Staro Selo Sirogojno preserves authentic spirit of past times: Serbia's only open-air museum

The permanent exhibition in the Staro Selo (Old Village) museum consists of authentic log cabins, transferred there from different parts of Serbia

It is almost forgotten how our ancestors lived. Rarely do young people today have the opportunity, but also the desire to go to a village, in order to get acquainted with past architecture, but also with the interior design of a rural household, and with the habits of people there.

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Today, the memory of that time is kept alive in a unique museum in Serbia. The museum, symbolically called the Old Village, covers five hectares. The village of Sirogojno, where this museum is located, belongs to the municipality of Cajetina, the Zlatibor District. It has 630 inhabitants, according to the data from the 2011 census.

A total of 50 structures were transferred from villages in the area of Zlatibor, which are part of the exhibition of the open-air museum.

The first museum of its kind in Serbia

Although open-air museums also exist in other countries, the Staro Selo museum in Sirogojno is considered to be unique in our country.

An organization of local handicrafts from this Zlatibor village started the initiative to establish such a museum in 1980. The project was signed by architect Ranko Findrik. As stated on the official website of the open-air museum Staro Selo, this initiative was realized above all thanks to Dobrila Vasiljevic-Smiljanic, Bosa Rosic and state institutions.

Since 2013, by the decision of the Government of Serbia, the Staro Selo museum has been characterized as a cultural institution of national importance for the Republic of Serbia.

Permanent exhibition

In addition to seeing what kind of architecture was used in the past, the permanent exhibition of the Staro Selo museum in Sirogojno gives visitors a chance to learn about the interior design of rural houses and auxiliary buildings, as well as classrooms.

Set on stone foundations, perhaps the most interesting is the so-called Dinaric log cabin. Made of hewn beams, which are arranged one on top of the other, this structure also has two opposite doors. Visitors also find interesting the fact that the Dinaric log cabin has a four-slanted roof.

Apart from the Dinaric log cabin, you can also see houses characteristic of the area of Zlatibor, that is, the entire property, with all the associated facilities, which were used for both housing and living. This refers to the period when Serbian families lived in so-called cooperatives. Perhaps the most interesting among these facilities is the shepherd's house.

Since all the buildings within the permanent exhibition of this unique museum are equipped to reflect the spirit of the past, it is without a doubt especially interesting to explore classrooms, as well as craft workshops. Authentic basket and woodcarving tools are just some of the attractions of that part of the museum.

(Telegraf.rs)