Simončič Hayrack

Simončič Hayrack, also Simončič Toplar or Blaž Toplar, is a hayrack at the southeastern border of Bistrica in the Municipality of Šentrupert in the traditional region of Lower Carniola.^[1] It is known as the largest and the most beautiful hayrack in Slovenia.^[2][3] It was built in 1936 by Janko Gregorčič (officially Janez Gregorčič; 1906–1984), a carpenter from nearby Slovenska Vas, on the order of farmer Jože Simončič.^[4] It was designed as a double hayrack (toplar) with wooden pillars, three pairs of windows and a pitched roof. The gable, which is turned towards the road linking the villages of Mirna and Mokronog, is richly decorated with predominantly plant motifs.^[5] Simončič Hayrack belongs to the farmstead Bistrica no. 11. Since 2001, it has been protected as a cultural monument of national significance^[1] and is the only hayrack in Slovenia with this status.^[2] As the most known of over 500 hayracks in the Mirna Valley it supplements the Land of Hayracks, i.e. the museum of hayracks in Šentrupert.^[3] Exhibitions of visual arts and other events take place seasonally under its roof,^[6] and it is also still used to dry hay and a place to store agricultural machines.^[5]