Since the 12th century, a hammer mill, i.e. a forging hammer powered by a water-wheel, has been located at the site of the present waterwheel house. This is not surprising, because the local steep slopes of the Rhine were predestined to be used to exploit hydroelectric power. Therefore, the waterwheels can be found in old illustrations of the Rhine Falls.

After the buildings with the aluminium smelters were demolished, a group of mills remained on the cliff top, on the right side of the Rhine Falls. The substance of these buildings goes back well into the 18th century. In 1974, a project was developed to restore the last mill canal and in 1975, the new waterwheel was completed during the European Year of Heritage Protection. Since then, the waterwheel again gives us an idea of how water power was used, at this location of the Rhine Falls.

(Hans-Peter Bärtschi, Industrial Heritage in Eastern Switzerland and Principality of Liechtenstein, Zurich 2012, S. 32).
Today, a self-service café, which can also be rented for private events, is located in the waterwheel house.