Archaeologists found in Brno in Žabovřesky the remains of the settlement Kamenný mlýn

Brno – Archaeologists from the company Archaia Brno found remnants of the settlement Kamenný mlýn during an exploration on Žabovřeská Street, which precedes the construction of a large city ring road and the relocation of a tram line. The place existed until the 1970s. This was reported to ČTK by the head of research, Hynek Zbranek.

"The settlement was established in the 19th century around an originally medieval mill, first mentioned in 1366 as abandoned. The mill always belonged to Žabovřesky and in 1468 it came under the ownership of the Carthusian monastery in Královo Pole. In 1785, there were only two cottages near the mill. By 1834, there were already nine houses grouped along a narrow path connecting Žabovřesky with Old Brno. The settlement had brewing rights and there was an inn here," described the history of Kamenný mlýn Zbranek.

Archaeologists uncovered the eastern part of the mill's economic building at the site where tram tracks will lead in the future. "This involves the perimeter walls of the building, including part of the entrance from the north and internal partitions. A younger massive stone retaining wall with an entrance to a tunnel was built against the building on the north side. Further north, the retaining wall adjoined the southern perimeter wall of the house, as recorded on a plan from 1826. The staircase to the basement, the rises to the vaults of the basement, the level of the ground floor, and the exterior level of the courtyard pavement have been documented from the house," added the archaeologist.

Kamenný mlýn was annexed to Brno in 1919 and reattached to Žabovřesky in 1927. The settlement was completely destroyed in the 1970s during the construction of the road from Pisárky to Komín and Bystrc. Only a small stone chapel above the tram line has been preserved.

In addition to the old mill building and associated structures, there were also other factory buildings at the site. Entrepreneur Arstide Doret wanted to establish a finishing workshop for woolen goods in Kamenný mlýn. "The city council and the guilds of shearmen and bakers opposed the transformation of the mill into a finishing workshop; however, Doret obtained a simple factory license in 1851 and subsequently requested an official inspection of a new steam engine for his business. In 1856, however, Doret relinquished the granted factory license. In 1857, a textile factory A. F. Schwaba and Sons was established in the former mill, and likely later, factory buildings were also constructed on the northern area of the excavation, where operations were later moved," described Zbranek the industrial history of the settlement.

Production continued at the site even after World War II; in 1948 the factory was nationalized and assigned to Mosilana. A paper mill and also a Secondary Vocational School operated there. The buildings were demolished in 2015 during preparatory work for the extension of the tram line.