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The vast expanse of the Vojvodina flatland used to be divided into farmsteads – or wealthy self-sufficient country economies. They consisted of fields of wheat and corn, a main residential building, a guesthouse and special servants’ quarters, auxiliary buildings, a separate area for drying and smoking meat, a warehouse, corals, barns, stables, pigsties and chicken houses... Unfortunately, it has been many years since smoke was seen rising from salaš chimneys or the squeaking heard from their sweep drawing a well. The only thing that seems to have survived is a vivid nostalgia among the elderly, and a hope among the young that things could be as they were before, but better, more functional and profitable.
Nowadays, however, following a long hiatus, we are witnessing a renaissance of sorts of the salaš. |
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This has more to do with the "rediscovery" and promotion of 'new' environmental values, a reaction perhaps to the critical state of nature in the world. Today, salaš’s are being revived as salaš restaurants and salaš-motels, complete with electricity and running water, while Vojvodina’s tourist offer has discovered the guest rooms of old country manors that still boast old furniture and maintain the scent of quince and freshly-washed linen.
The word salaš is derived from the Hungarian word szallas (meaning accommodation). In Western countries they might call it a ranch, but what is meant by the term is a country estate with a main house and auxiliary buildings. It is the same as in Western countries. Except for the draw-well with a sweep and the salaš soul. In the meantime, heavy rains have washed the sweep away and the soul has long since departed.
In their early days around the middle of the 19th century, these were improvised dwellings of cattle breeders. Later, with the onset of husbandry, these farmsteads were ‘transformed’ into houses similar to those built in villages. Initially, they were farmers’ summer residences, but in time some of them became permanent. Further development resulted in a number of such farmsteads being grouped together in a line, thus forming streetlike alleys, and as they concentrated they turned into blocks and even villages. But just as they grouped, they later ungrouped. With the advent of machinery, farmers became more mobile, especially after the tractor was introduced to the countryside, which eliminated the need for summer dwellings in the fields. And this is one of the reasons why such farmsteads were relinquished on a massive scale.
The emergence of grange farms in Vojvodina dates back to the time when this region was a border region at the edge of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the 15th century, Hungarian aristocracy fled these heaths, ahead of the Turkish advance. Later, in the 17th century, such farmsteads were given to Serbs to settle in return for military services rendered to the Empire. Grange farms began to multiply immediately after the May Assembly in 1848 and after the appearance of Serb revolutionary movements. Alongside the revolutionary movement, there emerged among agricultural workers, or peasants, a desire to live on their own land and boost development of the economy. Furthermore, the peasants’ idea was to live as far as possible from landowners and district authorities.
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In those days salaš-type farmsteads were usually built ensconced on their landlords’ plots – towards the road. On a sizeable plot of connected land, the salaš would be placed towards the middle, not far from a road, but tucked away some 400 meters as protection from 'uninvited guests'. Later this distance was reduced to some 100 meters.
In most cases, these farmsteads were built by one family next to the farmstead of another. In time, a salaš was either purchased together with the estate or built on newly-acquired property. Groups of these farmsteads with owners of the same surname thus cropped up in different locations.
Usually, a salaš would have a large living room, a spacious kitchen and pantry. Behind the kitchen, protected by the same roof, one could ordinarily find a horse stable and a cattle shed.
Water, as a prerequisite to survival of people and livestock, was invariably drawn from wells. These wells would usually be at the center of the farmyard; they were eight to ten meters deep and two meters in width. |
To draw large amounts of water, the draw-well system with a sweep was used, while larger domestic animals were watered at troughs put up next to the well.
As a rule at every salaš, various grains were stored in the attic, while corn in storage baskets was usually set on top of the chicken coop and/or pigpen. The stable was usually built of firmly packed earth, and included an attic, covered with roof tiles. The farmyard fences, and those of the pens, were wicker fences. Fruit trees and grapevines would be planted in the farmyard. Mulberry and acacia trees were planted in the farmyard section where livestock would graze, while the fruit of the mulberry tree was used to distil brandy and acacia was excellent as firewood.
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After World War II, thousands of these Vojvodina farmsteads were destroyed during industrialization drives, nationalization and expropriation, and land was re-distributed. Destruction of these farmsteads did away not only with the traditional way of life but also with small food-producing plants, because every one of these economies could feed at least fifty or so families living in urban areas. As a result, the birth rate dropped and schools were closed due to a lack of children.
Now, after a decades-long hiatus, these authentic country economies are being revived in Vojvodina, and a number of them specialize in salaš tourism where visitors can enjoy an authentic salaš environment and sample local cuisine to the sound of a tamburitza band while also being entertained with folk song and dance groups.
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Salaš owners have gone to great lengths to reconstruct these farmsteads, and have for the most part endeavored to restore their original appearance.
In this respect, "Salaš 84" tops the list. Its proximity to Novi Sad, just 15 kilometers away, makes it a popular weekend destination for city dwellers. Owner Dimče Kulevski reconstructed it four years ago, turning it into a luxury and catering facility. As a measure of his success, Kulevski’s "Salaš 84" has been awarded the Golden Tourist Heart, is the recipient of the prestigious title Business Partner of Serbia and Montenegro, while it has also officially been declared one of the ten most attractive places in Serbia.
This salaš began with a restaurant and two suites that were built on a plot of land measuring some 970 square meters. In addition, this salaš currently has a fishpond, a mini zoo-garden, a mini football pitch, badminton and beach volleyball courts. Other tourist attractions offered to its visitors include: horseback riding, go-cart driving, buggy rides around the area as well as motor-sled or horse-drawn sled excursions. The restaurant is capable of accommodating 160 guests indoors and as many on the outdoor terrace, and is furnished in the traditional Vojvodina way. The suites are arranged in the same spirit. The materials used for their construction are wood, reeds and baked bricks. The premises are heated with tiled furnaces that are between 104 and 173 years old. The kitchen offers traditional Vojvodina dishes exclusively. It is also decorated to conform to local style with an old baking oven. The wall and roof openings of the restaurant offer a view of nothing but the sky, an endless plain, wheat silos and a church steeple. Some ten meters away is the ‘small house’, as hosts like to call the facility that accommodates two fully furnished suites, each consisting of a bedroom, bathroom and a smaller drawing room. The rooms have squeaky wooden floors, wooden cupboards, ‘old’ rags, wooden frame beds, romantic divided-light windows with curtains and tiled furnaces that burn firewood. To describe the surrounding landscape one would be well-advised to solicit the help of an old, preferably Russian, novelist. A pond of irregular size, approximately 130 meters by 40 meters, abounds in carp, catfish and other fish. A boat is berthed on the shore, while a small island with swans is pinpoints the middle of the pond. An old gate divides the restaurant from several other auxiliary buildings used for storing straw, firewood and other materials needed on a salaš. Other items of interest include: a horse stable, a chicken coop and pigpens, the last of these understandably not used at this time. Adding to the impeccable tidiness of the salaš is a grass lawn disturbed only by brick footpaths running across it, in addition to flowers and an orchard. The compound is supplied with electricity by a generator dug deep into the ground, while two 35-meter deep wells supplying water.
Although there are scores of them, several of the most representative high village tourist industry facilities of this type include: "Salaš 137" at Čenej, the "Katić Salaš" near Senta, the "Gabrić Salaši" at Palić, the "Čika Nikolin Salaš" in Naradin, and the "Vrbić" salaš near Bačka Palanka.
In brief, the salaš is once more becoming a reality in Vojvodina, a tourist mecca and an attraction worth visiting!
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