Istrische Karren

This is a voz, a traditional Istrian cart for transportation.

Imagine two big oxen harnessed in front of him, pulling him along the stone paths of the surrounding forests. That’s how it used to be.

Almost every household in Istria had its voz, which they treated similarly to how we treat cars now. They looked after it, carefully maintained it, decorated it with colors, and proudly showed it off.

Of course, they used it very often in various jobs. It was used to transport grain, hay, potatoes, or grapes from the fields and vineyards to the house, for transporting wood from the forest, and for transporting people.

(Images are taken from the site ISTRA POVIJEST I RAZGLEDNICE – ISTRIA History old postcards)

The old voz were made entirely of wood, while the newer ones were reinforced with iron parts. They were made by special masters called kolari.

To this day, only a few voz in Istria have been preserved, which bear witness to the past and the hard work and life of our hardworking people.

In Villa Histra, you can see four old Istrian voz whose original parts were made more than 100 years ago. We maintain and preserve them with care and love for tradition and heritage.