The windmill

Revolutionary giants

This invention changed the lives of the people in Fuerteventura so much that the island came to be known as the ‘granary of the Canaries’. It presented many advantages as against the older milling systems. Nevertheless, the latter remained in use for a long time, especially at a domestic level. Actually, they were still quite useful when there was not enough wind to move the sails of the windmills.

You are welcome to go inside the windmill and learn how it works. Walk up the stairs and discover its original machinery, which, despite its many years, is still able to put its heavy millstones to work.

Bastions of our milling

The ethnographic and historical value of the Fuerteventura windmills, which have witnessed the different ways of life developed on the island for centuries, has given them the status of Heritage of Cultural Interest. Such status is essential to guarantee their safeguard, recovery and preservation. Thanks to these measures, we can now see a small sample of the windmills that used to be on the island, enabling us to imagine how they must have been at their height, when they amounted to over a thousand.

The roaring wind

Can you imagine a few wooden sails moving two stones which weigh over a ton?

Come to the “Los Molinos” Interpretation Center of Tiscamanita and see it. We will explain to you how the windmill is positioned with the rudder so that its sails are facing into the wind. How the energy is transferred from the sails to the millstones, through all the machinery of the windmill, to grind the grain. And the important role of the miller, who must also control the speed of the milling. Do you know what happens if the grain is milled too fast? Find out in our museum!

* Find out on what days the Tiscamanita windmill is in operation.