Museum of Farming Equipment

The Museum of Farming Equipment in Podčetrtek is a private ethnological collection devoted to the tools and machines with which farmers in the Kozjansko hills worked their land until the middle of the twentieth century. It is the kind of museum that grows from one person's passion: a large number of objects gathered over many years from farms and households in the region, saved before they could be thrown away or lost. The collection is large and varied, and it tells the story of farming from the point of view of the tools in the farmer's hands.

The objects cover the whole cycle of the agricultural year. There are wooden ploughs and harrows used to prepare the fields, sickles, scythes and rakes for the hay and grain harvests, flails and winnowing baskets for threshing, hand mills for grinding flour, and presses and barrels for the wine and cider that were central to life in these hills. Carts and sleds of different kinds show how loads were moved on poor roads, and smaller items, such as yokes for oxen, bells for cattle, baskets, ropes and woodworking tools, illustrate the craft skills that every farm family needed. Many of the tools were made locally by village carpenters and blacksmiths, and details of their construction show great ingenuity in using wood, iron and leather.

The museum helps to explain why the landscape of this part of Slovenia looks as it does. Farms were small and the land hilly, so much of the work was done by hand or with the help of oxen and horses, and the farmer's year was ruled by the seasons: sowing in spring, haymaking in summer, the grape and fruit harvest in autumn, and wood and repair work in winter. The wide use of the hayrack, called kozolec in Slovene, for drying hay and grain, is one of the visible results. For visitors who have walked through the countryside, the exhibition adds depth to what they have seen.

Visits are normally arranged by appointment, so it is necessary to contact the owner in advance by phone or email, and in return visitors often receive a personal tour with stories and explanations, which makes the experience warmer than that of a large museum. The museum is a good complement to other places in the area, including the Olimje Chocolate Shop, the Witch's Hut, Jelenov Greben, the Kozmus Beekeeping Farm, the Amon Homestead, the Haler Homestead and Terme Olimia Resort. It suits families, school groups and anyone interested in rural history.