Nacekova Hiša: Nature and Culture

Nacek’s House is, in truth, both Nacek’s and Tonika’s house. But “Nacek’s and Tonika’s House” would have been too long, so it simply remained Nacek’s House.

Nacek was born in 1911, eight years after Antonija. They first met on a warm day, when the sun shone especially beautifully on a lilac bush. Or perhaps it was raining. In any case, there was definitely a lilac bush. In January 1939 they were married, and later that same year they built their house — with clay, wood, a few bricks, stones, straw, and roof tiles.

On their fifty-five square meters they had a bedroom, a kitchen, and a storage room. In the kitchen, the morning sun poured in brightly when the walnuts were still small. The bedroom glowed magically in the afternoon light, and on the south side of the house the lilac never failed to delight Tonika. Tonika feared drafts, so she always wore a kerchief tied with a big bow. She would fold handkerchiefs into little mice. They had children, and later the laughter of their grandchildren filled the house. Together they lived there for fifty years. When Tonika passed away, Nacek walked to the cemetery every day. Sometimes he would take off his shoes, lie down, and cry. He did this until 1997.

Since then, the house has been waiting — waiting for hands, for wood, for new tiles, for repaired windows, restored doors, a stove, care, children’s laughter, and the smell of fresh bread.

In 2016 we began the slow process of restoration. Our focus has been on using materials with the smallest possible ecological footprint, drawn from the local environment (the clay, for instance, was dug right next to the house, water for construction was brought from a nearby pond, and straw came from neighboring farms). Whenever possible, we reuse materials, so that each window and every piece of furniture carries its own story. The goal of the renovation is to create a small educational center. Houses made of clay, once common in every Slovenian village, are today rare historical, architectural, and ethnological monuments.

In recent years, we have expanded our educational activities to raise awareness about natural building and the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainable development.