History

The exact construction date of Seidla Windmill is unknown, but it is presumed to have been built at the same time as the Seidla manor house at the end of the 18th century.

In 1920, Villem Jamnes, the owner of a nearby farmhouse bought the windmill from the estate. Seidla windmill operated on wind power through to the 1960s.

During the Soviet occupation, however, the windmill was nationalized, and was no longer able to compete with the electrical mills of the kolkhozes (collective farms).




Foto: Eesti Vabaõhumuuseum. Karl Tihase ca 1957 Veskimees tuulikut tuulde pööramas


In 1989 the mill was renovated by the local kolkhoz, but it no longer operated on wind power.

In 1991, Lembit Jamnes reclaimed his grandfather’s farm together with the windmill and began operating the mill again with the help of an electric motor and one pair of stones. After his death in 1997, the windmill was shut down and was left to decay.

In 2009 the non-profit association Seidla Tuuleveski renovated the windmill and brought it back to its original operating state with the support of Enterprise Estonia.