Solvang's working windmills are the town's most recognisable feature and the visual symbol of its Danish identity. The most prominent is the four-sailed windmill visible from Mission Drive — a traditional Dutch-style smock mill built in the style used historically in Denmark. It has become the unofficial emblem of the town and appears on nearly every piece of Solvang merchandise.
The windmills are photogenic and central to the town's identity as the "Danish Capital of America," but they also connect to a genuine history: when Danish immigrants founded Solvang in 1911, they deliberately built in a familiar vernacular style to create a piece of homeland in California. The windmills were part of that project of cultural preservation.
Several replicas of Danish landmarks are nearby: the Hans Christian Andersen Park and the round tower modelled on Copenhagen's Rundetaarn. Walking between these set pieces takes about thirty minutes and covers the heart of the Danish-heritage townscape.