6 May 2019 - The Amazing Consuegra Windmills in Spain

The Amazing Consuegra Windmills in Spain

G'day folks,

This line of 12 tower mills described in the story of Don Quixote is among the most iconic landscapes in Spain. 

 

 

 

 On the top of the Cerro Calderico mountain in the quaint historic town of Consuegra, 12 white tower windmills crown the hill, surrounded by the sprawling plains of Castilla-La Mancha and backdropped by a striking medieval castle. These iconic towers are believed to be the windmills described by Miguel de Cervantes in his famous 17th-century novel Don Quixote.

 

 

 

  Each of the Consuegra windmills has a unique name taken from the novel, in which Don Quixote de la Mancha mistakes the towers for giants and picks a fight with them in a particularly memorable scene that coined the term “tilting at windmills.”

 

 

Initially built to grind grain, the mills were modeled on the Dutch windmills of the 16th and 17th centuries, with a cylindrical tower and conical deck where the shaft and its four rectangular blades are housed. The interior is divided into three floors connected by a staircase along the wall. On the lower floor is the silo, where the ground grain was stored. On the second floor, there is a sieve to separate the flour from the bran. The third floor, the largest, houses the machinery, with the most striking element being the “Catalina” wheel. In the upper part of the wall, eight windows were opened to help the miller determine the direction of the wind and thus the orientation of the blades.

 

 

 

 The tower mills were passed down through the generations until being retired in the 1980s. Twelve of the original 13 mills were restored and opened as a tourist attraction. In 2006, the windmills and the adjacent 12th-century Castle of La Muela were declared a cultural historic site.

 

Clancy's comment: Wow.

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21 February 2019 - DUTCH WINDMILL BUILT IN THE USA IN THE 1850’S

DUTCH WINDMILL BUILT 

IN THE USA IN THE 1850’S

G'day folks,

This prominent and authentic landmark does not belong to the Dutch, but sits along the bank of northern Illinois’ Fox River.

The 68-foot, 5-story mill was originally constructed in the 1850s by German craftsman Louis Blackhaus, about 20 miles from its current location in Geneva, IL for a total of $900. The mill was built from a kit which was shipped to the Midwest and assembled on site. Following several changes of ownership and continued use, the windmill had its sails damaged by a storm in 1912, prompting the owner to look for a buyer.

The windmill was then purchased by wealthy Geneva resident Colonel George Fabyan in 1914 for $8,000. His motive for purchasing the damaged mill remains unknown. Fabyan spent more than a year and a half and nearly $100,000 to have the windmill moved to its current location along the Fox River, a move completed through a painstaking process of deconstruction and reassembly. He also made modernizations while the mill was moved, including a new foundation, creating a basement level.

 This additional level brought the mill’s total to six floors, the tallest in Illinois. He made more alterations over the years, adding windows to the fourth floor and interspersing iron into some of the wooden components. Upon the death of the Colonel in 1936 and that of his wife two years later, the entire estate was sold to the Kane County Forest Preserve.

The windmill immediately became a popular tourist attraction, cited as the most photographed structure in the region. The mill was open to the public and regularly had tours; remarkably the mill stayed in good condition for a long period of time. By 1990, the building was deemed structurally unsafe for public inspection. A group of activists fought to keep the mill intact, and the Forest Preserve District eventually hired Lucas Verbij, a world-renowned third-generation Dutch millwright, to restore and renovate the mill. After a lengthy and expensive process, the windmill had a grand reopening in June 2005.

 The windmill now largely resembles its appearance during Fabyan’s ownership, with modern amenities such as fire alarms and flood lights. It is visible from a popular local running path and its slope is a very popular sledding locale during wintertime, referred to locally as ‘windmill hill.’

 Clancy's comment: I bet the Dutch would be pleased.

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