Alojz and Minka Milic's watermill or “Zagac's Watermill”

Local people living in nearby villages called it Žagač's or Putar's watermill. The mill stopped working in 1963. It was situated in the first part of the Ivanec region, which is called Bistrica. This watermill belongs to one of the oldest watermills, and was used not only for milling but as a family home too. It was built from massive building material so that, according to its size, it belonged to larger watermills in the Ivanec region. Today, there are no architectural or material remains of this watermill at the site, the only proof of its existence are some rare photos, which renew our memories and have influence on the visual perception of the past appearance. All the family members were engaged in social and economic activities in the town of Ivanec. In 1908 the weekly journal “Naše pravice” (Eng. Our Equities), Issue No. 6, reported on the Assembly of Handicraft Cooperative in the “Ivančica” Inn, mentioning one of the vice-presidents of the main board, Andro Milić.
In the past, travellers and mountaineers often mentioned the Bistrica Stream in various magazines and newspapers. “Naše pravice”, Issue No. 25 dating from 1912, described a trip from Varaždin to Ivančica: “…Departing from the north, you take the railway to reach Ivanec, which is a place 227m above sea level. Then you go through the village past watermills and waterfalls, always following the Bistrica Stream, until you reach its source somewhere in the midst of Ivančica Mountain…”. “The view of Ivančica Mountain from Varaždin is breath-taking. It magnificently rises into the sky on the south-west side of our town. The peak of Ivančica rises to 1060m above sea level. I have climbed to that top so many times! In the rain, under the clearest skies, through the purest snow, at down and at night, from Zagorje in the south, or from Ivanec in the north, it is very easy to climb the mountain. The slopes are not too steep. Walking slowly from Ivanec, you can reach the top in just three hours. There is a beautiful view from the top of the mountain. You can see the entire region of lovely Zagorje and its hills that look like waves on the sea. The view stretches far to Slavonia, Styria, or even Maribor; our Podravina and flat Posavina; Ivanić Grad and Ivanić Kloštar, the region of Križevci and Bjelovar. One can follow the winding of the Drava River as far as the eye can see, and if the sky is clear, you can even see Lake Balaton in Hungary and the Carpathian Mountains. Only Zagreb hides Sljeme as it is lower than Ivančica…”
The above-mentioned citations confirm the unbreakable bond between the Bistrica Stream and Ivančica, which has of course remained the same up to the present.