Dornmühle, Cultural heritage monument in Fränkisch-Crumbach, Germany

Dornmühle is a ruined water-powered grain mill north of Fränkisch-Crumbach in the Gersprenz valley, at the foot of the Wersauer Berg. Only the hillside outer walls and courtyard wall with several window niches survive, plus a vaulted cellar that is at risk of collapse and should not be entered. The mill house once stood parallel to the river, stone-built up to the first floor with three half-timbered storeys above.

A water-powered mill stood here from 1475, grinding grain for the region until operations ceased in 1952. Between 1962 and 1968 the building burned down, leaving the present remains.

The name likely comes from the Dornberg, the hill rising west behind the mill, not from thorny plants. As the oldest of four mills in the Fränkisch-Crumbach district, it belonged to the lordship of the Lords of Rodenstein; around 35 known tenants ran it over six centuries.

The ruin lies along the Wassererlebnisband Gersprenz cycling path and makes a good rest stop during a ride through the Gersprenz valley. Access is open, and the stone walls offer a sense of the former construction.

In 1686 the mill became involved in a legal dispute over maintenance of a nearby bridge. After 1818 it lost its status as a compulsory mill, which changed its economic role in the valley.