In Pakovo selo near Drnis, near Krka National Park and some 20 kilometres from the city of Sibenik in Sibenik- Knin County, the first Croatian Ethnoland was recently opened.
The indigenous Dalmatian excursion centre - Dalmati, as it is officially called, stretches over 15 thousand square metres and is the reconstruction of a typical village of the Sibenik and Dalmatian hinterland in which visitors can see how people once lived in the area, sample local dishes, get to known numerous folk customs, traditional garb and folklore. People whose occupations are no longer in demand on the market like shepherds, blacksmiths, weavers and woodworkers will find their place at this Ethnoland and the producers of health food will earn money as will people who make souvenirs.
This indigenous village is dominated by small old stone houses in which real craftspeople are lodged with konoba, wine cellars, donkeys, sheep, goats, Dalmatian farmhands, their stables and paddocks, gardens through which tourists can walk and pick what they would like to sample… Visitors can take the opportunity to dance a round with the folklore ensembles from Pakovo selo, tour the wealth of the Drnis region and Sibenik hinterland and, among other things, visit the Didova kuca (Granddaddy’s house) museum in which not a single of the exhibited traditional items is under a hundred years old. At the centre of this rural treasure is a large amphitheatre with a seating capacity of about 400 that will be used to promote the rural heritage of the region.
The Ethnoland offer will be a little richer every year with special attention being paid to the construction of a dry stonewall that will encircle the entire village. The traditional Dalmatian low wall usually used to fence in gardens and homesteads will be just the kind tradition insists on - made by hand of hand-picked stone.
source: Croatian National Tourist Board at www.croatia.hr