A couple of days ago, I posted a bunch of photos I took on Sunday while off-roading with a friend. The plan was to finish the course at that spot I called the "Frozen Wonderland," but he suggested we keep going and take the road to the Water Mills of Rudăria.
Not a bad idea at all—the landscape in that area was stunning, and I finally got to see, with my own eyes, some of the old water mills that have been used over the years for washing clothes and generating kinetic energy for grinding wheat.
A bit of context about the mills:
The 22 watermills from Eftimie Murgu, in Almajului Mountains, are a rare attraction in Romania, as they represent the largest watermills park in South-East Europe. More than an open-air museum, these watermills are still used by locals to grind their cereals, following faithfully the tradition of their ancestors.
Grinding maize using the watermills goes back a long time in this small village, previously known as Rudaria, a place that exists at least since 1241 when its name was first documented. More than two centuries ago, in 1722, eight watermills were functioning in the village, their number increasing to 51 by the end of the 19th century. But most likely, the practice existed in Eftimie Murgu for many centuries before being officially mentioned.
Using these basic hydraulic installations was only possible due to the village’s location along the gorges of Rudaria River and the skillfulness of its locals who, with limited means, directed the watercourse to power the wheels that activated the grinding mechanism. Sure, the process is slow and completely unfit for industrial-scale production, but you’ll not find such full-flavored maize flour in the supermarkets anyway.
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I have to admit, I wasn’t a fan of the cold, which kept me from hanging around these places for too long. That was also why most of the mills weren’t functional—the water from the river, which normally powered the wheels, was frozen solid.
Only one was open and running. One of the guys responsible for maintaining it was there, grinding cereals. He told us he had to put in some work to crack the ice around the mechanism that kept the mill going.
You can literally see in the pics that some of the wheels were completely frozen, making them useless.
At this point, their main purpose is probably more about attracting tourists than actually being used. I doubt anyone’s still washing clothes in these old-school water-powered washers. Some weren’t well maintained, as you can see in the pics, while others had been fully restored and looked great.
I didn’t stick around too long, though—those massive rocks on the other side of the road looked pretty terrifying, at least some of them. But more on that in a future post.
Have a great day, and catch you all next time!
Thanks for your attention,
Adrian
