Modern economy has relegated them to a mere onlooker role, but they represent high ethnological value: they are the flour windmills that were used not many decades ago to mill the grain and produce flour.
Some 895 flour windmills have been counted on the island, real examples of vernacular architecture, of which 200 have completely disappeared. However, this Balearic Island is the European region with the most number of windmills per square kilometer.
The oldest registered mill is in La Alqueria Blanca (Santanyi) and dates back to 1262.
The image of windmills is one of the most used to promote Mallorca as an international tourist destination. Despite that fact they are no longer an active part of the economy, the cultural role of these factories of the past cannot be denied.
Photos: Andreu Negre
