M I L L S T O N E
MILLS ON UKRINA, BITS FROM LONG-LOST TIMES
Only Memory
Remains
There used to be about forty only in this area and life was unimaginable without them. Grain was ground in them and life hustled around them. There was always a bathing place nearby, fishermen came, parties made. People used to spend nights next to the millstone telling stories. Technology later did its part and most mills disappeared. We return to them in difficult times, such as the last war, and they help us survive even without electricity By: Damir Kljajić
New mill on the Radnja River Stevića Mill
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A
long the river Ukrina, from Kulaši to the confluence into the Sava, there were many mills: Spasojevića mill, Marića mill, Gunjevića mill and Kainovića mill, Živkovića mill, Starac, Dragonjac, Popovac, Mandića mill, Raukovića, Savkovića, Kovačevića, Tošića, Bijelića, Čolića, Mitrića, Vidića, Ružičića… All the windmills were made of wood (the locals call them “krovinjare”) and all
SRPSK A БРОЈ 10-11 2015
had a large waterwheel on the side, almost as big as the mill itself. Not far from them was a wooden dam. The millstone was most often burrstone. All the mills worked with full capacity and people had to wait several days to grind their grain. Mills did not serve only for grinding grain. People gathered around mills, there were baths nearby, fishermen came, stories were told about fairies and werewolves who