Luka’s toplar from Trstenik

Luka’s toplar (double hayrack) was built in 1795. It boasts two pairs of windows and a “tail” (rear extension) in the shape of a single stretched kozolec (hayrack) with three windows. The oak pillars stand on stone platforms. It was partially renovated in 1970 and the thatched roof was replaced. The toplar stood in the northeast part of the village in a hamlet called Gorenji Konec on the Trstenik 23 homestead. In 2003, it was declared a cultural monument of local importance. The homestead was known locally as “at Luka’s”. It’s said that a man called Luka married into the homestead from the Gorenjska region over 200 years ago, though the toplar was set up by the previous generation – the Jerič family, who must have been quite wealthy to afford it.

The toplar was used throughout the year for storing and drying wheat, buckwheat, barley, clover, and corn. The interviewee said: “used to be everything was dried on it all the time. But then the machines came and that was that.” During winter, buckwheat straw or corn stalks were used to prevent snow from getting in.

Luka’s kozolec is quite special: “It was built entirely with pegs, not a single nail in it, not one. But when I had it rebuilt it had nails in.” The braided gable on the kozolec is a rarity, though its ex-owner says the braiding used to be much sloppier than it is in the museum. The toplar was documented by Mozetič Miloš in 1972/1973. He made drawings and photographs that are now kept in the Architectural Museum in Ljubljana.

Around 1970, the thatched roof was replaced by clay “kikinda” roofing. There was a swing, or “ujčkovanca”, hanging under the kozolec.

Luka’s toplar is 6 m wide, 9 m long, and 8.3 m tall.