Kamnar’s toplar from Ravnik

Kamnar’s toplar (double hayrack) belonged to the Marolt family from Ravnik, who were known locally as the Kamnars. Written sources from the end of the 19th century mark them as “polgruntarji”, i.e. small farm owners. Dendrochronological research done by the Department of Wood Science and Technology at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana in cooperation with the Novo mesto branch of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia indicates that the kozolec was set up after 1812, but the master carpenter and the original owner are unknown. Written and oral sources also do not reveal who inhabited the homestead before the Marolt family. The roof was thatched until 1978 and the kozolec had a single window “tail” (extension at the end) until 1994 when it was removed for being in too poor a shape. The kozolec was quite weathered in general before it was moved to the Land of Hayracks and would sway dangerously. Kamnar’s toplar is one of the oldest of its kind in the Mirna Valley and was declared a cultural monument of local importance in 2003.

Kamnar’s toplar (double hayrack) has two “štanta” with a hallway in between. It’s 7.59 m long, 5.3 m wide, and 7.6 m tall. The squared oak pillars are placed on stone platforms. The rest of the construction uses oak and beech wood, while the “late” (cross members) and the rafters are primarily made of spruce wood. Until a few years ago, it was still used for the storage of hay, tools, and farm machinery, the drying of beans, and, as late as the 1970s, also for threshing wheat with a thresher. Clover and grain was usually dried in the “tail” which was more exposed to the sun. It was called “the big štant”, most likely because it was bigger than the other “štanti” that made up this kozolec. Kamnar’s toplar was entered into the Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage and declared a cultural monument of local importance (Ur. list RS, str. 17457, 2003).