Kolárovo Water Mill

Ship mills, floating on pontoons and driven by the river current, worked the Danube lowlands for centuries, and the one at Kolárovo is a working reconstruction of the type, moored on the Little Danube where the water is fast enough to turn it. It is reached across a covered wooden bridge of about eighty-six metres, built in 1992 and said to be the longest wooden bridge in Central Europe, in a park on the river.

What you actually see

• The ship mill - a floating mill on pontoons, driven by the river current.
• The wooden bridge - a covered span of about eighty-six metres to the island.
• The milling mechanism - the wheel and stones working from the current.
• The riverside park - the grounds around the mooring on the Little Danube.

When to go

April to October is the season; the mill closes in winter. Water levels affect whether the wheel turns. Weekends are busiest.

Honest expectations

The mill is a 1980s reconstruction, not a historic vessel. Whether the wheel is actually turning depends on the water. The site is small and takes an hour.

Nearby

Komarno is south, and the Danube lowland runs east.