List of windmills in Malta

Windmills of Malta
A model of a Maltese windmill
General information
Status	Three functioning, most intact but non-functioing, some demolished or destroyed, some dismantled or partially dismantled
Type	Windmill
Architectural style	Mannerist
Location	Malta and Gozo
Named for	Windmills
Owner	Government of Malta or Private property
Technical details
Material	Limestone
Design and construction
Architect	Some of them probably by Girolamo Cassar

This is a list of windmills in Malta, that include those on Malta and Gozo. Most windmills (Maltese: imtieħen tar-riħ)^[1] in Malta were built during the Order of St. John,^[2] by the Cottoner and the Manoel Foundations.^[3] There are 48 windmills (apart from those demolished that would add up to at least 69^[4]) of which are all were included on the antiques list of 1932^[5] and scheduled as cultural buildings by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA).^[6] The windmills form an integral part of Maltese history.^[7] Those in the countryside were used exclusively for food production, such as wheat, barley or vines, while some of those within the fortified walled cities in Valletta and the Three Cities had a military use, for the production of gunpowder.^[8]

At the time of construction, each windmills' tower could site the next windmill from distance, similar to military watchtowers, in order to learn whether the others are working on that day.^[9] An instrument called bronja, colloquially known as tronga, is commonly associated with the functioning of windmills. The tronja is a sea snail that is modified, with a hole at one end, and when blown it creates a strong noise reaching a large distance in a given Maltese village. This was useful to inform the people that the windmills are operating that day due to being a windy day, by which the sails turn for general function.^[10]

The architecture of a windmill could differ from one to another, but in general a windmill had similar characteristics. A tower has a built circular staircase inside it that leads to the top. Rooms are built around the tower, giving both support to the tower and used for the general storage of production. A windmill could simultaneously be the family residence of the miller. Each tower has an approximate height of 15 meters and a radius of 1.5 meters. The first mills were built in the 16th-century, however these were post mills. The oldest windmills were built in the 17th-century on the island of Malta while the latest were built on Gozo in the 18th-century. The windmills were eventually replaced with the industrial development of steam mills, circa 1900, but namaged to keep competitive production throughout the mid-twentieth century.^[11]

In comparison to the rest of the world, including The Netherlands that is more noticed for them, Malta has the most number of windmills on its land. There are approximately a windmill for each 9 kilometers. At one point there were possibly the double of the present amount, but many were demolished. Despite the survival of the several windmills only three of them are still at functional status, visibly with their sails in place. Other more traditional mills in Malta include those that made use of animals, such as horses and donkeys, to turn the mill.^[12] A functioning Maltese windmill has six sails.^[13]

Locations

Malta

Location	Name of mill and coordinates	Type	Built	Notes	Photograph
Attard		Tower	1862	Demolished, base remains. Windmills of Malta
Birkirkara	Ta' Ganu's Mill	Tower	1724	In use until 1929, now an artist's studio. Windmills of Malta
Birkirkara	Ghar il-Gobon Mill	Tower	c. 1685	House converted. Windmills of Malta
Birkirkara	Mriehel Windmill	Tower		House conversiom Windmills of Malta
Mosta		Tower		This was a saw mill, long since vanished. The building it stood on now sports a small model windmill. Windmills in Malta
Cospicua	San Gwann t'Ghura Mill	Tower	1674	Windmills of Malta
Cospicua	St Margaret Mill	Tower	18th century	Windmills of Malta
Floriana	St Francis St / Sarria St	Tower	c. 1670	Demolished Windmills of Malta
Floriana	St Francis St / Sarria St (2nd mill)	Tower	c. 1670	Demolished Windmills of Malta
Floriana	Pjazza Robert Samut	Tower		Demolished Windmills of Malta
Għargħur	Għargħur Mill	Tower	1724	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Gudja		Tower	c. 1670	Demolished 1930 Windmills of Malta
Kalkara	Fort Ricasoli Mill	Tower	1834	Demolished Windmills of Malta
Kirkop		Tower		Demolished Windmills of Malta
Lija	Tal-Miraldi Mill Ghadiret il-Bonrdi Mill	Tower	1674	Windmills in Malta
Luqa		Tower	c. 1650	Demolished 1943 Windmills in Malta
Mellieha		Tower	Late 17th century	Converted to a restaurant Windmills of Malta
Mellieha	New Mill Street		c. 1849	Demolished Windmills in Malta
Mellieha	Old Mill Street	Tower	c. 1800	Demolished c. 1920, base remains converted to a house. Windmills of Malta
Mosta	Mosta Mill	Tower	18th century	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Mosta	Jesus of Nazareth Mill	Tower	1757	Windmills of Malta
Mqabba	Mqabba Mill	Tower	18th century	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Naxxar	Tas-Sghajtar Mill	Tower	c. 1670	Windmills of Malta
Naxxar	Tal-Ghaqba Mill	Tower	1710 century	House conversion retaining machinery Windmills of Malta
Naxxar	Darnino Windmill Tad-Dejf Windmill	Tower	18th century	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Naxxar	San Lucio Mill	Tower	18th century	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Naxxar	Old Mill	Tower	c. 1730	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Paola		Tower		Demolished Windmills of Malta
Qormi	Qormi Mill	Tower	c. 1685	Windmills of Malta
Qrendi	Qrendi Mill	Tower	c. 1695	Windmills of Malta
Rabat	Cjaki Mill	Tower	18th century	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Rabat	Rabat Mill	Tower	c. 1685	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Rabat	Tal-Balla Mill Ta Gaeriexem Mill	Tower	c. 1730	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Senglea	Windmill Hill Mill	Post	1536	Windmills of Malta
Senglea	Windmill Hill Mill	Post		Windmills of Malta
Siġġiewi	Siġġiewi Mill	Tower	18th century	Converted to a water tower Windmills in Malta
Siġġiewi	Tal-Barba Zepp Mill	Tower	1879	Demolished 1930s, rebuilt as a house in 1969. Windmills of Malta
Siġġiewi	Ta' Kerceppu Mill	Tower	c. 1650	Windmills of Malta
Tarxien		Tower		Demolished Windmills of Malta
Valletta	St Michael's Bastion No. 1 Mill[14]	Tower	1674	Demolished by 1900 Windmills of Malta
Valletta	St Michael's Bastion No. 2 Mill[15]	Tower	1674	Demolished post 1890 Windmills of Malta
Valletta	St Elmo's Mill	Tower		Demolished Windmills of Malta
Żabbar	Ta' Kole Mill	Tower		House conversion Windmills of Malta
Żabbar	Ta' Buleben Mill	Tower	c. 1710	Served as a redoubt between 1798 and 1800. House conversion Windmills of Malta
Żebbuġ	Ta'l Ghodu Mill Tal Ghortu Mill	Tower	1680s	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Żebbuġ	Ta Srina Mill	Tower	c. 1685	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Żebbuġ	Ta Canfut Mill	Tower	c. 1670	Demolished by early 20th century, base remains. Windmills of Malta
Żejtun	Bir-id-Deheb Mill	Tower	c. 1730	Demolished c. 1960 Windmills of Malta
Żejtun		Tower	c. 1670	Demolished Windmills of Malta
Żejtun		Tower		Demolished Windmills of Malta
Żurrieq	Tax-Xarolla Mill 35°49′54.5″N 14°28′50.5″E / 35.831806°N 14.480694°E	Tower	1724	Preserved in working order but sails damaged in gale on 5 March 2009. Windmills of Malta
Żurrieq	Mithna Tas-Salib St James Mill	Tower	1857	Tower with some machinery remaining. Windmills of Malta
Żurrieq	Ta' Mamara` Mill	Tower	1724	Windmills of Malta
Żurrieq	Tal-Qaret Mill	Tower	1674	Windmills of Malta

Gozo

Location	Name of mill and coordinates	Type	Built	Notes	Photograph
Fontana	Ix-Xaghri Mill	Tower	c. 1856	Windmills of Malta
Għarb	Gharb Mill	Tower	1865	Dismantled c. 1900. Windmills of Mala
Għasri	Lighthouse St	Tower	1858	Blown down c. 1939 Windmills of Malta
Għasri	Wilgastreet	Tower	1859	Demolished Windmills of Malta
Għasri	Għasri Mill Ta Nicholas Mill	Tower	1724	Demolished 1784 Windmills of Malta
Għasri	Għasri Mill Ta Nicholas Mill	Tower	1784	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Kerċem	Santa Lucija Mill	Tower	c. 1870	Windmills of Malta
Nadur		Tower	1727	Demolished 1787 Windmills of Malta
Nadur	Ta 'Sufa Mill	Tower	1787	Windmills of Malta
Qala	Qala Mill	Tower	c. 1860	Preserved Windmills of Malta
Qala	Ta 'Sufa Mill	Tower	1853	Windmills of Malta
Sannat	Sannat Mill	Tower	c. 1860	Demolished c. 1940, stump remains Windmills of Malta
Victoria		Tower	1680	Demolished 1781 Windmills of Malta
Victoria	Ta' Marziena Mill	Tower	c. 1783	Windmills of Malta
Xagħra		Tower	1725	Demolished 1787
Xagħra	Mithna ta' Kola	Tower	1787	Preserved in working order. Windmills of Malta
Xagħra	Mithna tal-Bwie	Tower	19th century	House conversion Windmills of Malta
Xagħra			c. 1940	Demolished 1960s, was an irrigation mill Windmills of Malta
Xagħra		Tower	c. 1900	Dismantled c. 1940 Windmills of Malta
Xewkija	Tat-Tmien Kantunieri Windmill	Tower	c. 1710	Ceased working 1886. Windmills of Malta
Żebbuġ		Tower	c. 1859	Demolished c. 1900 Windmills of Malta
Żebbuġ	Caqra St	Tower	c. 1870	Demolished c. 1900 Windmills of Malta

See also

• Windmill World webpage on Malta's windills

Notes

Known building dates are in bold text. Non-bold text denotes first known date. Unless otherwise stated, the reference for all entries is the linked Windmills of Malta webpage

References

1. L-Imtieħen tar-Riħ. 2015. Air Malta. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
2. Cassar Pullicino, Joseph (1949). "The Order of St. John in Maltese Folk-Memory". Melitentia, Scientia. p. 174-175.
3. Progetti Importanti mill-Kavallieri. Retrieved on 12 October 2016.
4. Welcome to the website of the windmills of Malta and Gozo.. Windmills in Malta. November 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
5. Protection of Antiquities Regulations. p. 6.
6. Ameen, Juan (25 May 2012). "At last, modern architecture is protected". Times of Malta. Retrieved on 13 June 2016.
7. DOI (24 February 2005). WIRJA PERMANENTI DWAR L-IMTIEĦEN TAR-RIĦ . Department of Information (DOI), Valletta, Malta. Press release no. 0282. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
8. Mercieca, Simon and Muscat, Joseph (2013). Windmills and the Production of Gun Powder in Malta. Symposia Melitensia. No. 9. p. 2-18.
9. Jellema, Wibo (30 April 2016). Windmills in Malta. The Malta Independent. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
10. Testa, Frank (undated). L-Imtiehen. schoolnet.gov.mt. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
11. Jellema, Wibo (30 April 2016). Windmills in Malta. The Malta Independent. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
12. Staat, Willem (25 July 2005). Malta has biggest density of windmills worldwide. Times of Malta. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
13. Sultana, James (2016). Mitħna. Noti qosra ta’ l-Istorja għall-istudenti tal-Form 5. slideserve.com. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
14. The historical guide to the island of Malta and its dependencies. p. 52
15. The historical guide to the island of Malta and its dependencies. p. 52