Autumn is ideal for nature trips, especially the beginning of autumn, when the sun is still warming us and the colors in a wide range are thrilling. This weekend we suggest a trip to Rastoke a picturesque town on the coast of blue-green Slunjčice and Korana. Rastoke was first mentioned in written sources in the 17th century, and the name comes from the fact that the Slunjčica River splits into numerous branches here, leaving behind small waterfalls and cascades.
The most famous are the two waterfalls Beech and Fairy Hair which are the biggest attraction for all visitors to this part of almost untouched nature, and are the noisiest these days precisely because of the abundant autumn rain.
Rastoke is a kind of lobby of our most visited Plitvice Lakes National Park, which is only thirty kilometers away, so tourists often call Rastoke Little Plitvice.
A powerful roar of falling water is a soundscape of welcome to Rastoke, which has been permanently inhabited since the 19th century by defiant and proud people from nearby Slunj, who for generations saw more wars than enjoyed periods of peace in this area. century-old military frontier. Their lives, customs and occupations have always been inspired and driven by this very river flow. That sculptor in a fantastic play of the nature of Rastoke, whose success depends on the people and the responsible behavior of the visitors.
The river itself Sunshine at its source it sinks into the depths through the limestone rocks, dissolving the limestone that it settles in the tufa and tirelessly building new waterfalls.
That is why Rastoke is part of the Protected Landscape of Slunjčica within the ecological network of the European Union Natura 2000, systems of interconnected or spatially close ecologically significant areas important for the preservation of natural balance and biological diversity with the guiding idea: People and nature, not nature without people!
///Klek, Ozalj and Rastoke hide legends about witches and fairies
Laundry was done in Rastoki before the invention of the washing machine
Among other things, the Rastokes bear witness to the impressive harmony of nature and human achievements, with water power being used as the main and only engine for the mills. This is the first time that primitive machines were not powered by human or animal power. Water power was used not only for grinding grain but also for washing clothes.
Long before the invention of the washing machine, laundry was done in Rastoke "Basket" in the baskets next to the mills. The baskets were deep wooden barrels with drilled holes in which the water overturned and turned the laundry until it was completely clean.
The largest number of dwellings in Rastoke was built in the late 19th and early 20th century, and due to the exceptional natural beauty and historical tradition, Rastoke is 1962. The included in the list of the State Administration for the Protection of Cultural and Historical Heritage. At that time in Rastoke there were 22 mills, 4 cloth pillars, 7 baskets for washing plants and irises and 28 houses with outbuildings. Due to the harmonious architectural, historical and ethnographic heritage of Rastoke 1969. The included in the Register of Immovable Cultural Monuments at the Regional Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Zagreb.
