The King, väderkvarn på Öland
The King is a historic windmill in Mörbylånga Municipality, Sweden, built as a post mill where the entire structure sits on a single vertical post. This design allows the building to rotate and face the wind, using large sails to process grain into flour.
This mill dates to a period when wind power was essential for processing grain and skilled craftsmanship was central to farm life. It survived the introduction of steam-powered and mechanical mills in the late 1800s, when many similar structures lost their purpose.
The name 'The King' reflects the importance this structure held in the local community. The mill was long a central place where farmers brought their grain to be ground, shaping daily rural life.
The mill is easily accessible by car via small roads and open fields across the Swedish countryside. The site is straightforward to navigate, and visitors can examine the structure from outside and watch the sails turn when wind catches them.
While thousands of such mills once stood on Öland, only about 400 windmills survive today across the entire island, making this structure a rare remnant of an almost vanished landscape. This scarcity transforms each visit into a window onto a largely disappeared chapter of European farm life.
Location: Mörbylånga Municipality
Inception: 1749
Address: Björnhovda 114, 386 35 Färjestaden, Sweden
Website: http://olandskvarnforening.se
GPS coordinates: 56.65159,16.51781
Latest update: December 9, 2025 20:45
Windmills tell the story of how wind and water once powered work across continents. From the Netherlands to Asia, these structures stand as evidence of human ingenuity and local adaptation. They ground grain, pumped water from low lands, and ran factories. Each mill carries the mark of its region, from the sturdy brick towers in Kinderdijk to the whitewashed domes that crown the Greek islands. The collection spans from the 1700s to modern times. Older mills like Sanssouci in Potsdam show the craftsmanship of earlier centuries. Others, such as the Murphy Windmill in San Francisco, preserve the heritage of the American West. In Spain, the windmills of Consuegra turn on hilltops above farmland, much as they have for centuries. In Iran, the ancient mills of Nashtifan use methods that have remained largely unchanged for over a thousand years. Today visitors can walk through museums like Zaanse Schans or the American Windmill Museum in Lubbock to see how these machines worked. Some mills still stand in their original locations, while others have been moved or rebuilt. Together they form a journey through engineering, craft, and daily life across different lands and ages.
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