The restoration of the windmill, along with the recreation of the milling process from a century ago, has now taken on a practical aspect. Through this project, we could showcase the grandeur of the ancient architects' ideas and the thoughtful use of wind power in turning grain into flour. The restoration of the windmill's cap, along with its wings, mechanism, and tailpole, is a combination of multiple processes. This involved everything from studying archival documents, modeling and drawing, searching for craftsmen, selecting authentic materials, and studying mechanical technologies, to the actual restoration and commissioning.
Dossier
The windmill from the late 19th — early 20th century, originally located in the village of Oleksandrivka in the Kherson region, was transported to the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine in 1973. This agricultural structure is an example of the folk architecture of southern Ukraine, reflecting the typology and regional characteristics of traditional mechanized windmills in 19th-century Ukraine.
The windmill has two floors and four wings. The body is round, tapering at the top, and built from local limestone with a lime mortar. On the first floor is a storage room for grain and flour, while the second floor houses the millstones, connected to a wheel on the shaft located in the attic through a spindle and a "baklusha" (a type of wooden cogwheel). The roof is gable, complex in shape, resembling an inverted boat, and covered with planks. The wings are covered with canvas (rolled up when not in use).
What We Dealt With
In 1973, during the inspection of the windmill, it was found that the turntable frame needed a 40% replacement, while the roof and roofing required complete replacement. The walls and foundation, made of local limestone with lime mortar, could not be transported. The windmill’s wings were almost entirely intact. The metal doors needed to be replaced with wooden ones. The windows were not preserved. As of 2023, restoration work had been completed by approximately 30%. Only an 8-meter section of the structure, laid with limestone, was presented.
Restoration
The restoration phase began in the fall of 2023.
During the year of restoration work, we conducted a detailed study of the object's condition, cleared the area around the windmill and the slope, built a protective wall, and reinforced the foundation. The most significant task was the manufacture and installation of an oak roof and blades according to the 1973 drawings, as well as the recreation of the authentic working mechanism thanks to the preserved drawings by the famous Ukrainian architect Leonid Prybieha, one of the museum's creators.
Symbolism was embedded in every detail of this project during the restoration. The blades—the windmill’s wings—consist of two intersecting lines that form a cross, a kind of ancient tree of life. Their restoration was the result of meticulous work by a whole team of craftsmen over several months. According to the architects, the entire project was comprehensively rethought, and a number of decisions were made that allowed the mill’s blades to move, providing the most open demonstration of the grain milling process.
It was impossible to carry out this project in a production facility because there wouldn’t have been enough storage and production space even for the materials, which included more than 30 cubic meters of the main timber alone. Some parts were so large that the length of the carpentry shop would not have sufficed. We also faced logistical challenges that would have consumed the lion's share of the budget. Therefore, we decided to build an open-air workshop, bringing in all the necessary equipment and materials. We were provided with accommodation for the specialists, who lived there the entire time.
