Before being an element of the landscape that allows you to take pretty pictures, an agricultural building has a function. It tells us about the past of a region but also about the contemporary period.
Throughout our journey in the Balkans, I often annoyed Hauteclaire (let's be polite) to stop the van and take pictures of various interesting buildings that we saw in the countryside.
The history of the Balkans is extremely rich. It is a peninsula between Western Europe and Orient, stretching from the Slovenian mountains in the West to the shores of the Black Sea in the East. This region has often been conquered, lost and then reconquered, and in fact, Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Jews and Muslims live together here; Slavs, Latins, Roma... In short, it is a multicultural region from every point of view!
Today, when we think of Serbia, Bosnia or Kosovo, we still think of the wars that ravaged them 20 or 30 years ago, it is true that we still see bullet holes in the walls in the countryside. However, the past of these countries can't be summarised in military confrontations and fortunately!
Today I wanted to talk to you about Architecture and therefore also about History, as you will have understood! I tried (with our small journalistic means) to create an advertorial on the agricultural buildings in the Balkans.
The Kozolecs (Slovenia)
This is a type of hay dryer that can be found everywhere in Slovenia. The Kozolecs consist of a line of posts supporting horizontal cleats, where the hay is stored after the spring harvest and the farmers pick in during the winter period to feed the livestock. The structure is struck by its simplicity. Most of the Kozolecs we've seen were made of wood, unfortunately some of them are starting to fall apart as they are no longer in use, farmers prefer wrapping now. However, we have seen some that had been converted into advertising poster stands!
Example of the initial use of Kozolec (hay) but also more current (wood storage)
The Toplars (Slovenia)
Unlike the Kozolecs, which are also found in neighbouring countries, the Toplars are typically Slovenian! The main difference with the formers is that they are much larger, in fact they are small buildings which are originally used for drying hay, but which can also be used to stock wood or equipment. In terms of architecture, hay drying requires slatted bars on the maximum of vertical area, but also easy access to both sides of the hay rack. In other words, the toplar should be widely open on two sides and simply have horizontal bars on the two others. This allows a maximum of wind to circulate and prevents moisture in the fodder. In addition, in order to protect against bad weather conditions, a large eaves overhang is required, which is made possible by installation of two eaves purlins on each side of the building. The Toplar is so unique to Slovenia that it became a symbol of Slovenian identity after the Yugoslavia's breakup in 1990 and proved the cultural homogeneity of the country! Unlike the Kozolecs, the Toplars are still used, barely for drying hay, but for various storage, it is a bit like our shed.
GIF illustrating the construction principle of Toplar (Source : l'usage du bois)
The Kazuns (Croatia)
A Kazun is a small one-room stone house built with the dry-stone technique and very often on a circular plan. These small buildings are typical of Istria, a peninsula at the northwestern tip of Croatia, not far from Italy.
The Kazun was used by farmers and especially shepherds in the past to shelter from rain or even too much sun. It was also used to store tools that were used in the olive fields or in the meadows. This construction does not require any binding material, the structure only holds together thanks to the skill of the builders by placing the stones correctly. These stones never came from far away, the Kazun builders only had to stoop to find the materials. Indeed, before being able to harvest the land, the farmers had to collect the stones! And between the countless low walls used to delimit the plots and the Kazuns, tons of stones were moved here!
Bavljenac's Island on the Dalmatian coast. An island that looks like a fingerprint from the air and a good example of the importance of the dry stone walls that were used to delimit the plots.
The Koz (Serbia)
A Koz is a corn drier found in several Balkan's countries, but we saw the most in Serbia. It is always built on stilts to avoid pests and to protect the grain from humidity. Literally the word "Koš" means "basket" in Serbian because originally the construction was made of wicker woven like a basket. This allowed air to pass through and prevented rodents from reaching the ears. Today, many dryers are made of wood or metal, but there are still some wicker Koz.
This type of dryer was inherited from primitive communities in the Neolithic period and is still used to store cereals in the countryside today!
The construction concept is relatively simple:
- wooden pillar foundations
- posts (resting on the pillars)
- walls made of woven strands, slatted or wire mesh
- roof with overhang
Wicker's Koz
Wooden Koz (above a garage)
Wooden dryer in Croatia
Mesh dryer
As written above, these very different rural architectures are specific to certain Balkan's regions and illustrate the agricultural specificities of each territory (corn cultivation, olive trees, ruminants breeding, etc.). In the time of Yugoslavia, collectivisation didn't allow families to own more than 10 hectares each and this certainly played a role by maintaining the use of certain buildings. In some regions, each family still has its own farmhouse with its corn dryer to feed its animals.
Obviously this list is not exhaustive, it is just a point of view at a given moment but I hope that the subject has interested you! In any case I had a lot of fun to make it a common theme of the 90 days we have spend in the Balkans!