Franckov kozolec from Draga pri Šentrupertu

Franckov “goat” kozolec (also known as “cvitar”) was located on the homestead of the Breznikar family at the edge of the village Draga until it was moved to the Land of Hayracks. Since there are several families with the same surname in the village, the owners of Franckov kozolec (hayrack) were known locally as Franckovi to set them apart. The villagers also called it “Štirnski kozolec” as it stood next to the well, or “štirna”, however, the name Frankov was more common. It came about because two of the owners were named France. The first made enough money working in a mine in America to buy the homestead in Draga for his son Franc. Today it is home to Ivana Breznikar, also known as Franckova Ivanka, who knows more about Franckov kozolec than anyone.

Franckovi, who owned a small farm, commissioned the kozolec from Gregorčičev’s father, known locally as Maklavžin, from Slovenska vas. The whole village helped with the build which was complete in 1948 or 1949. The wood (oak and spruce) was brought from the homestead’s forest nearby (Veliki vrh). It took about three months for the kozolec to be complete and the feast to celebrate it was attended by all the villagers who brought with them bottles of wine and freshly baked bread.

There are no decorations on the kozolec. It was never properly finished and it never had any gutters as the family probably ran out of money to buy them. It also never had a “hlapec”, a special chair used when threading the produce into the kozolec, or a “gank” (balcony), though it had attachments for it, and it was covered in clay roofing and not straw.

Franckov kozolec stood by the side of the road on a field a few hundred metres from the farmhouse. Ivana says that, aside from the logistic considerations (the proximity of the farmhouse and wagon accessibility), the most important reason for this location was exposure to the sun. Pair trees were planted in front of the kozolec, however, the family made sure they were far enough not to cast shade on the kozolec and thereby make drying more difficult.

Franckov kozolec is 5.6 m wide, 10 m long, and 6.4 m tall.