Stanko Habjanič from Hermanci near Ormož has finally received an eagerly awaited letter from the editorship of the most famous book in the world. After thorough inspection the wind rattle with the blade diameter of 20.58 metre thus officially became a world record holder.
Stanko Habjanič shows us the certificate he has been waiting for since 2010, when the wind rattle was erected for the first time. But due to some inaccuracy in data collecting and measurements they failed the first time. Which is a good thing, as during the six years of waiting Stanko has increased the size of the wind rattle not only once, but three times! "The first wind rattle had blades of 17 metres. Next I increased them to 18 m, and since the wind rattle proved it could carry that size of blades, I was sure it could carry even longer ones. Therefore I made new ones, of 20.58 metres," Stanko said.
As a young boy he observed his grandfather at his work, and loved climbing them. Since then he harboured a wish to make a real giant with his own hands. "It means a lot to me; it fully repaid my trouble." We could see with our own eyes that erecting a wind rattle is no easy feat - we had the opportunity to observe how they did it with the help of a hoist among the vineyards in the hills around Ljutomer and Ormož. A wind rattle is made of several parts, each of them playing a different role. The most difficult part was finding the suitable wood. "Oak is used for parts which must be the strongest, and cherry for parts which are subjected to hammering, while blades are made of spruce wood."
The record wind rattle remains outside, among vineyards, also after the grapes are picked, so that the visitors can admire it all year long - only the blades are tied, for its safety. "The blades must be secured, or they would spin all the time, and the wind rattle might already be history…," Habjanič explained.