic view of the Mühlenkolk and the water wheel, which was still turning at the time, was already the right place for romantics back then.
A lot of time has passed since then. Time and again, the respective owners invested a lot in maintaining this wonderful place and bringing it up to a level appropriate to the times. What remains is the attraction to visit. The "big linden tree", estimated to be 800 years old, is still in place and the Bever slowly splashes through its river bed.
Vinnenberg is now in the 4th generation of family ownership.