MASTER POTTER RASTISLAV HARONÍK 

AND HIS

FOLK HOUSE IN VYŠEHRADNÉ

PART TWO

Village of Vyšehradné was first incorporated in about 1333, however the first written report about its existence dates to 1419. Originally this used to be all German agricultural village that was in 1945, after removal of the German inhabitants, incorporated into Nitrianske Pravno. This house was first built in 1873.

The house is built of rock and clay, it has two floors and originally it was build as three space house-entry room, kitchen and living room, dining room, bedroom all as one room. The house was falling apart in 1985, there were holes in the walls between the window frames. Only the outside walls were saved as the roof, the main beams, and all the floors were past saving. Outside is decorated stucco, the kitchen is done as original black kitchen, living room has tile stove heated from the black kitchen. For instance the chimney of the black kitchen doesn't go through the roof. It goes only to the attic that was used for smoking bacon, sausages, and meat. One of other reasons that it doesn't go through the roof is that there used to be a chimney tax in the villages. Later on they instituted tax on fireplace so the ever-ingenious Slovaks started to build four-plexes with only one central fireplace and thus saving on taxes.

Rastislav made large addition that houses fairly modern kitchen, bathroom and at the end of the house he built a pottery studio. You see, he is a professional potter and he produces pottery for ULUV, an all Slovak company for folk arts and crafts. Large glass doors are leading from the studio to a beautiful vegetable garden with real stream, were he has his own little trout hatchery. Many of his friends were helping him to fulfill his dream and seventeen years after purchasing this almost ruined house, it was restored to its original beauty.

GO TO PART THREE

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.