Na rohu ulic Za Zahradou a U Vetrniku se nachazi zajimavy objekt, na jehoz miste kdysi stavala velice stara kaple zalozena ve stejnem roce jako brevnovsky klaster sv. Markety, tj. v roce 993.
V roce 1277 zde nechal opat Godefrid postavit dreveny vetrny mlyn, ktery uspesne slouzil az do roku 1722. Mlyn mel i svou vlastni zasobarnu vody – 30 metru hlubokou studnu, ktera funguje dodnes.
Valcova trojpodlazni stavba zdeneho mlyna, tvorici jadro nynejsi obytne budovy, vznikla v polovine 18. stoleti. Tento mlyn tu nestal sam, ale v tesne blizkosti tu stal jeste jeden udajne vyssi, stihlejsi. Tento druhy vetrny mlyn zanikl v roce 1912. Starsi vetrnik, ktery se dochoval dodnes, presel v roce 1794 z klasterniho majetku do rukou mlynarske rodiny Kohoutku. K ukonceni mleti v nem doslo asi v 60. letech 19. stoleti. Pote, co Vetrnik odkoupil Jan Josef Cernohorsky, zde byla v roce 1899 zrizena zahradni restaurace. Od roku 1920 objekt obyva rodina Opatrnych a Vetrnik slouzi v soucasne dobe jako penzion.
Brevnov windmill is a former tower windmill, one of oldest preserved windmill structures in the Czech Lands. As the name suggests, it is situated in district of Brevnov, at corner of Za Zahradou and U Vetrniku streets. This flat hilltop was originally a site of an ancient chapel, founded simultaneously with Brevnov Monastery in 993. In 1277 abbot of the monastery ordered a wooden windmill to be built here. This post mill, equipped with 30m deep well, served until 1722.
A cylindrical three-storey tower mill of stone masonry, which forms the core of present-day bulding, originates from early 18th century (another windmill, somewhat taller, used to stand in its vicinity, but this structure was demolished in 1912). The older windmill has survived with some modifications. After centuries in possession of the monastery it was sold to private hands in 1794. Grain milling ceased around 1860s and the mill was converted to a restaurant in 1899 and nowadys it is a pension.
About the name: The standard modern Czech for windmill is vetrny mlyn (with literally the same meaning as in English), while vetrnik is a generic Czech word for wind-powered wheel. Nowadays vetrnik refers mostly to toy pinwheels and its more general meaning has become somewhat obsolete, but one may still occasionallyencouter it when talking about windmills or wind turbines. The Vetrnik of Brevnov denotes not only this building of former windmill, but also the whole surrounding quarter with student residences.
Many thanks to Toniczech for creating the English version - I was too lazy to do it myself :-)