Delnice, Gorski kotar
Popovićev mlin Since 1925
The Mihelčić family's electric mill, preserved just as it was a hundred years ago. You can't see it from the street. Walk through the archway at Supilova 76 and you'll find a wooden courtyard and hosts who know everything about the mill.
Visits by appointment by phone or emailSupilova 76, 51300 Delnice
The story
The mill was running two years before Delnice got electricity
Josip and Francika Mihelčić left for America as a young married couple. He worked as a miner and she as a laundress, and later they ran a guesthouse and a snack bar for miners for eighteen years. They came back to Delnice with their savings, built a large house with a shop and an inn on the main and oldest street, and in 1923 began planning the mill. It was built by two master builders from Austria with help from locals, and while the work lasted they lodged with the family. Some of the machinery came from Budapest, from the Ganz-Danubius company.
The mill started work on 25 November 1925, one of the first two buildings in Delnice with electricity, together with the sawmill. The rest of the town got power only two years later. It ground wheat, corn, barley, oats and rye for Delnice and all of Gorski kotar, some 40 to 50 kilograms an hour. It ran regularly until 1960 and for the last time in 1965.
Today the mill is looked after by Nadia Beljan, Josip and Francika's great-granddaughter, and her husband Alen. They take visitors through the mill and tell the family's story. Locals still call it Popovićev mlin.
- 1924
Construction begins, by two Austrian master builders and local helpers.
- 25 Nov 1925
The mill grinds its first grain, among the first buildings in town with electricity.
- 1927
The whole town gets electricity.
- 1965
The mill grinds for the last time.
- 2008
Nadia Beljan, the builders' great-granddaughter, founds the Popovićev mlin business.
- 2025
The mill turns 100, still in its original state.
What you'll see
Everything is still where it was
On the ground floor there are two milling lines: the old stone mill and a newer mill with iron rollers. Upstairs are the sieves and the system for drying the ground flour. Elevators, an electric motor and leather belts on pulleys carried power to every machine.
None of it has been replaced or rebuilt. When you step inside, you see the mill as it was when it worked for the whole region.
- Hopper. Grain is poured in from above and trickles slowly down to the mill.
- Stone or rollers. It is ground by the stone mill or the iron roller mill, both driven by the motor through leather belts.
- Elevator. The ground grain travels up to the upper floor.
- Sieves. They separate flour, semolina and bran.
- Sacks. The finished flour comes back down and is filled into sacks.
Visits
Guided tour with the hosts
The hosts take you through the mill, tell you its history and show you how grain used to be milled. You can even set the stone turning yourself and be a miller for a few minutes. At the end of the tour you can buy souvenirs.
The mill has no fixed opening hours. Call us on +385 99 197 1520 or write to popovicev_mlin@hotmail.com and we'll arrange a time that suits you.
Prices
Guided tour of the mill with the hosts
- Children
- Adults
Travel agencies get a 10% discount.
For schools and kindergartens
From grain to flour, for young visitors
The mill is a popular trip for kindergarten groups and primary school classes. The hosts use stories to show children how grain becomes flour, and the tour can include workshops suited to the children's age.
- Tours adapted for children, from preschoolers to older pupils
- The “From grain to bread” workshop: children knead and shape dough and get a warm bun at the end
- A woodworking corner with a documentary about the mill, where children build a little wooden house to take home
- A fenced courtyard and a sandpit for breaks
For groups, please get in touch a few days ahead so we can prepare the date and the workshop.
Venue hire
For gatherings, workshops and parties
Next to the mill stands an outbuilding from 1925 that once housed the laundry. Today it is set up for gatherings, with stone walls, a wooden ceiling and long wooden benches.
We rent it out for meetings, team building, product launches, birthdays and parties, and workshops are held here too.
- Indoors
- up to 50 people
- Courtyard
- 12 more seats
- For adults
- barbecue, bocce court
- For children
- sandpit, fenced
Gallery
The mill and courtyard
Reviews
Reviews translated from Croatian.
A great experience, a friendly host, an interesting story, lovely souvenirs. Highly recommended!
Very educational, especially for children and young people. The hosts present everything in a really interesting way. The children's workshop is excellent, it entertained all of us. Everything well organised and nicely planned.
We came with a group of third-grade pupils. The host welcomed us warmly. Excellent communication with the children. An interesting, educational workshop fully suited to their age. Highly recommended.
A great choice for a visit or trip with preschoolers. Visits for organised kindergarten groups need to be arranged in advance. An exceptionally kind host and an engaging speaker.
Ideal for get-togethers. It has everything you need for a party. Very accommodating owners. Recommended!
Mrs Marija is lovely. She'll tell you an interesting story and show you how things used to be. Recommended.
Contact and directions
Book a visit
Tell us when you'd like to come and how many of you there are, and we'll confirm the time.
- Mobile
- +385 99 197 1520
- Phone
- +385 51 814 374
- Address
- Supilova 76, 51300 Delnice, Croatia
- facebook.com/popovicev.mlin
Delnice is on the Zagreb - Rijeka motorway, about an hour and a half's drive from Zagreb and half an hour from Rijeka. A visit to the mill combines easily with a trip to Risnjak National Park or Golubinjak forest park.