Babič Floating Mill

About this place

The Babič Mill is a floating mill on the Mura river near the village of Veržej in north-eastern Slovenia, about 8 km in a straight line south of Murska Sobota. It is the last working mill of its kind on the river in Slovenia: the miller's house stands on the bank, while the large wooden water wheel turns on boats in the current. In 1912 the Babič family bought a fully floating mill at this spot, but it burned down in 1927. Within a year the family built a new one, placing the milling house on the bank and the wheel on boats, with a steel cable carrying the power between them. The river later swept the mill away again, so it was rebuilt in 1947, and since then an electric motor has helped the wheel in dry months. In 1990 a flood carried off the wheel once more, and the latest rebuild took three months, so the present mill is the fourth on the same spot. It still grinds grain the old way, and its flour, unmixed with other kinds, can be bought here. Visitors can watch the wheel turning over the river's brown water among the willows and stroll along the quiet banks. The visit is short and combines easily with the villages and hot springs of the Prekmurje region.