Ancient Bosnian town restores centuries-old watermills скачать в хорошем качестве

Ancient Bosnian town restores centuries-old watermills

(29 Jul 2016) LEAD IN: An old town in central Bosnia is giving a new lease of life to a centuries-old attraction - its watermills. Jajce is best known for a roaring waterfall which flows through its centre, but local authorities are aiming to revitalise nearby mills which make use of its gushing waterways. STORY-LINE: Jajce in Bosnia is an ancient town with a roaring waterfall at its centre. It's here that the Vrbas and Pilva rivers meet, making it the perfect place to take advantage of gushing waterways. Around 20 small wooden huts built over the water are thought to be at least 450-years-old. They once served as watermills for local farmers and were key to local industry. Until recently, the mills had remained well-preserved, although not being used for actual milling. But during Bosnia's 1992-95 war, they were partially damaged, then left to rot. "Here we have around 20 watermills that are over 450 years old and are a part of our tradition," explains Huso Hadzic, head of the Jajce Tourism and National Heritage Protection Agency. "They are one of 29 national heritage monuments located in Jajce." In recent years, local authorities began restoring the mills. A decision was made to fully revive them so they can be used for milling once more. "This year, we managed to put two watermills back into operation so that they are now used for milling corn, barley, wheat, buckwheat and other grains," says Hadzic. "We first came up with this idea two years ago, but we first had to find a mason, the only one left (in the country) as far as I know, who knew how to (make millstones). "He had done the work and we are very satisfied with it." It took authorities two years to find a mason who knew how to craft traditional millstones. The search led them to the nearby village of Preocica and 74-year-old Ferid Dzidic who learnt the family craft from his father while still a young boy. He's believed to be the only man left in Bosnia who knows how to make good millstones. Dzidic says he sourced millstone blocks from a quarry near his home. "There is a stone quarry near our village and people say that it has been in use for over 3,000 years," he says. "I started working in 1966 and before that my father used to go to Jajce to sell (his) millstones and so did my grandfather before him. "I inherited the craft and if my son wishes I will pass it on to him. If he decides he does not want to do this, it will be the end of this craft here." So far, Dzidic has restored two old watermills into working order again. He claims customers who now buy his stoneground flour insist it's better than any other available on the market. "You need to know the stone, to know which stone can be used to grind wheat and barley and corn, some stones are only good for corn," he explains. "We know all that. If you do not know it you are just wasting your time. You can spend a month in the quarry cutting stone blocks, but it will all be in vain if you do not know what you are looking for." An ancient attraction flowing with a new lease of life. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...