There used to be many mills in the Kvarner area, once. Today, unfortunately they are much fewer, but some have been put in function again and represent part of the history of this region.
One of them, known as Gašpar's Mill, is located in Martinovo selo in the Jelenje Municipality, in the Grobnik area. The mill is over 330 years old and is the only one open for sightseeing among the 27 old mills on the Rječina, local inhabitants still go there to fetch maize and wheat flour. The story about the village is equally interesting as the mill itself, it has been established just because of the mills and the once rich manufacture linked to the mills activity on the river Rječina.
Gašpar's Mill – Martinovo selo 31, Dražice
Bruno Kukuljan
Contact: Tourist Board of the Municipality of Jelenje
D. boraca 64, Dražice
+385 51 297 152
+385 91 406 0900
Opening hours: by agreement/appointment
There is another tourist attraction in the vicinity of Gašpar's mill, more precisely in Dražice, – an old blacksmith's shop, one of the three that once used to operate here. Even 90 years later iron objects are still forged at request and small repairs are made. In time, a lot of old forged objects has accumulated in the blacksmith's shop so it has become a real small museum, frequently visited by tourists.
Besides the numerous mills on Rječina, other areas in Gorski Kotar tell their own "milling" story. Thus in the Delnice main and oldest street, (Supilova street), stands the unique, electrically powered Popović mill and is one of the major cultural historic spots of the town of Delnice. The building dates back to the year 1924 and the parts for the mill that were delivered from Budapest at the time have been preserved in their original form up to the present days. The mill worked uninterruptedly up to 1960- It has been recently renovated and opened for the tourists and has become an unavoidable sightseeing spot for numerous groups and for individual visitors. In addition to its preserved original function the mill can also be hired as an attractive hospitality facility – for holding various meetings, team building, graduation ceremonies and celebrations, with its 50 seats capacity. In summer its programmes are even richer because its vast yard offers additional opportunities for getting together and for entertainment.