Vejstrup Watermill
One of Funen's most beautiful old watermills, with two large overshot wheels, adds its thatched half-timbered charm to this enchanting manor setting near Vejstrupgård.
The villages of Vejstrup and Øster Åby are separated by only a few hundred meters, with Vejstrup Å running underneath the highway between Svendborg and Nyborg. Just west of the road lies Vejstrup Watermill. It is one of the protected southern Funen watermills, complete with a millpond, a channel (which is the shaft that directs water to the water wheel), and two high "overshoot wheels," meaning water wheels where the channel lifts water over the wheel, utilizing both the force of the water flow and its weight to turn the wheel.
Vejstrupgård built the current watermill in 1838, but watermills have existed here since the 1500s. From 1850 to 1922, the mill operation also had a windmill, which is now dismantled. Afterward, the water wheels powered a generator that produced electricity. The watermill remained in operation until 1975.
As one of the few watermills on Funen, Vejstrup Watermill has not had its water supply interrupted by stream realignment or the removal of "barriers" to watercourses to improve the mobility of fish and small animals.
Today, the mill is privately owned and can only be visited by appointment with the owner. However, there is a view of the mill and millpond from the Øhavsstien trail.