Ta'-Kola windmill
| Il-Mitħna ta 'Kola' (Maltese) Ta'Kola 'Windmill (English)
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| Location and history | ||
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| Coordinates | 36 ° 2 '59 " N , 14 ° 15' 58" E | |
| Location |
 Malta
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| Built | first in 1725, renewed around 1780 | |
| Shut down | 1987 | |
| Status | museum | |
| technology | ||
| use | Flour mill | |
| Grinder | Grinding mill | |
| drive | Windmill | |
| Windmill type | Tower windmill | |
| Wing type | Sail gate wing | |
| Number of wings | 6th | |
The Ta'-Kola Windmill ( Maltese Il-Mitħna ta 'Kola' , English Ta'Kola 'Windmill ) is a tower windmill in the town of Xagħra on the island of Gozo, which belongs to Malta . The building is listed as a national cultural asset in the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands under number 5 and dates back to 1725. The name refers to the last miller Gużeppi Grech († 1987), who was called Żeppu ta 'Kola in Xagħra .
architecture
The cylindrical tower made of stone is surrounded at the base by a two-storey rectangular building, in which workshops and business premises were located in the basement. The upper floor served as the home of the miller and his family. At the top of the tower, the wing axis protrudes from the conical roof, to which six sail gate wings are attached.
Technology and construction
The construction follows the shape of the tower windmill common in the Maltese archipelago with a miller's house surrounding the base. Originally the windmill probably had no tracking , because it is reported that the miller blew a conch as soon as the wind was favorable, so that the people in the area would bring their grain to the mill for grinding. The latest findings indicate a later built-in tracking by means of sails attached to the extended axis.
The grinder and the wooden gears have been preserved; they are located inside the stone tower.
history
Before the invention of the steam engine , a windmill (like a water mill ) was the easiest and cheapest way of turning grain into flour .
The origin of the building is in the year 1725. Under the rule of the 66th Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena (1722–1736) the first mill was built at this point. He had set up the Fondazione Vilhena , a foundation whose purpose was to build windmills to meet the food needs of the growing Maltese population. However, the use of inferior stones and poor mortar led to the first mill being demolished in the 1780s and a new one being built. It is one of the few windmills from the time of the Order of St. John that still exist. After the last miller, Gużeppi Grech (called Żeppu ta 'Kola ) died in 1987, the building was extensively restored and opened to the public. The mill is managed by Heritage Malta .
literature
- Clifford Vella: Ta 'Kola Windmill - The best preserved windmill in Gozo . Book Distribution Ltd, Malta 2010 (English).
Web links
- Information on Ta 'Kola Windmill. MairDumont , 2018, accessed October 22, 2019 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Il-Mitħna ta 'Kola' / Ta'Kola 'Windmill. (PDF; 425 kB) In: National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. Sovrintendenza tal-Patrimonju Kulturale, December 16, 2011, accessed on October 22, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c d Ta 'Kola Windmill. Heritage Malta, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2019 .