A unique 100-year-old windmill from the Kherson region was restored at the Open Air Museum
On International Museum Day (May 18, 2024), a restored unique windmill from the Kherson region was put into service in Kyiv. It was built at the end of the 19th – at the beginning of the 20th century in the village of Oleksandrivka. In 1973, the windmill was delivered to the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways of Ukraine to be displayed there. However, its parts were not assembled back then. In 2023–24, this windmill was restored with the support of the MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation.
“When the enemy is trying to destroy us as a nation, to erase our identity, such projects as authentic building restoration, museum support, and studies into our history are of particular importance. All this makes us Ukrainians, a nation fighting and standing firm,” comments Rostyslav Karandeiev, acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
In just one year of restoration work supported by the MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation, a thorough study into the facility condition was carried out; the area around the windmill and the slope was cleared; a security wall was erected; the foundation was strengthened. The drawings by engineer A. Tiutiunnyk and technician V. Marchuk back in 1973 were used to manufacture and install an oak roof and vanes, as well as reproduce an authentic working mechanism under the preserved drawings of one of the museum founders, the famous Ukrainian architect Leonid Prybieha; the area around the windmill was arranged.
“We in MHP know that supporting cultural projects is important as they are about preserving values, senses, and traditions. Nowadays, our military is fighting for the Ukrainians’ right to live, and to have their senses, freedoms, and choices. Culture is an important element of this struggle. Thus, opening this windmill becomes even more symbolic. This windmill is a symbol of the Ukrainian culture resilience, which has survived the Soviet period and will survive this war against Russian aggression,” adds Yurii Melnyk, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation.
The windmill restoration became another stage of the state program implementation within the framework of the Memorandum of Cooperation on the consolidation of efforts to renew the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways of Ukraine entered into by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and the international company MHP on July 27, 2021. The previous year, despite shelling and power outages, the construction of the updated central entrance to the museum was completed, which was followed by the decision to reconstruct the windmill from the Kherson region.
“National Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways of Ukraine is Ukraine in miniature. The fact that the Kherson region (which the invader is trying to occupy) is being restored on our territory makes us hope for its restoration on a national scale. The shape and mechanisms of this windmill are characteristic of the Kherson region. Its roof is unique as it is made in the shape of an upside-down boat, after all, its origin is the seaside, and you observe this at first glance,” says Oksana Poviakel, director general of the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways of Ukraine (NMNAPU).
When it is finally opened, all visitors to the Open Air Museum can study the windmill both outside and inside, climb to the second floor, and inspect the working mechanism for grain grinding.
