The oldest written reports on the wind mills in Bohemia and Moravia come from the 12th and 13th century, when they were founded by monasteries, the feudal lords and cities. They came to their best use in particular in the north-eastern Moravia and Silesia, where there was an abundance of steady and constant winds and a lack of adequate water flows, which either dried up very fast, or flooded frequently. Windmills were therefore often built by the owners of the watermills too.

The area around the Moravian Gate and the slopes of the Oder Hills, i.e., the territory where Bílovec lies, provided suitable conditions for wind energy use. Windless days account for only 25 – 33% of the year here. The biggest increase in the number of windmills came to our territory in the 19th century. However, the advent of the steam engine and engine mills in the same century meant the gradual end of not only the windmills, but also of the watermills. Yet in 1890 there were still 52 windmills in operation in the territory of former district of Bílovec. Some succumbed to fires, others were dismantled, the unused ones dilapidated and the last ones went to rack and ruin during the fights at the end of the World War II.

The mill has been standing in its position reportedly since 1910, when he was taken here from the nearby Leskovac in the district of Opava. Alois Schurek was the last owner. The mill was damaged and was falling into disrepair, but in 1965 it was to a large extent successfully renovated. Another major repair took place in 2000. A replacement of roof trusses and roof shingles was carried out, with the total cost of 325 thousand Czech Crowns. Alongside the town of Bílovec the Ministry of Culture and the District Office contributed to this facelift. In 2001 the renovation continued with the chemical treatment against woodworm. The mechanical device of the grinding equipment, however, is not in the working order yet.

The mill typically consisted of 4 sails of a total length of 8 m, most of which would spin about once every 4-5 seconds. The sails were covered with sailcloth filled with long shingles. When the mill was not working, the sails were closed and set in the shape of the cross, during the storms they formed letter X. The owner of a mill stayed over only in an emergency, in the “šalanda” – a small room for doing so. Windmills generally did not bring their owners a big profit and therefore a considerable number of windmills were exempt from fees.

Small farmers usually brought their grain into the mill. For his milling services the miller usually kept either a reward in kind (about 6 kg per 1 q), which was convenient in times of crop failure, or a fee. In 1939 the price for milling of 1 q of rye was 14 CZK and 4% of “promelka” (of the ground grains). 100 kg (1q) of grains was ground in about half an hour in good wind conditions, which meant that it was possible to grind up to 30 q of grain a day.

Windmills were often moved when their owner sold them, or a better location was found for it. For short-haul moving it was raised with the help of levers onto wooden cylinder billets that had been laid on massive oak planks. Those were usually shifted using horses. If the distance was greater, the mill was dismantled, transported and once again put together in its new location. And so was the case of this mill. These jobs were done by the so called “mill carpenters”.

According to Zdeněk Kuchta, the chronicler of the town of Bílovec