Discover Kumrovec

For travelers interested in cultural history and traditional crafts, Kumrovec offers a clear focus: the Staro Selo Ethnological Open-Air Museum. It comprises around 40 restored traditional buildings, including the birthplace of Josip Broz Tito. Permanent exhibitions explore village life in Zagorje and crafts such as blacksmithing, wagon building, pottery and bread baking. Customs associated with weddings are also among the subjects presented.

Staro Selo: village life and crafts

These themes can also be explored in educational workshops. The program includes a discovery walk with a map of traditional crafts, hands-on pottery activities, and activities related to wine and viticulture. Individual workshop dates may vary. If you are interested in a specific activity, check the dates before your trip.

At Staro Selo in the Municipality of Kumrovec, visitors can learn about the traditional way of life in Hrvatsko Zagorje in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The restored birthplace of Josip Broz Tito houses an ethnographic and historical exhibition. The Old School features a reconstructed former classroom and teacher’s apartment. The museum village offers a variety of insights into everyday life, education and history.

The craft demonstrations at the Staro Selo Museum in the Municipality of Kumrovec also offer their own highlights: visitors can watch potters shape vessels on a foot-powered pottery wheel and see traditional wooden toys, pipes and gingerbread hearts being made. Presentations and demonstrations of traditional crafts take place seasonally from April 1 to October 30 and are organized with advance notice. Check the dates and registration information before your visit.

An audio guide in Croatian, Slovenian, English and German is available at the Staro Selo Museum in the Municipality of Kumrovec. A public parking garage is located right next to the museum.

Cultural sites in the Municipality of Kumrovec

The monument to the Croatian national anthem “Lijepa naša” is part of the region’s cultural context. It stands at the entrance to the Municipality of Kumrovec on the Klanjec–Kumrovec road, in the protected Zelenjak landscape area, near the ruins of Cesargrad and the Chapel of Majke Božje Risvičke. The Brotherhood Braća Hrvatskog Zmaja erected the monument to mark the anthem’s 100th anniversary, in honor of its author, Antun Mihanović.

The monument is 13.2 meters high and was unveiled on November 24, 1935. A commemorative plaque bears the anthem’s opening verses; the monument also features a relief of Antun Mihanović. These details provide a specific historical context for a visit: they connect the tribute to the author with the history of the Croatian song’s creation.

Two chapels are further historical points of interest in the Municipality of Kumrovec. The Chapel of Majke Božje Risvičke was first mentioned in 1639; only the statue of the Virgin Mary remains from its original furnishings. The Chapel of Svetog Roka on Kumrovec Hill was first mentioned in 1686. These different dates indicate the first documented mention of each chapel, not the date of a current visitor offering.

Landscape and other experiences in the Municipality of Kumrovec

The significant Zelenjak landscape area includes Cesarska Gora, Risvička Gora and the Sutla. The river is part of the Natura 2000 network and is important for the protection of endangered fish and mussel species. Alongside the area’s cultural history, this offers a regional landscape perspective that differs from the museum village and its craft themes.

Visitors wishing to include the Zelenjak treetop walkway in the Municipality of Kumrovec will find a birdwatching platform shaped like a bird’s nest and swings there. At the start of the walkway, there is a lifting platform for people with reduced mobility and people with disabilities. The signs also include Braille text for blind and visually impaired visitors. These features describe specific facilities along the walkway; they do not indicate that the entire route is accessible.

For the wider travel overview: Municipality of Kumrovec.