Our windmills

Windmills - the most characteristic view in the Radom Village Museum

First wind mills appeared in the territory of Poland at the turn of the 14th century. They produced flour thanks to the power generated by the wind, which moved milling devices. They were equipped with mechanisms which allowed the correction of wings with regard to the wind. Because of these mechanisms three types of windmills were differentiated: post mills, “paltrak” and smock mills.

The Museum houses one “paltrak” and four post mills. The post mill from Grabowiec may be visited.

The 17th century witnessed in Poland the appearance of a new type of mill, in which only the wooden head with wings, the so-called cap rotated. The body supported upon foundations remained immobile. Thanks to such a solution it was possible to erect buildings of brick or stone and such a fact was of great importance upon the areas which were short of the wooden material. The smock mills, designed by Leonardo da Vinci, proliferated quickly upon the area of contemporary Netherlands, where they were used mainly for pumps dehydrating the polders. They became a characteristic element of the landscape and were referred to the smock mills.

The complex consists of:

• Windmill from Grabowiec
• Paltrak from Gniewoszów
• Windmill from Kajetanów
• Post mill from Wierzbica
• Post mill from Dąbrowa Jastrzębska