Construction of Ruprechtov's turbine
Ruprechtov's chronicle says about the construction follows:
In 1882 there was an original mill destroyed by a wind storm. The miller named Cyril Wágner decided to modernize it. First he made a prototype with a supposed construction of a turbine and a pair of tail vanes (which was a great technical progress at that time). And than he made wooden prototypes of all gearing and metal components. He had originals casted by Wichterle-Kovařík at Prostějov. After that he made wooden machinery for grinding. He added a break (operated from all floors of the building) to the turbine.
Installation of the turbine and reconstruction of the building cost allegedly 5 600 Austrian gold. In a fair wind the mill ground up to 10q of grist a day. It worked without any defects until 1890, when a wind storm tore the turbine down. Repair work cost 500 Austrian gold and the turbine was keyed on and secured so that any accident couldn't damage it.
The miller Wágner being totally exhausted and in debt because of the mill's reconstruction, he handed the mill over to his son-in-law named Robert Gottwald. But the debt was too high so he sold it to his brother Antonín who began to let the mill. His brother Arnošt added a band saw (on the wind drive) to the mill. It is not known how long this plant was working and when it went down. After Antonín Gottwald's death in 1917 the mill began to change owners (see above).
This story only shows how much some millers had to pay as a tax for progress.
