diff --git a/src/plugin.cpp b/src/plugin.cpp
index ca8b09567..dc7eb8eec 100644
--- a/src/plugin.cpp
+++ b/src/plugin.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #include <stdexcept>
 
 #ifdef _WINDOWS
+  #define NOMINMAX
   #include <windows.h>
   #define handle HMODULE
   #define dlsym GetProcAddress
diff --git a/src/utils.cpp b/src/utils.cpp
index a10102889..668a0bf05 100644
--- a/src/utils.cpp
+++ b/src/utils.cpp
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 #include <mapnik/utils.hpp>
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
-
+#define NOMINMAX
 #include <windows.h>
 
 namespace mapnik {