Featured
Then and Now
Wind Power
Renewable Power Since 1848
The Original Green Energy
The Danish Windmill was built to solve a practical problem. Farmers needed grain ground into flour, and the wind was a free, dependable source of power. There was nothing experimental about it. This was everyday technology, refined over generations and trusted by entire communities.
Today, the mill offers something that's surprisingly rare. Instead of reading about renewable energy, you can watch it happen. The wind turns the sails. The machinery comes alive. The connection between nature and human ingenuity becomes something you can see with your own eyes.
Landscape
From Danish country to Iowa prairie
The Danish Windmill doesn't feel out of place in western Iowa.
Denmark and Iowa have something in common. They're both shaped by the wind. Today, the horizon is filled with modern wind turbines. A century ago, it was windmills like this one.
The technology changed. The idea didn't. People have always looked for ways to make the wind work for them.
Wind technology is a big part of Denmark's commitment to reducing it's carbon footprint
More Learning From Denmark
A Green Energy Success Story
Denmark's modern green-energy movement grew sharply after the oil crisis of the 1970s. Wind technology became part of that transition, supported by engineering, manufacturing, and a culture of practical problem-solving.
Today, Denmark is widely associated with wind power, efficient buildings, cycling, water management, and renewable-energy planning.
- Renewable sources produced 81 percent of Denmark's electricity generation in 2022.
- Denmark expects renewable energy to provide 100 percent of national electric power production from 2030.
- The country is working toward 100 percent renewable energy across electricity, heating and cooling, and transport by 2050.
- District heating supplied more than 60 percent of Danish households with heating and hot water in 2013.
Experience Renewable Energy Right Here
Real World Examples
The Windmill keeps the energy story grounded in a real place. Around the campus, visitors can connect older wind power with architecture, landscape, transportation, and the ways Danish heritage still shapes practical choices.
The Working Windmill
The 1848 mill shows renewable power as a physical process: wind turns, machinery moves, and useful work follows.
VikingHjem
The VikingHjem connects visitors to older northern building traditions, including earth-sheltered ideas and the practical use of local materials.
EV Charging
Modern visitor amenities can sit beside historic preservation, making the campus a bridge between old technology and present-day travel.
Come visit
SEE HISTORY MOVE
You can study diagrams and labels, but nothing compares to watching the machinery work. When the wind is right, hundreds of handcrafted wooden components come alive in a remarkable demonstration of 19th-century engineering.
Keep it turning
A working windmill needs care
Members, donors, volunteers, millers, and visitors all help keep this historic machine understandable, visible, and turning for the next generation.
The Windmill Circle
Stay in the loop with windmill news, upcoming events, and behind-the-scenes updates. Members get exclusive offers and special discounts on shop favorites.
