Montefiore Windmill

One of the first Jerusalem landmarks to crop up outside the Old City walls, the Montefiore Windmill was named for its funder, British Jewish philanthropist Moses (or Moshe in Hebrew) Montefiore. It was built in 1857 at the site where the Mishkenot Sha’ananim neighborhood would be established some 12 years later.

It was originally designed as a flour mill, and was part of Montefiore’s project to help the Old Yishuv (the pre-20th-century Jewish community of Palestine) become more self-sufficient. Montefiore, who was devoted to promoting industry in the Holy Land, also built a printing press and a textile factory and undertook many more projects.

The windmill was phased out of use as a flour mill in 1891, after the Jewish community began using steam-powered mills to grind their wheat. However, it continued to bear a cultural significance and during the 1948 War of Independence was used by Jewish fighters as an observation point. British authorities responded by bombing the windmill, an assault aptly titled “Operation Don Quixote.”

Today, the windmill houses a small museum devoted to the works of Montefiore, and blends right in with its quaint, picturesque surrounding in the upscale Yemin Moshe neighborhood (which is also named after the philanthropist). The museum also includes a replica of the carriage Montefiore used in his travels throughout the Holy Land – the original was destroyed in a fire in 1986. The windmill is an essential stop for anyone wishing to learn more about the transition from old to new Jerusalem in the late 19th century and the ambitious endeavors of Moshe Montefiore, one of the true icons of the old Jewish community in the Land of Israel.