The building of the present-day Orikhiv City Council, erected in the 1870s, and formerly a family estate of Johann Jantzen, the first mayor of Orikhiv and a German Mennonite.
Mennonites are members of the Protestant Christian movement founded in 1525 in Zurich during the Swiss Reformation. The Mennonites refused to accept any kind of obligation or perform military service, so they were rejected by the official church and the authorities of many countries. This movement was banned in Germany and Holland, so its followers looked for places in other countries to settle their communities. In the late 18th century, Mennonites came to southern Ukrainian lands, mostly from Germany, upon the invitation of the Russian Empire’s government. They were guaranteed freedom of religion and exemption from military and tax obligations for 10 years. In addition, there was land and financial assistance allocated for each family.
Instead, the settlers had to implement and develop modern farming technologies in the southern Ukrainian lands. The Ukrainians learned a lot from the German immigrants.
Johann Heinrich Jantzen and his family were Mennonites from Germany who settled in Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region. In the 1870s, Jantzen built the first steam-powered mill, and later a school and a small hospital with 14 beds. His sons continued their father’s work. They opened a cinema and built many residential buildings and shops. In addition, Johann Jantzen became the first mayor of Orikhiv in 1874 and was re-elected to this position for 25 years.
In the same 1870s, the Jantzen family built their family estate, a two-story brick house with rectangular windows framed by cornices. It had been a reminder of the well-known and respected German family for a century and a half. It is noteworthy that the first mayor’s estate has housed the present-day Orikhiv City Council.
The building survived turbulent events in Ukrainian and European history in the 20th century: world wars and revolutions. However, this island of European architecture in the small Ukrainian city came under fire during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which outraged the entire world. The Russians’ shelling damaged the windows of the building, smashed entrance doors and walls, destroyed part of the roof and the second floor, and cut the stucco.
The building, which had been a symbol of progress for 150 years, was barbarically destroyed by Russian troops in the 21st century.
The site that once held memories may now turn into a memory itself.
What makes the building unique is that only in Zaporizhzhia has this station remained almost unchanged and continued to serve its main purpose.
One of the largest noble estates of Southern Ukraine of the late XVIII-XIX centuries.