Historic windmill
צילום: רון פלד
Jerusalem windmill gets to produce flour again
Historical mill built by Sir Moses Montefiore in 1857 comes back to life 151 years later
The windmill built by Jewish philanthropist Sir Moses Haim Montefiore in 1857 in Jerusalem’s Yemin Moshe neighborhood will produce flour once again.
Renovation of the windmill, one of modern Jerusalem’s symbols, was made possible by a contribution of a half a million dollars given by a Jewish American donor to the Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski.
The windmill was built in the mid 19th century in order to supply flour to the inhabitants of Mishkenot Sha’ananim, the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the walls of the Old City.
The mill was built according to an English model and was initially operated by experts sent especially from London by Montefiore.
With the introduction of steam-powered flour mills a short time later, use of the windmill was halted.
After 151 years, the Jerusalem municipality is presently planning to restart its work on the windmill which will serve as a tourist attraction.
It will be connected to electricity mains since nowadays the wind that blows in the area is not sufficient for moving its blades and spinning the millstones.
