Ostrvi from Bela Krajina

Ostrvi are simple tall tree trunks with cut branches. They were the first drying devices for hanging the harvested grain and hay. They are known in Bela Krajina, the Ribnica and Loška valley, the Štajerska region, the area around Vitanj, etc. The sheaves of grain were placed so that the bottom part of the upper sheaf covered the ears of the lower one. Ostrvi can be divided into low and tall ostrvi. The former are up to three metres tall with the sheaves stacked up to the height of only two metres; the latter can reach the height of up to six metres and require a free standing ladder for the sheaves to be stacked around it. The branches on low ostrvi can be left slightly longer, or cut short, or else the trunk can be completely smooth; tall ostrvi can either have the branches cut short or the trunk completely smooth. A similar drying device is the roofless kozolec from the Ribnica valley.