Municipality of Kumrovec: Open-Air Museum and Cultural Heritage

The Municipality of Kumrovec can be explored through a range of themes: the Staro Selo Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, historic memorial sites and the protected Zelenjak landscape area. The museum in Kumrovec is dedicated to traditional ways of life and crafts; monuments and chapels offer further historical perspectives. For geographical context, the Municipality of Kumrovec lies on the left bank of the Sutla, which also forms the border with Slovenia.

Staro Selo: Ways of Life and Crafts

The Staro Selo Museum comprises around 40 restored traditional buildings and offers an insight into traditional life in Hrvatsko Zagorje from the late 19th to the early 20th century. The restored birthplace of Josip Broz Tito houses an ethnographic and a historical exhibition. The former classroom and teachers’ apartment have been reconstructed in the Old School. In this way, exhibitions and reconstructed everyday spaces offer different perspectives on history.

An audio guide is available in Croatian, Slovenian, English and German. The events programme also focuses on traditional crafts: interactive events and workshops are led by ethnologists together with master craftspeople specialising in traditional trades. During seasonal demonstrations, which are organised with advance notice, visitors can watch potters shape vessels on a foot-powered potter’s wheel and see how traditional wooden toys, pipes and gingerbread hearts are made.

Presentations and demonstrations of traditional crafts take place from 1 April to 30 October. Check the dates before your visit and note that advance notice is required for seasonal demonstrations; individual programmes may vary. A public car park is located right next to the Staro Selo Museum.

Monuments and Chapels

At the entrance to the Municipality of Kumrovec, on the Klanjec–Kumrovec road, stands the monument to the Croatian national anthem, “Lijepa naša”, in the important protected landscape area of Zelenjak. The Brotherhood of the Croatian Dragon (Braća Hrvatskog Zmaja) erected it in honour of its author, Antun Mihanović, on the anthem’s 100th anniversary. The monument is 13.2 metres high and was unveiled on 24 November 1935. A commemorative plaque bears the anthem’s opening verses, and the monument also features a relief of Antun Mihanović.

The chapels also provide historical reference points. The Chapel of Our Lady of Risvica (Majke Božje Risvičke) was first mentioned in 1639; only the statue of the Madonna survives from its original furnishings. The Chapel of St Roch (Svetog Roka) on the hill of Kumrovec was first mentioned in 1686. Each date refers to the chapel’s first mention.

Zelenjak: Landscape and Orientation

The important Zelenjak landscape area includes Cesarska Gora, Risvička Gora and the Sutla. The river is part of the Natura 2000 network as an important habitat for the protection of endangered fish and mussel species. The name Zelenjak therefore refers both to a protected landscape and to the ecological importance of the Sutla.

The Zelenjak treetop walkway features a birdwatching platform shaped like a bird’s nest and swings. At the beginning of the walkway, a lifting platform is available for people with reduced mobility and people with disabilities. Texts on the information boards are provided in Braille for blind and visually impaired visitors.

Discover more destinations: Kumrovec, Municipality of Mihovljan, Municipality of Pregrada, Municipality of Desinić, Municipality of Zabok, Municipality of Jesenje, Municipality of Stubičke Toplice, Municipality of Krapinske Toplice.

For the broader travel overview: Krapinsko-Zagorska.