Kozolec (Slovenian Hayrack)

A kozolec (plural kozolci) is a freestanding, permanent drying rack, usually of timber, on which farmers dry hay, other animal fodder and field maize. It is found chiefly in Slovenia, where it is regarded as a distinctive form of vernacular architecture and a marker of national identity, and many are carefully designed and handcrafted.

Similar structures exist in neighbouring Friuli in Italy and in southern Carinthia and East Tyrol in Austria, but around 80% of all such hayracks are in Slovenia. Within Slovenia they are found everywhere except Prekmurje, eastern Styria and the Slovenian Littoral.

Roofs

The roof protects the drying crop from rain. Roofs were originally thatched with straw, later covered with wood, and more recently with metal tiles. Roofing ranges from the small protective roof over a single straight rack to a full roof spanning two racks and the space between them.

Types

More than thirty types can be distinguished. Slovenian terms include:

• enojni stegnjeni kozolec - single straight-line hayrack
• stegnjeni kozolec s plaščem - single hayrack with a catslide roof
• dvojni stegnjeni kozolec - double straight-line hayrack
• dvojni vezani kozolec - roofed double hayrack
• toplar or doplar - roofed double hayrack with two struts, from Austrian German Doppler, "double structure"
• toplar z repom - roofed double hayrack with an extension
• kozolec s hišo - roofed double hayrack with a shed
• kozolec na kozla, kozolec na psa - split-level double hayrack

The word kozolec, and the colloquial kozuc, probably derive from kozel, "goat". In Upper Carniola and around Bohinj the word stog is also used. German names are Harpfe or Köse.

Heritage

Hayracks are treated as cultural heritage in regional and local plans in Slovenia, Austria, Italy and Germany, and about 250 are registered with the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum. More than 650 have been counted in the Mirna Valley alone. The Municipality of Šentrupert built the open-air museum Dežela kozolcev (Land of Hayracks) between 2010 and 2013; it holds 19 drying structures, including 17 hayracks, the oldest dating from 1795. The largest hayrack in Slovenia is the Simončič Hayrack. Three countries have been reported as seeking UNESCO recognition for hayracks.