Mykonos lovers all over the world always recognize the trademark symbol of Mykonos. The gorgeous windmills of course! Accessible via car, bus and on foot this amazing “landmark” is the best spot for your holiday pictures and much more! If you have visited the island you definitely have a picture of these beautiful structures, but do you know their history?
Located in the south of Chora, between the picturesque Alefkandra and the district of Niochori and impress every visitor with their all-white imposing volumes in a row, facing the sea.
The ownership of the mills was usually cooperative. Their owners were wealthy landowners, merchants, sailors, etc., that is, they were people who held power and authority in every local community. Mills also belonged to the Monasteries, such as Panagia Tourliani, mainly as a result of donations. Towards the end of the operation of the mills, in the middle of the 20th century, several mill owners became millers.
There are many reasons for the popularity of the windmills in the Cyclades, because the Cyclades are one of the windiest areas in the Mediterranean and especially Mykonos, where the days with absolute apnea do not exceed an average of ten per year. With the help of the windmill, the inhabitants were able to take advantage of an abundant source of energy, the wind, and improve their living conditions in the small and remote communities in which they lived. In addition, during that period, flour was the main ingredient in their diet, making the mill facilitate the process of grinding grains.
Today, seven of the ten are preserved (in the whole island they used to be more than twenty), which existed until the beginning of the 20th century and grind the local grains with the inexhaustible power of the north.