THE HAYRACK-KAZOLEC

---

(Excerpted from my book OUR SUMMER IN SLOVENIA. AMAZON.COM)

Big Ben is England, the Eiffel Tower is France, the Statue of Liberty is the United States, and so on for other countries. What about Slovenia? It is the Kazolec, Slovenia's unique hayrack.

Seen everywhere Slovenian hayracks, Kazolecs, were taken for granted as a necessary part of farming life that occupied most of the country until recent years. It was only when artists began to paint pictures of them, that today they are seen as a national icon.

They come in several varieties: single or double stacked, with or without small roofs, all wood or later versions of concrete pillars and wood slats. Some are hung with hay, others with hay and corn. They were developed over time and out of necessity. The damp Alpine regions are not well suited for drying out hay and corn in stacks on the ground, the common method used for many centuries, and kazolecs proved versatile, functional and up to the task. A farmer would take down what he needed throughout the winter, all the while the crop somewhat protected from the harsh climate and keeping dry as in a drying rack. The racks are visible even in the capital, vestiges of when in prior times farms were much closer to the city than today. Those are now hung with advertising. If you want to make Slovenians who might be lonely and homesick living in a far away place get misty-eyed and yearn for the old country, show them a picture of a Kazolec snow-covered and hung with hay, up against an Alpine landscape .

The picture above is of a typical covered, concrete and wood, Kazolec near Bled where Elysee and I stayed for the summer. They are really seen everywhere.

---

Photos

KAZOLEC NEAR BLED
A covered concrete and wood Kazolec closeby where Elysee and stayed for the summer