Local legend tells about the Ghost Mills Vally. Since then, only the name has remained in people’s memory, and our city pleases residents and visitors with a beautiful green park that grows around a deep lake with its mysteries…

They say that long ago, 12 rivers flowed out of the valley and the locals built 12 water mills – 11 of them were used to grind flour – from millet, corn and wheat, but a miller lived in the 12th, which no one has ever seen, and his mill only worked turning a creaking wheel at night. The neighbors whispered among themselves that the miller was not grinding flour, but people’s fates…

The story tells of a poor peasant family who lived nearby and passed by the mills every day on their way home.  One day the father, mother and son were returning from the field. As they were walking along the path in the woods, they came upon a toad that jumped right in their faces. The father wanted to crush it, but the son, feeling sorry for the poor creature, began to ask his father not to do that, because it was a living soul that had done no harm to anyone. The boy took the toad in his arms and carried it as far into the woods as possible so that no one would crush it… Some time passed, and one evening the boy was walking home alone. And then the toad appeared in front of him again, jumping, beckoning him after himself. Amazed, almost mesmerized, the boy followed it until it entered the twelfth mill. To his surprise, he was met at the door by a short old man, white as a harrier, with a long, long beard. He thanked the boy for saving his toad from danger, took a handful of hot heads from the hearth, put them in the boy’s pocket, and sent him home. As he walked through the woods and came to his senses a little, the boy began to take the smoking logs out of his pocket and throw them away on the way.  Upon entering his shack and telling his parents of his strange occurrence, he pulled out of his pockets … gold and silver coins.  The astonished parents did not quite believe the boy, but after thanking the old sorcerer to themselves, they eventually built themselves a nice house, and then they bought themselves a cow as well ….

The people of their village were surprised at this turn of events. Curious, they kept asking them questions, but got no answer. One day, however, the boy did reveal the secret to his friends, who, in turn, told his parents. The villagers rushed to the mysterious mill. Everyone wanted to get rich without much effort. But what did they see? In one night, all 12 springs drowned the valley with all the mills. And all that was left of the 12th mill was a millstone on which sat, smiling, a big toad…

Historical note

In 1951-1952, when the lake “The Valley of Mills” was excavated and deepened by young komsomol members, several gold and silver coins were discovered. Perhaps they were the same ones from the ashes scattered from the pockets of the good boy…