Windmill of the early 20th century in the village of Subotiv

In the homeland of Hetman of Ukraine Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, a unique windmill from the beginning of the 20th century needs restoration and state support.

Windmills in the Chyhyryn region XIX – XX centuries

Windmills are landmarks, today everyone is accustomed to take them not seriously enough, as a photogenic attraction in open-air museums, or as a decoration for a Ukrainian cuisine restaurant. After all, to see them in their present form today is a very great success. And the remaining winged giants are mostly abandoned.

The absence of an extensive water network on the territory of Chyhyryn County prompted the local population to build windmills. According to statistics, windmills in this area significantly prevailed over watermills. So, for example, according to “Information about the mills of the Chyhyryn district for 1866”, windmills accounted for more than 80% of the total number of mill buildings in the county (our calculations). There were more than a dozen windmills in some settlements of the county. For example, in Trushivka – 16, p. Subotiv – 13, Khudoliivka – 12.

In 1847, the leaders in wind milling were such southern counties as Chyhyrynskyi (320 windmills), Cherkaskyi (184), Kanivskyi (122), Zvenyhorodskyi (118). Accordingly, even today windmills survived more often in the eastern regions of the Cherkasy region, where they were more common. Wind milling developed rapidly in the second half of the 19th century. This is clearly evidenced by the analysis of data on the number of mills in 1900. For 53 years, the number of windmills in the Chyhyrynskyi district has increased more than four times – (up to 1286 windmills). Despite the high quantitative indicators, windmilling at the beginning of the 20th century in the region has not yet reached the pinnacle of its development. The number of windmills continued to grow.

For example, if in the village of Ivkivtsi, Chyhyryn district, according to the same 1900, there were 7 windmills, then in 1928 there were 26 of them. Similarly, the number of windmills increased in the villages of Holovkivka, Medvedivka, Subotiv, and others. Only after collectivization in the Cherkasy region, windmills began to lose its dominant position in the grain processing market. In the first half of the 1920s, despite the turbulent times, windmills were still a support for their owners.

In 1921 in Subotiv actively operated a windmill, which was owned by the reclamation society. In 1922, with the formation of the Flame of Labor artel, the number of windmills increased to six.

A tangible blow to windmilling occurred during the years of the passage of the fronts of the Second World War across the region. The old-timers of Subotiv remember that above the corner of Hryshkivka, on the Berezivka field, there were 2 windmills, Olha Ivanivna Horenych, born in 1952, recalls, one of them belonged to her grandfather Oleksa Markiianovych Dovhyi, and the owner of the second was Andrii Kompaniiets. Unfortunately, both mills burned down during the Nazi retreat from Subotiv towards Novoselytsia in December 1943. Panas Lebid worked here as a miller before the war. It is interesting that even today in the same field the residents of Subotiv find quite a lot of horseshoes, which, obviously, were lost by the horses carrying grain to this mill. Large sandy millstones can also be found here.

The surviving windmills were used for their intended purpose until the mid-1970s. Since then, most of them have ceased to serve people. In the second half of the XX century in Ukraine, several dozen windmills were “saved” by transporting them to open-air museums being created (the city of  Pereiaslav, the village of  Pyrohiv, etc.). Thousands of them remained on rural pastures, were places of favorite children’s and youthful amusements.

By the end of the 1980s. on the territory of the Cherkasy region, there were 176 windmills. By the beginning of the 2000s. their number has decreased by almost 10 times. It happened gradually, without too much fuss, with our tacit consent. In particular, in the Chyhyryn region, windmills in the villages of Trushivtsi (1996), Medvedivka (1997), Matviivka (1999) have irretrievably disappeared. In the end, on the territory of the Cherkasy region as of December 2008, 18 surviving windmills were discovered. Since that time, no work has been carried out on their accounting. They still stand in the places where they have served people for centuries. Comparing the number of windmills, for example, in the territory of the former Chyhyryn County at the beginning of the 20th century. (1286) and the 21st century, we see the obvious need for their immediate salvation.

On the territory of the Cherkasy region, not every district can now be proud of windmills. To date, say, in the former Kamianskyi, Khrystynivskyi, Monastyryshchenskyi and many other areas, not a single such structure has been found. Already today, the inhabitants of these regions, in order to see the windmill with their own eyes, need to overcome tens and hundreds of kilometers to open-air museums or the nearest forgotten mills of the region. But where to go? Where did they survive? This question is also not easy to answer. Several windmills are more or less known due to their location near popular tourist routes (Khudoliivka village, Chyhyryn district).

The only windmill in Subotiv, built at the beginning of the 20th century, has remained the best preserved to date. The windmill has a convenient location, an asphalt road surface leads almost to the entrance, it is clearly visible at the entrance to the village from the Chyhyryn way.

In 1995, the village society undertook its restoration, but because of the defective stone, they were unable to set up the correct operation of the mill mechanisms. Soon the mechanism was somewhat looted. But its windmill frame is well preserved, the wood is strong and gives hope for the longevity of the building. Among its important shortcomings, significant damage to the outer part of the main shaft should be noted, which may indicate the need for its replacement or overhaul.

So, the only tradition of Subotiv  post mill, built at the beginning of the 20th century, in which the Austrian millstones available today, in general, is suitable for full restoration, despite its rather satisfactory state of conservation, it requires immediate state protection (!!!) and restoration. Beautiful scenery: the exit from the mill offers a beautiful view of the Elias Church Tomb B. Khmelnytskoho (built in 1651) in Subotiv – the tomb of the Hetman of Ukraine, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.

Still lives in the memory of local residents the smell of fresh flour and powdered by him Subotiv miller Mykola Kuksa, who once worked at this mill.

Currently, the main drawback of the state of the windmill is the damage to the outer part of the head shaft and the casing, which was used by looters in the summer of 2017 to kindle the hearth.

The rural community of Subotiv has repeatedly applied to the village council for the protection of the windmill, but, unfortunately, no positive fundamental changes have been achieved in this matter.

Considering this, it is necessary to take this monument of windmilling under the protection of the state, carry out its reconstruction, include it in excursion guides, because the windmill is also quite conveniently located. An asphalt road leads to it (about 1 km from the center of the village), which will provide convenient access for tourists. So, it would be possible to create a new tourist route.

The material was prepared jointly with the head of the branch “Subotiv Historical Museum” of the National Historical and Cultural Reserve “Chyhyryn” Nadiia Kuksa.

Used sources and literature

1. Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv – reference 44.
2. Memorable book of the Kyiv diocese. Historical and statistical information about the institutions of the spiritual department of the Kyiv diocese, statistical lists of churches in the diocese and general statistical information on all aspects of diocesan church and religious life. – K., 1882.
3. Statistical description of the Kyiv province, published by the Privy Councilor, Senator Ivan Fundukley ”(St. Petersburg, 1852).
4. Materials of field studies of Kuksa Nadiia Vasylivna. – The story of a native resident of Subotiv Horenych Olha Ivanivna, born in 1952
5. Smolinskyi S. Windmills of Ukraine [Electronic resource].