Windmills in the Plateau of Lasithi

Once upon a time there were 10,000 windmills on the Lasithi Plateau. It is the place where wind power took its first, infant steps in this country, where water flowed abundantly through the fields, giving life to the flora of the region. No wonder the Plateau of Lasithi is also known as ‘the oldest wind farm in the world’.

The image of thousands of windmills dominating the picturesque plain of the Plateau of Lasithi was typical in oil paintings of the 1980s, thus paying tribute to the plateau. Even Odysseus Elytis celebrated this image in his artistic collage ‘The Message’ (1968).

The windmills have been included in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, under the heading: ‘Water Management Practices on the Lassithi Plateau of Crete: The know-how of pumping windmills’.

Information Municipality Oropedio Lasithioy

Photo by Evangelos Mpikakis on Unsplash