Discovering hayracks in Slovenia

There are many hayracks decorating the fields in Slovenia and although one could see that every hayrack has some fascinating details and ornaments on the building, its main purpose is not esthetical but practical. The wooden houses with no windows or door, of which farmers are quite proud of, serve the purpose of drying hay and corn and also to store agricultural machines under the roof. It is important part of our cultural heritage and fascinating architectural creation, that can be found almost everywhere in Slovenia, but you won’t discover them in the Prekmurje region and Slovenian Littoral. The construction is distinctive for Slovenia, where most of the hayracks are located.

As is with many other things in Slovenia, there is a great diversity of types of hayracks, that differ between regions and can be single, single stretched, single parallel, and low, stretched and double. Of course, there are also various region-dependent names for a hayrack: kozolec, stog, toplar.... One of the most interesting ones is the Marovšek hayrack that has a unique floor plan and there might be only a few such hayracks in the world.

First hayracks have been described already 300 years ago and even Prince Charles owns one, that he got on his visit in Slovenia, and is now decorating one of his properties in UK.

And if you wish to see all the different types of hayracks in one place you should visit the Land of Hayracks in Šentrupert, where they’ve built an open-air museum of hayracks. There you can also see the largest hayrack in Slovenia, Simončič Hayrack, that was built in 1936 and is the only hayrack in Slovenia that has been protected as a cultural monument of national significance.

The hayracks in the Land of Hayracks cover an area of 2.5 ha where one can admire 19 hayracks connected with paths suitable for walks. Apart from that they also offer various traditional workshops and presentations of typical Slovenian farm works and chores. This is one way to keep hayracks present, while changes that were introduced to modern farming and storage of the hay and other crops are reducing the need for the hayracks. Apart from keeping them in a museum, we could extend the use and purpose of hayracks. One such opportunity that might be appealing to all the adventurists among you that are always discovering new ideas: spending a night on a hayrack. This more and more popular activity that is definitely unique and unforgettable experience.

The Land of Hayracks, Slovenia

Šentrupert 33, 8232 Šentrupert, Slovenia