Our Mission Statement
Make history visible:
The paper mill with its striking pagoda roof, built by Leonard Leinzinger in the 17th century in Windheim in the Spessart, has stood on the reliable Bischbach stream in Homburg since 1807 after it was moved due to a lack of water. The Palatinate papermaker Johann Follmer also moved here after his years of apprenticeship and travel. In 1853 he acquired the mill, which has been run by the Follmer family for five generations to this day. First as a manufactory for handmade paper, from 1883 until the company closed in 1975 as a production company for cardboard lids. Thanks to prudent monument protection and far-sighted support from the public sector, production and residential buildings and all the machinery could be preserved and restored. In 1997 it was reopened as an industrial museum. The historical review offered here is rounded off by Johannes Follmer’s paper manufactory, in which not only demonstrations but also productive work is carried out.
Getting the present alive:
From April to October there is lively life in the lovingly and skilfully prepared museum rooms, in the machine room, in the drying floors and in the rooms for further processing. The entire production facility is just as complete as it was on the last working day in 1975. Visitors can still follow the machine-supported manufacture of folders step by step today. From grinding the waste paper in the pan mill to scooping and formatting the sheets on the cylinder mold machine to calendering, cutting and packaging. This creates understanding and respect for the work of the family members and the local workers and helpers spread over five floors. Visitors can experience the close interlocking of working and living up close during the tour. Also by looking into the bedroom and pantry, in the mill people worked, lived and lived.
Preserve for the Future:
What’s next?
Two tasks are mainly important to us
We want to make life and work transparent in the transition phase from manufacture to machine-supported production. This also includes creating respect for the achievements of our parents. Attention, we also want to create paper for the value of the product. By explaining, by demonstrating and of course by doing it yourself. Culture and paper belong together. With this message we are addressing specialists from related professions. We are happy about every curious visitor who enjoys a pint after encountering the watery work in our wine village. And we have a special place in our hearts for the children, who don’t just want to look and be amazed, but also enthusiastically accept our offer to take part. Finally, to take home a sheet of handmade paper that I made myself. Living tradition!
(Text: Hartmut Stahl)