STARA
KAPELA ETHNO-VILLAGE - CROATIA
Escape To A Time Gone By
Tired of
the hustle of modern life, ruled by the tyranny of the mobile phone
and motor
car, the bray of non-stop advertising and demands of
the 21st Century? Want to escape to a quiet life long past – at
least just for a week - a romantic idyll vacation holiday in the agrarian
countryside of a hundred years past. Escape to Stara Kapela, a unique
little corner
of the world “where the road ends”. Stara Kapella means “Old
Chapel” but is the 
name of a little forgotten village in the
hills of Slavonia in northeastern Croatia. The little village, which
for most of its history never really held more than 50 inhabitants,
suffered depredations under the Turks in the 1600s. The village as
it now appears is mostly as it was resurrected under the Empress Maria
Theresa in 1760, when the original Chapel of St. Mark was rebuilt into
what now gives the village its name, but the village nearly died out
when its ancient old lime making kilns fell on hard times.
Stara Kapela
has been resurrected again as an eco-village, a living ethnographic
museum, inhabited by 17 of its remaining elderly residents,
whose principal occupation is now as photo subjects for tourists who
come to visit, either to stay in restored 18th Century farmhouse lodgings
or enjoy a traditional Slavonian meal in the restaurant downstairs.
The accommodations of the Tucina Kuca farmhouse at Stara Kapela are
cozy and stylish. The two and four bedroom apartments are suited for
families or groups, as well as couples in the wood beamed loft or farmhouse
bedrooms enveloped by authentic rural ambience, though with all the
current comforts one expects of a modern escape vacation.
Guests and visitors at the Stara Kapela ethonograpic village enjoy
the hospitality of the local hosts in traditional costumes surrounded
by nature and participate in the village's ancient customs of harvest feasts,
corn picking, and the making of brandy and jam. Take part in the blessing of the
wine, try your hand at brick-making in the kiln, or take a ride in
original horse drawn carriages or sledges. The hills around the village
are marked with nature trails for hiking and cycling with signs noting
the 120 plant varieties, 80 species of birds and 60 kinds of mushrooms
natural to the area. The area’s history as a military frontier
is recalled by recreated lookout platforms called Cardaks, now used more
for scenery views than guarding against marauding Turks. Hunting in
the game rich woodland hills can also be arranged.
The
aim of Stara Kapela, the concept of a doctor and businessman originally
from
the village, Dr. Antun Tucic, was to prevent the extinction
of the traditional Slavonian village, which if neglected would have
passed into a mostly forgotten memory. There are other ethnographic
museum
villages in Croatia (see Kumrovec
Heritage Village)
which are mostly a collection of buildings with historical displays
and renactors, but here, tucked
into the hills
at the “end of the road” is a unique opportunity to experience
a nearly vanished era of life. The Stara Kapella Village is a bit
hard to find, located 25 miles from Slavonski Brod, near the town
of Batrina, but for the active traveler or those looking for a special
experience unlike few others, its worth finding the way, but leave
behind some bread crumbs so you can find your way back to mobile phone
tower
range. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Stara
Kapela
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SEE ALSO:
WINE
TOURING HOTEL VINARIJA - SLAVONIA
CROATIA'S BAROQUE CITY VARAZDIN
ZRINSKI CASTLE - MUSEUM MEDIMURJE - CAKOVEC
