Search
Where do shepherds live?

Where do shepherds live?

Dwellings in the mountains are called "stanovi".

People had a sense of awe and reverence for the mountains and did not simply go there for leisure. The first visitors to our mountains were shepherds and miners. If they had to stay in the mountains for an extended period, they would create shelters for themselves.

Pasture huts were initially established above the tree line. There was no need to clear forests for building shelters, as livestock grazed on the colorful alpine meadows. For construction materials, they used what was abundant: wood and stone. More wood was used on the Gorenjska side of the Julian Alps, while stone was more common on the Primorska side.

The shelters were simple and functional.

We must admire the resourcefulness, sense of practicality, and harmony of forms that the first shepherds demonstrated when building their dwellings. They possessed a great deal of knowledge about construction, woodworking, and integrating their structures into the natural alpine environment.

 

Dwellings in the mountains are called "stanovi".

 

 

Inside, there was a sleeping area with a small bed, where the shepherd would find fragrant hay instead of a mattress, an open fireplace, and a small space for dining. The storage area for milk was separated within the shelter. They cooked over an open fire, and to allow smoke to escape, the shepherds' huts had an open roof. In a kettle over the fire, they would prepare a simple meal of žganci or močnik. If the shepherd did not tend to a large herd, the fireplace in the hut also served for cheese-making. Many shelters also had a space on the upper floor for storing hay.

 

Larger mountain pastures soon had a common cheese dairy, where cheese was made from the milk of all the animals grazing in the area.

The cheese dairies were communal, owned by everyone who had livestock on the pasture. For the cheese to turn out well, cleanliness in the dairy was very important, but the most crucial element was—and still is—the cheese cauldron. Can you imagine that in some cheese cauldrons, they could heat over 200 liters of milk at once?!

Livestock also needed shelter from bad weather. In the Alps, it can even snow in the middle of summer, and the temperatures can drop significantly!

 

The oldest shepherd huts were built on what are known as "kobile."

The shepherd's dwelling was elevated on stilts, with a space underneath where livestock could take refuge from bad weather. Later, smaller shelters called "tamarji" were also built in the mountain pastures.

DO YOU KNOW?

  1. Architecture in the mountains is one of the oldest building methods known in the Alps.

  2. You can learn a lot about the life of shepherds in the Julian Alps, especially in the Bohinj area, at the Shepherding Museum in Stara Fužina near Lake Bohinj.