Mayor Klaus Schindling (CDU) must have sounded very determined at the time.

He is said to have said about the old oil mill: "There's a restaurant here, otherwise there won't be any construction here." On Friday, invited Hattersheim residents were able to see for themselves that the oil mill is still standing and that there is actually a restaurant in it all around So it was built completely legally and the street is not called "An der Ölmühle" for nothing.

Andrea Diener

Correspondent in the Main-Taunus district

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Thanks to an urban development contract, the Horn project company from Kelkheim, which developed the new development area south of the railway, inherited the demolition-ready mill with strict monument protection requirements and a deadline for repairs by the end of 2022. What else did managing director Günter Horn have to do but make it a project that was close to his heart .

Together with partner Patrick März he owns the property.

Negotiations with an operator are already underway, there are offers and they are now being thoroughly examined.

In seven months, the walls were renovated, the statics recalculated, a wall for flood protection on the Schwarzbach was built, dismantled and rebuilt 20 centimeters next to it.

The Eternit shingles on the roof were replaced with natural slate, the old cobblestones in the yard were laid and, because it wasn't enough, smoother natural stone was added, which has the advantage that the tables on it don't wobble.

First a large company, now a space for social interaction

The color scheme of the facade was also specified by the monument protection: light yellow plaster, olive-green shutters, and red window frames that imitate the color of the Main sandstone, a popular building material in the eighteenth century.

Shortly before the viewing on Friday, the final circuits were switched on and the food for this occasion did not come from the in-house kitchen, but from the catering service.

But everything else is ready – earlier than requested.

Of course, Mayor Schindling is also happy about that, as he has prevailed with his demands.

With the new building quarter, the Horn company has catapulted itself into the top 5 of Hattersheim's trade taxpayers, he jokes, is happy about a nice new location for socializing and hands over an old drawing that shows the mill a few decades ago.

The façade with visible half-timbering - the monuments office did not allow that to be exposed, says Günter Horn.

The mill was built by the Engel family in 1730 to extract cooking oil from plant seeds.

The ensemble consists of a residential building and farm buildings. At peak times at the beginning of the 20th century, 80 people worked here, making the company a large company.

In 1929 the mill burned down to the house.

Then Hoechst AG acquired the ensemble and used it as an agricultural test farm.

Successful fight against demolition

One guest who has very personal memories of the oil mill is Elke Netthorn.

“My father was the estate inspector in the agricultural development department,” she says.

Netthorn grew up in the oil mill.

Seeing her parents' house saved and in new splendor makes her visibly happy.

"We fought so hard because the mill was going to be demolished."

From 1968 to 1987 the Muckenhirns, as they were called, lived on the estate as trainers.

There were always young people there, actually three generations.

The drawing presented by the mayor also brings back memories.

Her mother is standing in the doorway, wearing a dirndl as always, and her dog is running down the street.

You won't have to worry about customers in the future restaurant.

A bridge leads over the Schwarzbach to the regional park route, so that the oil mill, with its 110 seats inside and outside, can function as a rest stop for cyclists and hikers.

It is also suitable for birthday parties and similar occasions.

Playground and water games are in the immediate vicinity.

And if you listened to the conversations of the Hattersheimer that evening, the sentence "So what was missing here" was quite common.

The Kelkheim company Lange took care of the interior fittings.

An imposing, illuminated bar dominates the front, behind it it continues in darkened tones.

The velvet chairs, the tables solid, the old wooden beams exposed on the ceiling and the stone masonry visible.

Everything looks high quality and massive.

The main room is adjoined by the former stable, which served as a garage in the days of Hoechst AG.

It gets a little brighter here, the lamps float more delicately on the ceiling.

Cooking is done exclusively electrically in the oil mill because the gastronomy is also supplied by the block-type thermal power station of the settlement.

All organic matter is collected, crushed and pumped into a tank.

It is emptied regularly and the contents transported to the biogas plant in Wicker.

The oil mill is scheduled to open at the beginning of September if everything goes well and the contracts with the operators are signed in good time.

Regional specialties will then be served.

Green sauce too, of course, promises Günter Horn, because that's still missing in Hattersheim.