For hayrack ride, sometimes called hayride see Hayride

Hayride

A hayride, also known as a hayrack ride, is a pleasure ride in an open truck, wagon or sleigh which has been decorated with hay or straw and similar farmlife paraphernalia...

A kozolec is a freestanding vertical drying rack found chiefly in Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

. They are permanent structures, primarily made of wood, upon which fodder

Fodder

Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...

 for animals is dried. Though a practical structure, a kozolec is often artistically designed and handcrafted and is thought by Slovenes to form a distinctive form of vernacular architecture

Vernacular architecture

Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...

 that marks Slovene identity.

The kozolec can be found throughout Slovenia except in the Prekmurje

Prekmurje

Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...

 region and the Slovenian Littoral

Slovenian Littoral

The Slovenian Littoral is a historical region of Slovenia. Its name recalls the historical Habsburg crown land of the Austrian Littoral, of which the Slovenian Littoral was a part....

. Kozolci are found in about 80% of Slovenia. Similar forms can be found as well in Friuli

Friuli

Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...

 in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and in the East Tyrol

Lienz (district)

The Bezirk Lienz is an administrative district in Tyrol, Austria. It is the only district in East Tyrol. The district borders the Pinzgau in the north, the districts Spittal an der Drau and Hermagor in the east, Veneto in the south, and South Tyrol in the west.Area of the district is 2,019.87...

 region of Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. In German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, it is called or .

Other Slovene names for the kozolec are kazuc, stog and toplar. The former is very colloquial and is usually attached to the single, stretched form known as the enojni kozolec. The stog is commonly found in the Upper Carniola

Upper Carniola

Upper Carniola is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jesenice, Tržič, Škofja Loka, Kamnik, and Domžale.- Historical background :...

 and especially in the area around Studor

Studor v Bohinju

Studor is a village in the Bohinj municipality in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. It is also the name of the steep peak that rises above the village....

 in the Bohinj

Bohinj

Bohinj is a municipality in the Upper Carniola region of northwestern Slovenia, covering the 20 km long and 5 km wide Bohinj basin of the Sava Bohinjka river within the Julian Alps, characterized by the periglacial Lake Bohinj...

 region. Toplar is the common name for the double-rack or dvojni kozolec type found in the Lower Carniola

Lower Carniola

Lower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...

. They are not unlike the stog in general form but differ architecturally.

Further reading

• Marjan Mušič, Arhitektura slovenskega kozolca. Cankarjeva založba, Ljubljana, 1970.
• Borut Juvanec, Kozolci: Kratka revizija. Univerza v Ljubljani, 2000.

External links

• Slovene architecture kozolec By Borut Juvanec - Ljubljana university, Slovenia
• www.Kozolec.si Different types of "toplar" hayracks