Czechia - Paper Mill at Velké Losiny

Being still a functional historical set of buildings associated with the manufacture of paper from the late 16th century up to the present, the handmade paper mill at Velke Losiny is a unique technical monument. The paper mill is situated in the broad valley of the Desna River near the main road passing through the North Moravian town of Velke Losiny. According to archive sources, the paper workshop was founded there after 1591. The present premises of the paper mill consist of eight buildings, most of which are interconnected as required by the technical operation. The oldest part of the plant is the water mill?race, since the paper mill was reconstructed from an older corn mill. The main historical building is a rectangular two?storied object with vaulted rooms in the first floor. Its present form is from the period of the most extensive building reconstruction of the paper mill after 1823. Facades are articulated by a molding dividing storeys, the ground floor walls are decorated with a plaster stripping. Windows in the second floor are stressed with a massive plaster voussoir dividing the chambranle in the middle of the lintel The main building feature is the high mansard roof with four rows of continuous ventilating louvre openings