Consuegra Windmills

About this place

The Consuegra windmills are a row of white windmills on the crest of the Cerro Calderico above the town of Consuegra in the province of Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, central Spain, about 58 km southeast of Toledo and 108 km south of Madrid in a straight line. La Mancha is known for its wide dry plains, its vineyards and the windmills made famous by Don Quixote. The Consuegra mills were built in the first half of the 19th century to grind grain, and twelve of the thirteen that once crowned the ridge still stand. Beside them rises an old stone castle dating from the Islamic period. Each mill is a cylindrical tower of whitewashed stone, topped by a dark conical cap of wood and zinc that turned with the wind, and four rectangular wooden sails. High in the wall are eight small windows from which the miller judged the wind's direction. Below the ridge, the flat plains of La Mancha stretch to the horizon. Visitors drive or walk up to the ridge, follow the path between the windmills and the castle, and go inside some of the mills that are open to visitors. Sunset here is one of the great sights of Spain, with the mills black against an orange sky, and the ridge is usually windy.