Ibiza Water Windmills History

However, keeping a windmill at a constant and efficient speed is an art form. For instance the wind is stronger in the winter so a windmill with 24 sails might be used with only 16, or even as few as 8 in winter in order to prevent the wheel from turning too fast and possibly breaking the pumping mechanism.

You will notice that all of the windmills have the same colour scheme - a white body, but blue at the tips. Some believe that the choice represents Ibiza 's main colours. The white island surrounded by the blue of sea and sky. However, the majority believe that the blue tip was intended to ward off evil spirits, in the same way that ancient fincas sport blue window and door frames set in their white walls. And why shouldn't the same ancient magic work on windmills?

Fast forwarding to the future, tourism has largely replaced farming as nowadays most food is imported to the island. This also contributed to the decline of the dominating structures that were subsequently left to fall into ruin. A few years ago the local government, with subsidies from the European Union, tried to encourage owners to restore and preserve these monuments of industrial archaeology. The deal was that they would reimburse owners for the full cost of the renovation, but the owners had to guarantee the continued upkeep of the mills. Bringing unpredictable future costs into the equation, however, put off most of the owners, who chose not to join the scheme. This is why there are so few restored mills left on the island. One of the finest examples is familiar to every visitor arriving in Ibiza by plane. It stands by the car park and, with its colleagues, transforms the character of the airport.

It seems ironic that so many of these beautiful, environmentally friendly machines have been allowed to fall into disrepair here in Ibiza when England , for example, is busy raising eyesores across its beautiful wildernesses in the name of 'wind farming'! The island's windmills should be preserved not only because they are pretty, but because they used to produce water so faithfully for so many Ibicencos and because they are a part of island culture and history.

Broken Windmill