At the corner of Severnaya and Chkalov streets, like an iceberg in the middle of the ocean, an old dilapidated building rises. Abandoned, with broken windows, with cracks like wrinkles cutting through the facade, stuck around like sucked leeches, ridiculous extensions — it has not lost its attractiveness even now.
This is the mill of Kirkor Kior-oglu, a well-known merchant with Asian roots, the owner of factories, bakeries and breweries. The building was built at the end of the 19th century in the late classicism style and remains an example of industrial architecture to this day.
The construction of the mill was carried out in 1890-1896. In addition to the mill building itself, auxiliary buildings built in the same period have survived: an office for employees, workshops, warehouses. In comparison with the mill building, their condition is satisfactory.
The whole complex is made of old brick, which itself is a kind of historical monument. After the Russian revolution and expropriation in the mill building for a long time, there was a Soviet mill №3 of the “Glavmuk” trust.
Like every old building, the mill has its own ghost secrets and legends. During the civil war, the mill was used as a temporary shelter — thick walls made it possible to hide from artillery shelling. Large food supplies allowed the whites to hope to stand here until the bitter end. In addition, they say that there is an underground passage from the mill basements that leads to the bank of the Kuban. It is currently boarded up.
Another story, which was popular in the city and justified the dire state of the mill, refers to an unexploded German bomb that has remained in the building since the war.
Unfortunately, in 1994 the building fell into disrepair. Now, this abandoned building has no windows and no roof. The mill itself is an architectural monument of the city.
If you’d like to see more abandoned places in Russia then check out our articles on the Soviet Tram Graveyard in Russia and the Abandoned Ordzhonikidze Sanatorium in Sochi.
