HOUSE

In karst villages, people used to build ground-floor houses on a single plot of land. They were built one next to another and from stones of equal size. These houses formed the oldest, often medieval village centre, covered with straw and sometimes with slate roofs. Their small window openings were set in grey walls facing the sun.

After this initial type of settlement, people started to build two-storey houses with external stone steps leading to the upper floor. If the houses were built into a slope, the upper floor could be accessed from the road. In this period, they started to frame square windows with straight stone window frames and entrance portals with straight lintels. The ground floor was reserved for non-residential activities, while the living quarters were on the upper floor.

During the construction boom of the 17th and the 18th centuries, individual owners began to combine adjacent building units into homesteads. External access to the upper floor was possible through a hallway, which could be entered from the stone steps with a handrail and a porch. Internal spaces were connected with doors in common walls.

Because the economic situation of the region improved, houses became prettier. Windows with upright stone window frames became bigger. In this period, country mansions were being built and homesteads for teamsters. Changes occurred in the internal architectural organisation of homesteads, as well. Owners now clearly distinguished between residential and non-residential spaces of their homesteads. They started building separate barns and hay lofts.