MASTER POTTER RASTISLAV HARONIK 

AND HIS

FOLK HOUSE IN VYSEHRADNE

PART THREE

He did it not in hopes of winning recognition, but from the love of the folk architecture and heritage a house where he could live with his mother and dedicate his time to his pottery work and the collection of artifacts from surrounding area of Nitrianske Pravno. His house is popular with foreign and local visitors. School children from the area come by busloads to see this living old house.

"Soon, I started to collect furniture, wooden chests and more or less everything. For about a year or so I am collecting folk costumes and dresses, specializing only in our valley and area between Prievidza and Nitrianske Pravno. At the beginning I was collecting the folk dresses from many other areas, but that is an impossible task as every village and its upper or lower end, do have variations in their folk dress. It is very sad, how they look when I get them. You see if someone has a broken pot and puts it away in the attic, it will survive there for 100 years. When you put a torn skirt to the attic, shortly it will be destroyed by mice or moths."

Just installed stoves at
SLOVENSKÁ LUPČA CASTLE

We opened large wooden chest and Rastislav was slowly showing us his most valuable and beautifully embroidered bonnets and folk dresses. Nitrianske Pravno in the old days was known for its embroidered works. German women of Nitrianske Pravno were the famous embroiders. His collection also includes many pictures with biblical scenes painted on glass, valuable bonnets, religious objects and statutes from wood, wooden chests, furniture and many other valuable folk objects.

In 1992, the house was registered in the all Slovak registry of cultural heritage objects. Later on his friend Mrs. Elza Dadikova a director of the towns cultural center in Bojnice has entered the house in the all-European Europa Nostra competition and few weeks prior to our visit an official presentation of the diploma has taken place.

Rastislav's plans for the future include restoration of the old water well and saving as many historic artifacts of this area as possible. Now it is summer of 1997, I became very good friend with Rastislav, his brother Miro and their mother. I do visit them each time I am in Slovakia. Rastislav's collection is growing almost every day and every visit I find new additions to his beautiful collection.

GO TO PAGE ONE

GO TO MASTER POTTER RASTISLAV HARONIK

GO TO FOLK ARTISTS

GO TO TOWNS AND VILLAGES

Published in the Slovak Heritage Live newsletter Volume 2, No. 3, Fall 1994
Copyright © Vladimir Linder 1994 
3804 Yale Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5C 1P6
The above article and photographs may not be copied, reproduced, republished, or redistributed by any means including electronic, without the express written permission of Vladimir Linder. All rights reserved.