“... Then they saw either thirty or forty windmills standing in the middle of a field, and as soon as Don Quixote saw them, he turned to his squire with these words:

Fate guides us in the best possible way. Look, friend Sancho Panza: over there you can see thirty, if not more, monstrous giants - I intend to engage them in battle and kill them all, and the trophies that we get will be the basis of our well-being. This is a just war: to wipe out the bad seed from the face of the earth means to serve God faithfully.

Where do you see giants? - asked Sancho Panza.

“Yes, there they are, with huge hands,” answered his master. “Some of them have arms that are almost two miles long.”

For pity’s sake, senor,” Sancho objected, “what you see there are not giants at all, but windmills; what you take for their hands are wings: they whirl in the wind and set the millstones in motion.

“Now you can see an inexperienced adventurer,” Don Quixote noted, “these are giants.” And if you are afraid, then move aside and pray, and in the meantime I will enter into a cruel and unequal battle with them...”

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

I already wrote once how much... Therefore, after the old city of Toledo - the former capital of Spain - our route passed through a mountain of mills and the Criptan fields - those along which Don Quixote of La Mancha rode on his horse.

From the history of Don Quixote's windmills

The first mill in the province of La Mancha appeared here in the 11th century. Current windmills, or as they are also called - the Cervantes mills, have existed here for more than 500 years, and there were once 32 of them! True, now we have counted 12, and only three of them - Burleto, Infanto and Sardinero - belong to XVI century, the rest - by the 20th century. Surprisingly, one of the oldest mills still has millstones in operation, and the grains can be turned into flour! The brave Don Quixote did not defeat this windmill, and time did not defeat it either 🙂!

How to get to Don Quixote's opponents - the windmills of Cervantes

Coordinates: 39 ° 45.01’’ N, -3 ° 60.74'' E. Province of Castile-La Mancha in Spain. Mills and nearby lock rise on a hill above the village of Consuegra and are visible from almost anywhere in the village. But you may have to wind your way through the streets, like a labyrinth. Follow the signs on a pink background " Castillo Molinos ” and be sure to achieve your goal :)

Windmills Consuegra on the map of Spain:

Our photo walk through the windmills of Don Quixote in the province of La Mancha in Spain

The windmills of Don Quixote captivated us: it offers a magnificent view of the expanses of the province of La Mancha in Spain.

Kostya fights windmills, portraying Don Quixote of La Mancha:

Don Quixote is located next to the windmills lock Consuegra. But since there are a lot of similar castles in Spain, we were not particularly enthusiastic about it and didn’t even go inside. Even above this castle of the province of La Mancha towered crane, which also did not contribute to the desire to enter the territory of the fortress.

Now we're back on the road! And ahead of us are hundreds of kilometers of well-groomed fields, gardens and grounds, flowering meadows and mountains, as well as the final destination for today - the city of Badajoz.

Fought the windmills of Don Quixote

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What is the government doing to protect people?

It is imperative to install a fence wherever possible, because suicidal pedestrians strive to throw themselves in front of a car!

This ingenious solution appeared not so long ago in GOST R 52289-2004, then fences should have appeared along almost all streets. But this year it was adjusted, leaving fences only near children's institutions and on streets with a large flow of people (1000 or more people per hour per sidewalk lane). Well, okay, at least the insanity has weakened (you can read more). However, when the project was discussed at the Butyrsky district administration, it turned out that the traffic police vehemently advocated the installation of fences, naturally for the safety of the pedestrians themselves. That is, even changes to GOST, which was written by specialists from the research institute, are not a decree, by the way.

Well, okay, what else is being done there for safety?

Installation of signal lights:

More lights and poisonous signs to make the transition look like a Christmas tree!

But that’s not all, recently the traffic police proposed installing signs 60m before crossings:

You can find many more similar measures/statements, for example, one idea of ​​​​painting transitions in bright colors is worth it:

And now I propose to abstract for a moment from all these innovative solutions and think about why people are dying in our country?
Personally, I see only one reason for this - drivers simply do not see pedestrians. But they don’t see them due to two factors: in the dark, it’s simply difficult to distinguish a person from afar (because it’s dark), and there’s no lighting; the driver does not have time to react due to high speed.
Of course, there are sheep who simply don’t let people through because he’s such a cool guy driving a car, but it seems to me that such people are in the minority and their rights simply need to be taken away.

The first reason is quite simple to deal with - you need to install lights above the zebras. And even the state seems to have reached this simple idea. organs For example, this crossing on the Boulevard Ring is, among other things, equipped with lights:

And the Novosibirsk-Tomsk highway:

Solving the second question is also not a major task; you just need to make the driver drive slower. This can be done in two ways: lower the speed limit and/or put some kind of obstacle (that is, administrative or physical method solutions). But instead, for some reason, we are increasing the speed limit in cities. I think you understand that I am talking about the initiative of Deputy Lysakov, when last year the permissible speed increased by another 10 km/h, and now in a residential area in Russia you can drive at a speed of 80 km/h. This is despite the fact that throughout the world the speed limit in cities is 50 or even 30 km/h. Many scientific studies have been carried out which have shown that at this speed, a fatal outcome for a pedestrian is less likely:

But for some reason, neither the valiant traffic police officers nor any other authorities are trying to reduce the permitted speed in cities. Naturally, people continue to die because drivers do not have time to react.

Traffic calming is also not particularly practiced in our country. IN best case scenario They install speed bumps in front of schools or in places where people constantly die. Getting a traffic light installed is generally a fantasy task, because they slow down the flow! Indeed, it would be better for people to die on such crossings, but average speed will be higher:

It is precisely because of a misunderstanding of the relationship between the speed of a car and a person’s life that we have various kinds of flashing lights at traffic lights, terrible poisonous signs, and so on - this is done so that the driver at high speed will pay attention to the zebra. I wouldn’t be surprised if they soon propose making the pedestrian crossing signs themselves two or three times larger, because “drivers don’t recognize this sign at speed.” Or they will ban surface crossings altogether and they will rivet under/overground passages everywhere in order to humiliate and destroy pedestrians as a class of citizens.

The traffic police are especially pleased in this situation. In general, maybe I’m wrong, but in normal countries the traffic police are not responsible for installing traffic lights/artificial humps/fences along the roads, because their function is to monitor compliance with the law, and specialists at the mayor’s office are responsible for the infrastructure. And this is correct, because a police officer must have a legal education, which has absolutely nothing to do with road safety, but not with us. This is probably why the police offer to deal with obvious things in idiotic ways - they make such conclusions based on their life experience, and not for scientific calculations.

In general, if the situation does not change radically, then I am more than sure that:
1) all sorts of “brilliant” solutions to the problem will continue to appear;
2) people will still die on crossings.

PS I didn’t dwell on calming the movement, because I want to write a separate post about this soon.
P.S.S. additionally about Negative consequences you can read about increasing the speed limit

Fighting windmills: what is hidden in this phraseological turn? Involuntarily, everyone uttered this expression at least once. It can be addressed to oneself, as well as to another person. The most important thing is that, in principle, no one is offended by such a statement. It's interesting to figure out what this is connected with.

Naive knight in armor

If anyone has not yet read the novel by the Spanish writer M. Cervantes, we advise you to do so as soon as possible. The work is called " Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha." The novel was written a long time ago, but even today it does not lose its relevance.

It's all about the main character. Tall, awkward and thin Don Quixote is a comic image. But due to his character, he became so beloved by the reader that no one wants or dares to laugh at him. Don Quixote is a romantic and sincere person. He so sacredly believed the stories about valiant knights described by poets that he decided to become one himself.

The hero is written by the author quite comically. Don Quixote is no longer young, and is not very healthy in body. Tall, thin, elongated face with a long nose and funny mustache. And most likely, some changes occurred in his brain that led to a passion for vagrancy. And his horse, Rossinante, was also skinny and comical. Funny armor completed the look.

His servant, Sancho Panzo, is the opposite of the main character, starting with his appearance and ending with his ability to soberly evaluate things and call them by their proper names. But fate brings them together. This happens often in life, doesn’t it?

Real knights, according to the hero, certainly had to perform valiant deeds in the name of beautiful lady, and they should also be helped in everything by faithful squires. The knight intended to glorify the beauty of his chosen one and tell the world about his exploits in the name of love. Don Quixote chose his favorite - Dulcinea Toboso. By the way, his chosen one was not at all so beautiful that he would sacrifice anything for her. But our knight was blind and deaf, in his imagination Dulcinea was the most beautiful woman on Earth.

What is the point of fighting windmills?

In Don Quixote's fevered imagination, mills are huge monsters that somehow threaten humanity. It is clear that Don Quixote is not entirely adequate. But he dedicates his exploits to the lady of his heart. In the novel, fighting windmills is of particular importance to the hero. This stunning nobility combined with naivety is disarming.

Sincerity always softens people's hearts. This was true before and remains true now. Don Quixote raced furiously on his skinny horse and attacked monsters - “dragons”, pierced them with a spear, trying to kill them. He was, in fact, a laughing stock for those around him.

This is how the meaning and meaning of the expression became obvious to readers of the novel. “Fighting windmills” as an independent phrase went around the world, no longer depending on M. Cervantes.

It means a waste of energy to perform an action that no one needs. A senseless search for the impossible. Empty faith in unworthy people. Or you can put it this way: stupid behavior that does not lead to results.

Knights among us

Why is the hero of the novel so popular among the people? Everything is simple here. Don Quixote did not want to put up with everyday life and routine. His eyes were able to ignore dirt, vulgarity and greed. The soul strived for high flight. Even in his time, he surprised those around him with these qualities.

Upon deep reflection, you begin to understand the power of the phrase "fighting at windmills", the meaning of which is reversed.

Nowadays you won’t find nobility at every step. But they are without fear and reproach." Such people attach special importance to "fighting windmills": they do not want to put up with injustice in society or violence. Fighters for truth, they hold protests, attract public attention, sacrifice themselves in the name of high (often unattainable) goal Volunteers, animal rights activists, members of conservation societies - they all fight "dragons" - and no one laughs at them.

Thanks to Don Quixote

I would like to rejoice that the image of the “knight of the sad image” will forever live in people’s memory. He is kind and open, sincere, and such valuable qualities are concentrated in him that the hero himself and his actions cause little laughter.

The fight against windmills will always continue. Otherwise, the world will become boring, gray and ordinary. People will become poor in spirit and forget high goals, lose their main values human soul. The world will become mired in philistinism, profit, self-interest and idleness. “The madness of the brave” has always fascinated and will continue to fascinate. And writers and poets will begin to draw inspiration from the most (at first glance, meaningless) feats!

This expression was coined by the famous Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra (1547-1616) and used it in his popular novel " The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote Lamanche"

"Immediately before their eyes appeared either twenty or thirty windmills, which were located on a large field. And as soon as Don Quixote saw them, he said to his good friend:
- This is a very significant event that fate gave us. Look there, my squire Sancho Panza - there are twenty, if not more, terrible giants standing in the distance - I intend to challenge each of them to a duel and defeat them all. The trophies that we will get from the bodies of these monsters will become the basis of our well-being. This will be a just battle - to destroy this disgusting seed from the face of the earth, this feat will be pleasing to our Lord.

- And where did you find the terrible giants? - asked Sancho Panza.
- Yes, here they are, in front of us, waving their strong and big hands, - answered his master with all gravity. - Look carefully at their arms, Sancho; it seems to me that some of them are several miles long.
“Yes, what are you saying, dear sir,” his squire began to object with fervor, what you see in this field are not giants at all, but the most ordinary mills, and what seems to you to be their hands are their wings, which are under The millstones are driven by the wind.

“Now you can only see an inexperienced adventurer,” said Don Quixote, “when you look closely, you will see giants.” And if you are afraid, then give me the way and pray for me, and I alone will enter into a merciless battle with them.
With these words, and not paying any attention to the admonitions of his squire, who asked him to stop and not do anything stupid, since he was going to fight not with giants, but with the most ordinary windmills. Giving his spurs to his beloved horse Rocinante, he rushed towards the giants, in whom he believed unconditionally. Having arrived very close to them, and not seeing the mills in front of him, he began to exclaim loudly:
- Stop vile and dangerous monsters! You see that only one worthy knight attacked you.

At this very time, the previously weak breeze strengthened and turned into a gusty wind, and noticing that the large wind wings began to spin, Don Quixote said:
- Wave your hands! If you had much more of them than the giant Briareus, then even then I would not have retreated from the glorious battle!

Having exclaimed these words, he immediately asked for the protection of his mistress Dulcinea, asked to help him withstand such severe trials and, raising his shield, threw his horse into a gallop, flying up to the mill enough for a spear, he stuck it in the wing of the mill closest to him, but in this Just about time a very strong wind blew, and the wing jerked with such force that only splinters remained from the spear, and the wing, having caught both the rider and the horse, who found themselves in a very comical position, after a while threw them to the ground.

<...>
“Shut up, Sancho,” said Don Quixote. - I would like to note that military circumstances tend to change quickly. In addition, I believe, and not without reason, that the smart Freston, the man who stole the premises along with the books from me, was able to turn my giants into windmills in order to take away my victory - he hates me fiercely. But sooner or later his evil magic will not resist the power of my knight's blade."

The primary source of the image is the novel (1615) “Don Quixote” by the Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra (1547-1616). The hero of the work, Don Quixote of La Mancha, mistakes the windmills for a detachment of knights and enters into battle with them, with disastrous consequences for himself.
Ironically: about the fight against imaginary, contrived obstacles.

encyclopedic Dictionary winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.

See what “fighting windmills” is in other dictionaries:

Fight windmills- Iron. There is no point in wasting time and energy fighting an imaginary danger. To talk about art and style, considering books in which there are no traces of art and style, would mean fighting with windmills (Zhukovsky. On criticism). From... ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language

fight windmills- Fight (fight) with windmills; fight imaginary enemies; wasting energy aimlessly According to an episode in the novel by M. Cervantes Don Quixote (1605-1614), whose hero fought with windmills, thinking that he was fighting giants... Dictionary of many expressions

- (foreign language) to fight unsuccessfully with real or unprecedented, only imaginary obstacles (a hint of Don Quixote, who fought with unprecedented enemies giants and windmills) Wed. They (people who have comprehended life) do not want to fight with... ...

To fight with windmills (inc.) to unsuccessfully fight with real, or unprecedented, only imaginary obstacles (an allusion to Don Quixote, who fought with unprecedented enemies giants and windmills). Wed. They (comprehended...

Razg. Disapproved Fighting imaginary enemies, wasting energy aimlessly. BTS, 123, 532. /i> From the novel by M. Cervantes “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” (1605–1615). BMS 1998, 371; FSRY, 241 ... Big dictionary Russian sayings

fight windmills- disapproved fight imaginary enemies; wasting energy aimlessly. From the novel by the Spanish writer M. Cervantes “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” (1605 1615). Poor nobleman Don Quixote, having read chivalric novels, imagined myself... ... Phraseology Guide

fight, fight windmills- see mill... Dictionary of many expressions

- (an extravagant defender of outdated views, or oppressed imaginary or real) Cf. Rogozhin, who received the name Don Quixote, was an eccentric, of which there were few in the world at that time, and in our stereotypical age not a single one can be found. He… … Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary

Don Quixote (an extravagant defender of outdated views, or oppressed imaginary, or real). Wed. Rogozhin, who received the name Don Quixote, was an eccentric, of which there were few in the world at that time, and in our stereotypical age... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Windmills in Siberia (photo by S. M. Prokudin Gorsky, 1912) A windmill is an aerodynamic mechanism that performs mechanical work using wind energy captured by the roof ... Wikipedia

Books

• Don Quixote of La Mancha (CDmp3), Cervantes Miguel de Saavedra. The audiobook is a retelling greatest novel Renaissance "The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Poor nobleman Don...
• Don Quixote of La Mancha (audiobook MP3), Miguel de Cervantes. The audiobook is a retelling of the greatest novel of the Renaissance, "The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Poor nobleman Don...