Zlatibor

St. Peter & Paul village Church

              Just outside the entrance of the open air museum was a small village church built in 1764. The interior, also painted white, was quite simple. The floor was stone and there were no pews for congregation members. The front of the church had a wooden altar with several iconoclastic paintings that looked quite old. I was introduced to the church Father by my taxi driver, who told me that he had gotten married here seven years ago. Several religious traditions were observed, including kissing special paintings, candles burning for the dead and living, and entering/leaving the church facing forwards (walk backwards when passing through the doorway and leaving the church) and making the sign of the cross.

Museum Grounds

As we entered the museum grounds, we saw several groups of children who had come to see the preserved 19th century homesteads typical of the region.Over coffee at the museum’s homey restaurant, Zorica explained that she had established this ethnographic museum in 1974, the only one of its kind in Serbia. She had seen many other open-air museums in other countries and was eager to help create such a museum in her home country.

Main Family House              

Our tour started with the main house of one of the two homesteads preserved on-site. The first room had a hearth in the middle of the dirt floor for cooking and warmth. The second room had an earthen heating stove, bed, cradle, and long table. The bed was for the eldest of the extended family and the cradle was placed near the stove for warmth. This room had a wooden floor and was the best-furnished space in the homestead. Married family members lived in cottages very close to the main house, but (as this was the heated place of the homestead) all main activities and socializing happened here.

Farm Buildings

The homestead also consisted of a chicken coop, corn crib (made of wattle to provide good ventilation and drying of corncobs) semicircular baking stove (bread was baked for the family twice a week), a shed for drying plums, a guest cottage, granary, milk house and stable. Only one woman of the family could enter the milk house for sanitary reasons. Here milk, cheese, and butter were prepared. In one of the storage sheds, tobacco hung to dry. In its second room one could see large wooden barrels and a special stove, all for the creation and storage of Serbia’s national drink – rakija (plum brandy).

A blacksmith shop served the village. Here I saw wooden wheels and some old wooden farm equipment similar to that like my great-grandfather had used.

The stable was located a bit farther away from the other buildings (the milk house was quite close to the main house) and had two levels. A ramp led up to the top level and was used to guide sheep up to the loft. This design is still used in the region. A simple wooden fence with woven soft branches surrounded the homestead.

              On the site several buildings have been adapted for visitors and museum operation. A shop sells local handicrafts and goods such as honey and herbal tea. Others are now homey apartment cottages for visitors attending summer programs. There are also a few outdoor theatre-like areas for summer entertainment, lectures, and concerts.             

Knowing of my desire to take photos of local villagers, our docent took us to the village of Sirogojno. On the way, I stopped to try on a sweater for my sister (the famous Sirogojno sweaters are hand-knitted by peasant women of the region), but my mind was more focused on getting some good photos of villagers. After taking a few photos of some kindly older women, we then went the home of an older couple. I took some photos of them with the traditional conical haystacks in the background. The man then led me into a shed where he was making rakija. His stove for boiling the plums was more modern (but still rustic) than the one at the museum, but it served the same purpose. The finished rakija, he explained, took at least 2 years to ferment. The rakija he produced was mainly for his family, especially for festive events such as the family slava. He offered each of us a small shot glass to sample – it indeed was quite strong. Alcohol content may be from 40-70% (according to the internet, at least).

              Proceeding back to the ethnographic museum, we were treated to a tasty meal of kajmak (milk cream butter) on fresh hot bread, sir (Zlatibor cow cheese), and svadbarski kupus (sour cabbage and pork with some veggies). After exchanging contact information and receiving some visiting tips for the next day, I thanked Zorica and her staff for her warm hospitality. Prior to going back to Zlatibor, we saw a bit more of the countryside, including a small waterfall and country church.

In April 2006 I revisited Sirogojno, staying in the cabins at the Ethnographic Museum. The facilities were spacious, people just as friendly, and the local food was tasty. I returned to the home of the Sirogojno couple and gave the woman a print of the oil pastel drawing I had made of her. Both tickled and honored, she invited us into their home. Here we ate a spoonful of honey, drank strong Turkish coffee, and had the obligatory rakija, offered by the husband. Read more about my experiences at my travelblog

Staro Selo Ethnographic Museum Contact information

tel/fax: 031/802-291

staroselo@ptt.yu

http://www.sirogojno.org.yu/