Windmills

Windmills are important landmarks of the agricultural heritage, especially when they crown landmark points such as the hilltop in the settlement of Agios Efstratios. Most stood on the height above the old village, beside the stone houses erected in the Aegean architectural tradition. They were cylindrical stone constructions with conical roofs and a straw covering over zinc. Large triangular sails, fixed to yards, drove a wooden system of shafts and wheels that transmitted wind power to the millstone. There the grain was crushed between the stones to produce flour. After 1950 their use waned due to the spread of more modern mills, and the 1968 earthquake brought their complete destruction. Today only a few ruins survive, silent witnesses to the island’s rural tradition.