Mill Days 2024.
On September 21st come to Slunj on the Mill Days and find out directly from the miller how to grin grains into flour!
From September 16th to September 22nd, 2024 , in Slunj, in Rastoke, the Mill Days will be held for the third year in a row. With this event, the Tourist Board of the town of Slunj, in cooperation with stakeholders from the destination, promotes the cultural heritage of the destination of Slunj Rastoke through interactive events, workshops and local stories, with the aim of strengthening the tourist identity and the local community.
On Saturday, September 21th, visitors can hear the stories of the millers themselves, visit mills that are not open to visitors during the rest of the year, see performances by craftsmen and artists, and participate in bread-making and milling workshops .
The event lasts several days and includes various events .
In the week before the final event, restaurants in Slunj offer menus with ingredients from the mill, and at the same time, storytelling workshops are held in the Rastoke Tourist Information Center. The final event is on Saturday and it starts with an e-bike tour and continues with Tales from the Mill. Tales from the mill include topics related to mills, milling, water, flour, famous people from the history of the Slunj region, along with performances and workshops of traditional crafts, as well as guided tours in which guides and the locals themselves participate and provide an authentic experience of the life of a miller. At the end of the day, an outdoor concert will be held.
Restaurant week
A gastronomic event organized in cooperation with Slunj restaurateurs and the Tourist Board of the city of Slunj – takes place from Monday to Sunday, from September 16, 2024. to September 22, 2024 . During Restaurant Week, as part of Mill Day, restaurants in Slunj offer dishes inspired by food from the mill.
See the menus Mill Days Restaurant Week 2024.
Free storytelling workshops
In the week before the central event itself, on Thursday (September 19th) and on Friday (September 20th), free storytelling workshops on a topic of the interpretation of the cultural heritage are held in Rastoke, in the Tourist Information Center,
The number of participants is limited. To participate in the workshop, you need to register via e-mail: info@slunj-rastoke.hr
E bike tour
The e-bike tour starts on Saturday, September 21st, 2024 ., at 11:00 a.m. from Rastoke (in front of the Rastok Tourist Information Center) towards the surrounding villages . The final point of the tour is again in Rastoke, where the cyclists are free to join the Tales from the Mill.
This e-bike tour connects the Rastoke with the surrounding villages, from which the locals used to bring grain for milling. The participants of the bike ride can enjoy the ride through the beautiful landscape and the offer of local farm that are visited during the tour. This year, the participants of the e-bike tour will visit family farm Čop, located 5 km from Rastoke, and will have the opportunity to try picking sweet potatoes on their property in Cvitović.
The e-bike tour is free, and to participate in it, you need to fill out an online application or send an application to the e-mail address info@slunj-rastoke.hr
Link to register for the free Dani Mlina e-bike tour: https://forms.gle/DV15y3zvntyJUzCB8
Tales from the mill
On Saturday, September 21st, 2024, in Rastoke, in front of the Tourist Information Center, an entertainment program will be held. Also, an outdoor artistic performances will be performed on the theme of Rastoke`s faires, stories and legends related to mills and millers.
The central event is a free guided walking tour, starting at 1:00 p.m. , during which the mills that are not open to visitors during the rest of the year are visited, and during which the millers themselves tell stories about their family mills and life in Rastoke.
Starting point of the guided walking tour Tales from the Mill: Tourist information center Rastoke, Rastoke 2, 47 240 Slunj; https://maps.app.goo.gl/LVccRLxYo1Du1F8dA
The Days of the Mill event revives the centuries-old tradition of milling . Visitors have the opportunity to see the workings of the mill in live, hear stories about Rastoke directly from the millers and experience old crafts, and through numerous performances go back to the past, when Rastoke faires and similar legends were created.
With an exhibition of paintings, painter Mirjana Modrušan will bring to the life the legends of Rastoke faires , while painter Ivan Golac will immortalize the spoon mills by using the shallow relief technique. The work of the Rastoke`s mill will be presented with a graphic representation. With the exhibition Milan Neralić – bronze reflection in the mirror, all visitors to the Mill Days will have the opportunity to get to know the story of the life and work of Milan Neralić, who was born and brought up in Slunj and who won the bronze in the saber at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1900 and thus became the first Croatian with an Olympic medal.
In the mill of the Štefanace family, during the event, the sculptor Alana Kajfež will intervene on the mill stone (sculpture), at the same time, during the duration of the creation of the sculpture, an art workshop for children will be held. Children will be invited to fun and creative expression in colorful colors, making pictures on canvas using a special technique. At the end of the workshop, the little artists will be able to take their creations home, and the millstone sculpture will remain in Slunj.
Craftsmen have always been important for jobs related to mills and maintenance of mills. Thus, for the third year in a row, at the Mill Days in Rastoke, the skills of traditional trades will be demonstrated: blacksmiths, carpenters, bakers, ceramicists and other craftsmen who were important for millers. The students of Plitvička jezera High School will show us their baking skills , and for the first time, we will be guided through the world of millers and their stories by licensed tourist guide Josip Kolaković from Slunj. DJ Alinčić and Hrvoje Sudar will provide good entertainment with their live concert.
PROGRAMME:
Monday – Sunday, September 16 – September 22, 2024.
Restaurant week
- see the offer for: Mill Days Restaurant Week 2024.
Thursday, September 19, 2024 .
Location: Tourist Information Center Rastoke
17:00 – 20:00 Free storytelling workshop – Jasna Held
Friday, September 20, 2024 .
Location: Tourist Information Center Rastoke
14:00-17:00 Free storytelling workshop – Jasna Held
Saturday, September 21, 2024.
- all programs and workshops within the Mill Day are free of charge for all visitors
Location: Tourist Information Center Rastoke
11:00-14:30 DJ program
11:00-13:00 E-bike tour
- The number of participants is limited and advance registration is required. Link to register for the e-bike tour: https://forms.gle/DV15y3zvntyJUzCB8
11:00-13:00 Workshops
-
-
- 11:00 a.m. Workshop – making clay objects
- 11:30 a.m. Homemade jam making workshop
- 12:00 Bread making workshop
- 12:15 Storytelling workshop “Let’s tell a story”
- no prior registration is required for the workshops
-
13:00-14:30 Guided walk tour “Tales from the Mill”
14:30-16:00 Open air concert – Hrvoje Sudar & Patrick Walker
Location: Štefanac Family Mill
11:00-16:00
Making a sculpture from millstone – sculptor Alana Kajfež
-
-
- 14:30 Art workshop for children “Fluid art” – Art of Fun
-
Location: In front of the mill of the Skukan Family
11:00 – 16:00
- presentation of the blacksmith’s work
- presentation of the art of woodworking
- textile processing
Exhibitions in front of the Rastoka Tourist Information Center and the Skukan Family Mill
11:00-16:00
- Exhibition of Mirjana Modrušan’s paintings ” Rastoke`s Villas”
- Exhibition of the Croatian Sports Museum ” Milan Neralić – bronze reflection in the mirror”
- Graphic representation of the Rastokeś mill
The Mill Days initiative was recognized by the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) as an example of good practice in heritage conservation.
The main sponsors of the Mill Days in 2024 are the Croatian Tourist Board , Karlovac County and the City of Slunj .
