Excavations carried out for the construction project on Žabovřeská have uncovered the remains of the Kamenný mlýn settlement, built in the 19th century around the original medieval mill. Construction of Kamenný mlýn stopped when work began on the road from Pisárky to Komín, and only a small chapel has survived. Photo Credit: Archaia Brno.
Brno, Apr 22 (BD) – The remains of Kamenný mlýn have been uncovered under the construction project on Žabovřeská, by archaeologists from Archaia Brno. The settlement was established in the 19th century around the original medieval mill. The construction of Kamenný mlýn stopped when work began to build the road from Pisárky to Komín and Bystrc. Only a small chapel above the tram line has survived.
“The mill had always belonged to the Žabovřesky family, and in 1468 it became the property of the Carthusian monastery in Králové Pole. In 1785, there were only two cottages by the mill, but by 1834, there were nine houses, grouped along a narrow road connecting Žabovřesky with Old Brno. The settlement had tapping rights and there was an inn here,” said Hynek Zbranek, Archaia Brno’s head of research.
The archaeologists discovered the eastern part of the mill’s farm and a more recent factory from the end of the 19th century, including the original brick flooring. They also discovered pits buried after World War II.
“In 1857, a textile factory of AF Schwaba and Sons was established here in the former mill, and factory buildings were probably built later in the northern research area, where the operation was later moved,” said Zbranek.
Subsequently, the buildings housed a paper mill and a secondary vocational school. They were demolished in 2015, during preparatory work for the expansion of the tram line.
