Windmills of Mykonos are the most iconic feature of the island. They can be seen from almost every corner of Mykonos Chora, staggered along the hillside ridge above the port and are the first sight to greet visitors arriving on the island by boat.

The seven windmills that grace the port town are the most famous, but Mykonos actually has 16 of them, mostly erected by the Venetians in the 16th century, when Mykonos lay on the important trade route between the great city state of Venice and the eastern Mediterranean. Today they are little more than a tourist attraction, but they were once vital to the island’s economy. Ships carrying grain would unload their cargo here for the windmills to turn the grain into flour.

Similar windmills are found throughout the Cyclades islands, but Mykonos was the centre of trade. The windmills of Mykonos are all built to much the same design. Cylindrical in shape with cone roofs, small windows and whitewashed walls, they are the epitome of Greek rural vernacular architecture. The cone straw roofs on top of the triple storied buildings were rotated to catch the wind and stand alone as house-building nearby was banned. Nearby buildings might have disturbed the airflow around the delicate cloth sails that drove the windmill and slowed down the grinding process.

One of the most important is Boni’s Mill located on the road connecting Chora with Ano Mera and which now houses the island’s Agriculture Museum. Nearby is the Miller’s House (To Spiti tou Mylona) which has a small threshing floor and the oven where bread was baked.

Today, the windmills of Mykonos are one of the most distinctive sights in not only the Cyclades but the Greek islands in general. Visitors looking for the best views should hop on a ferry as the sight of windmills along the skyline is best viewed from the sea.