Around 20 km from Varaždin is a place called Klenovnik and our destination- the village Bezeki. While Klenovnik is famous for the Drašković family that spent years building one of the most representative Renaissance castles in Croatia, with 365 windows, where the Croatian Parliament sessions were held when Ivan Drašković was Ban, the village Bezeki was known for vast amounts of elder tree.
At the very beginning of the village that was named after the elder tree (Croatian: elder=bazga) there was an estate (according to almost 200 years old Austrian- Hungarian maps) with a cellar or 'pilnica', called Grešna pilnica (sinful cellar) by the people. They called it that because the prior owner, a game- keeper and a cellarman Aftek poured wine there that mostly women would drink. However, Aftek was a well-known and jolly ladies'man so he would have a drink with everybody who came to the cellar. Sometimes they would drink too much so women would „get stuck“ on Aftek's barrel, and then one thing led to another…as a memory of Aftek's wild and free life there is still Altek's „shabby“ barrel in the restaurant. The story continues until today.
Everybody who wishes for more luck in love sits on it…and people say it is effective…the estate was completely renovated by the Gladović family, preserving the authenticity of the past times. There is the house that was turned into a museum, a stable, a carriage, a cellar and an orchard filled with old varieties of fruit (apples, pears). The estate was turned into an attractive excursion site with the view of the Drašković castle, the beautiful scenery of Hrvatsko Zagorje region and the highest mountain in Zagorje, Ivančica.
Address: Klenovnik 154, 42244 Klenovnik
Phone: +385 98 782 195
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