The whispering willows still remember. They stand sentinel near where the Rážův mlýn once stood.
This is the site of the vanished Rážův mlýn a watermill in Prague’s Modřany. It held a significant place in the history of this area. Built in 1702 it was initially owned by the Lower Břežany estate. The millers were merely tenants. The Ráž family purchased the mill in 1864. They owned and operated it until 1936. Karel Ráž the last of the family tried to sell it. However a lack of buyers led to its closure that year.
The mill wasn’t just a place of work. It was the heart of the community. Nearby a pond known as Rážův rybník was built around 1864. It was fed by water from the Libišský stream. This ingenious system used a millrace to channel water to the mill wheel. After powering the mill the water returned to the stream. The pond’s banks were reinforced with poplars. Willows alders birches lindens and chestnut trees lined the stream. The mill itself boasted a single water wheel. Its capacity was 0.14 cubic meters per second with a head of 5.14 meters producing 6.05 horsepower.
Imagine the scene. The rhythmic churning of the wheel. The constant flow of water. The sounds of milling grain. The millers toiled here for generations. Their lives intertwined with the rhythm of the water. Their legacy lives on in the memories of the land.
Sadly the Rážův rybník was filled in 1958. The mill itself was demolished in the 1970s. Only the whispering willows remain. They guard the memory of the Rážův mlýn a testament to a bygone era. A quiet reminder of the industry and community that once thrived here. The Rážův mlýn may be gone but its story endures.