KOZOLEC/HAY-RACK RESTORATION - idea to project

The value of the hay-rack as a distinctive landscape shaper, and as part of a tourist product, is very important in this area. The revitalization of hay-racks is the first step towards revitalizing of the village centers, enriching of the cultural heritage and marketing of products of cultural tourism. We never believed in restoration of hay-racks as solitary monuments of the past, but as hay-racks which serve their basic - applicable function. The course of the project and expert cooperation The project has been ongoing for four years now, during this time over 70 hay-racks have been reconstructed and over 6.000.000 SIT have been distributed. Several professional institutions are taking part in the project, special acknowledgment goes to the Faculty of Architecture, professor dr. Borut Juvanec and his co-workers, students, for their work on the project's documentation, exhibition panels and for including this topic in the annual Conference on Vernacular Architecture Alpe-Adria. The hay-racks restoration project is included in the CRPOV projects. Continuation of the project The Kranjska Gora Commune annually publishes notices for hay-racks restoration, to which owners of hay-racks can apply. After the restoration has been completed, the committee of the Farming and Forestry Board determines the amount of the subsidy. In future the restoration of hay-racks in Rateče - Planica will be presented as an autonomous project within the CRPOV program; the proposal for the Hay-racks Protection Act which would conclude the first stage of the project formally, has been prepared. In cooperation with the Faculty of Architecture and as a component part of the Act, a list of all the hay-racks in Zgornjesavska valley is being prepared.
Restoration of hay-racks as applicable cultural heritage is a priority project of the Co-natural - Environmental Development Program in the Kranjska Gora Commune within the ALPINE COMMUNES NETWORK.