The Story of the Present, the Promises of the Pristava Tourist Village and the Story of a Unique Past
The Story of the Present and the Promises of the Pristava Tourist Village
Pristava’s unique past is the basis for what Pristava is today.
The whole story thus hinges on a historical basis, and this is centred on Viridis Visconti. This sense of history gives Pristava its unparalleled attraction, and is the JEWEL in the crown of the village of Pristava.
The second unique JEWEL is the location and beauty of the village of Pristava. It lies in the extreme northern part of the Ivančna Gorica municipality at an ideal position above sea level (695 meters), where you can enjoy all the most spectacular views over Slovenia’s beautiful landscape.
You can breathe in pure air of the highest quality, full of the best oxygen. Let your inner spirit sing the song of happiness. There is nothing to weigh you down, there is only limitless personal freedom, a freedom that comes with true peace and life-giving energy, and which provides you with the inspiration necessary to resolve all of life’s problems and challenges – and all of this within the embrace of pristine nature. The area is filled with the most breathtaking woodland meadows and paths where Mother Nature made use of only the best Creation had to offer.
We guarantee awe-inspiring moments which will make an everlasting impression. You will find it difficult to leave Pristava, and will surely want to come again and again to experience the Pristava fairytale.
It is unconditionally a unique JEWEL that you won’t find anywhere else on Earth. It also gives us, the inhabitants of the village of Pristava, the power to prepare an unforgettable experience.
The village of Pristava is home to only 4 farms, on which we all live. Each farm has around 20 to 25 hectares of land. Pristava has 19 permanent residents, familys: Grubor, Jefim, Kastelic, Okorn and Žaren.
Every farm has its own local name, as was the practice in the past. The first is named Pr´ Tonijevih (family Žaren), the second Pr´ Okornu (family Okorn), the third Pr´ Mežnar (family Jefim) and the last one bears the name Pr´ Lampret (family Kastelic).
The basic values by which the inhabitants of the farms live their lives include helping one another, cooperating, striving towards common goals, keeping the village tidy and thinking positively, as well as being creative and working far outside the shackles of mediocrity, and all the while providing an inspiration to each other.
Each farm has jewels that the others don’t; combined as a whole, we represent a unique entity called the Pristava Tourist Village, Pristine Nature.
In presenting the Pristava Tourist Village, we would like to tell a story and share it with you. The historical tale of the inhabitant of the Pristava Tourist Village, Viridis Visconti, harmony with nature, animals and the inhabitants of our village, as well as the natural beauty of our landscape, have all been woven into an illustrative symbol.
United under the trade mark Pristava Tourist Village, Pristine Nature, we will work towards providing a unique and top-quality offering of crops, products and services, as well as full nutritional self-sufficiency. Everything is produced and grown naturally in the village of Pristava. Any potential secondary resources are obtained exclusively from the Ivančna Gorica municipality.
Each of the farms will thus be able to make its own contribution to the fairytale and provide unique home-made services, crops and products. These include:
Kmetija Pr´ Tonijevih
The Pr Tonijevih farm offers a unique service: you can spend and enjoy time at Pristava and sample home-made food and drink at the same time. They offer an excellent dining experience and the opportunity to spend time at unforgettable locations with the best vistas for miles around. You can enjoy all this plus specially designed benches, a picnic area with all the modern conveniences, such as covered seating, two-person living and sleeping quarters, designated locations for your own tents, a covered outside grill, a camp fire, lavatories equipped with showers, a volleyball court and futsal space for children, a pedal-powered go-kart course and a rest stop for 4 campers. All of this is well lit and equipped with speakers and WiFi.
Pr´ Okornu
The Okorn farm focuses on day-trip tourism. It is also known far and wide for its first-rate food and beverages. Their ever-present house specialty is domestically-produced fried chicken with rolled dumplings and cottage cheese (sirovi štruklji), and apple strudel; during the winter months, you are welcome to sample their excellent home-made blood or pork sausages (the krvavica and pečenica) together with some home-grown sauerkraut. You shouldn’t miss out on the other meat products either, such as salamis and the zašink (a traditional dried meat product), and the baked foods, for example the excellent home-baked bread, the tarragon and potratna (“wasteful”) potica and doughnuts with home-made marmalade. They also offer noodles and drinks – home-made apple juice, plum brandy, bilberry brandy and many more.
The farm also produces vegetables, fruit, wheat, eggs and pork. Everything else is supplied by the Pr Mežnar farm, which means the village of Pristava is nutritionally self-sufficient.
Pr´ Mežnar
The Pr Mežnar farm is centred on basic activities such as agriculture, livestock and the production of milk. Their most important credo is that everything should be produced naturally and in a healthy way. The farm is the main source of local food for Pristava.
In fact, you can buy just about anything at the farm, from vegetables, fruit, meat, milk, eggs, cottage cheese and home baked goods, to juices.
You can also see all of the farmyard animals by prior arrangement.
Visitors who enjoy the various hiking trails will also be able to obtain a stamp at the farm.
Everyone interested in the unique history of Pristava will be able to arrange a guided tour of the small church of St. Lambert, which was once the home of the Lady of Pristava, Viridis Visconti.
Kmetija Pr´ Lampret
You will be able to sample some of their home-made honey, produced from the pollen of the Pristava meadows and forests where you can take relaxing walks and pick mushrooms.
The Pr Lampret farm is also the only one that has recently been completely renovated.
The goal of the renovation was to combine the past and the present, each represented by its own functional architectural elements.
All four farms can be seen to combine our offer into a single phrase:
The Pristava Tourist Village is a countryside fairytale village where you can have unique experiences, which include appreciating a modern countryside infrastructure (Pr Lampret), seeing how real rustic food is produced (Pr Mežnar), eating and drinking original rustic food and beverages (Pr Okornu), as well as living and tasting food and drink in natural countryside surroundings (Pr Tonijevih).
The Pristava Tourist Village will forever be an unfinished story. We will constantly add new features and services, with the express desire of keeping them different, unique and top quality.
The Story of the Pristava Tourist Village’s Unique Past
The Lady of Pristava was the famous Duchess Viridis Visconti from Milan. She was one of the first children of Bernabò Visconti and Beatrice Regina della Scala. She is primarily known for being the wife of Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the benefactor of the Stična Monastery. She spent her last years at Pristava nad Stično. She was born into the family of the Lord of Milan and spent her free time reading the poems composed by her countrymen. She especially liked Petrarch. In addition to spending her free time engaged in study, she also helped design the flag.
The flag served as a recognisable symbol of the Milanese army. The coat of arms of Milan is embroidered with the image of a serpent swallowing a frightened child. On top of the image is the Lombardy iron crown. Bernabò Visconti proudly allowed his daughter to hand the flag over to the men going into battle. Visconti’s army did not seek a confrontation, but they were determined to defend Milan and the other provinces. To this day, the coat of arms remains a recognisable symbol of the Visconti family.
The emissary of the Austrian Duke Rudolph came to Milan with an important suggestion. In his letter, the Austrian Duke asked Bernabò to marry off his daughter Viridis to his brother Leopold III. However, Leopold III was not the only suitor. Viridis was also courted by the illustrious condottiero Ambrosio Sforza from Milan. Viridis became the wife of Leopold III who was just 14 years old at the time. She was unhappy for the first couple of years at the Austrian court. She wrote letters home speaking of her unhappiness, which nevertheless hid some of the details. She didn’t speak German and was unaccustomed to the less lavish manor in which they lived. They were treated as children, which in reality they were. His older brother, Albert the Pigtail, on the other hand, spared no expense and had many servants. Viridis was not used to being ignored and having to adapt. The lords met in a large chamber where they whiled away the hours working and chatting. Viridis was not particularly talkative when working.
When Leopold came of age, the bad times where behind them. Viridis and Leopold became popular with their subjects and other citizens. They soon came to rule the land. They desired more and more – an abundance of land and castles. They were successful at negotiating and gained significant power. Leopold worked alongside his brother and together they expanded their estates to Tyrol. Leopold wished to prove to the people that he was a hero. He proved his gallantry in combat, earning the title of knight. Among others, he conquered the following lands: Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, the Windic March, Istria, Felte, Cividale, Tyrol, the Duchy of Habsburg, a border duchy and several smaller regions. Leopold conquered land after land, making Viridis proud and humiliating his sister-in-law. This of course earned him many enemies. Leopold bought expensive castles for Viridis and offered her the most extensive lands. Viridis supported him. She gave him courage and strength, as well as the offer of counsel when it came to conquering lands and fighting battles.
Viridis and Leopold had four children: William, Leopold, Ernest the Iron and Frederick. Their progeny had a religious upbringing and were schooled to comport themselves likes dukes. Virids sought a wife for her firstborn, with an eye on the benefits a marriage would bring. Viridis wanted to become an empress and the mother of kings. This would allow her to show everyone her glory and what a successful wife and mother she had become.
Leopold and Viridis entrusted the upbringing of their sons to the peasant priest Peter. It was a well known fact that people of peasant stock had great difficulty in rising up to the rank of courtier. Peter was unusually clever and was ordained a priest at the Stična Monastery. He became a teacher and a role model to two of the sons at the Austrian court. However, Peter was soon forced to leave the Austrian court. Viridis felt her sons had become estranged and she blamed the priest’s education. He went to the Stična Monastery.
When warring with the Swiss for their land, the army discovered Leopold’s battle plan. They tricked his forces into coming to the valley where the thirty-seven-year-old Leopold died in the battle for the Swiss city of Luzern. Viridis then went through some troubled times. She was deeply affected by her husband’s death. She found herself with no one to support her. Her sons helped. The eldest of Viridis’ sons was still too young to take power, which is why Leopold’s brother Albert reigned in his stead. Albert also took care of his nephews and brought them to court. Viridis remained alone in Graz. With each passing day, she turned more and more to God and prayer. She contacted Peter, the monk from the Stična Monastery. She repented for her behaviour when he was their guest. The monk told Viridis about a hunting manor close to the monastery. Herman, the Count of Celje, bought the marvellous little castle for Viridis. Viridis spent the rest of her life at the hunting manor or Pristava. She was mourned at the Church of St. Lambert. She was then buried in a tomb in Sittich (Stična) a few days before Epiphany in 1407 (or 1415). She left all of her worldly belongings to the Stična Monastery.
Today, the place is known as Pristava. The castle at Pristava no longer stands; however, historical records serve to remind us of Viridis Visconti, the noble Lady of the Manor. We remember her with pride and often speak of her. The Church of St. Lambert still stands on the hill. The church has a memorial plaque honouring Viridis Visconti. It was placed there to celebrate the 600th anniversary of her death..
Mateja Okorn; summary taken from the book “Gospa s pristave” (The Lady of the Manor) by Janežič-Kraljev Ivan.
You are welcome in our pristine nature! We look forward to your visit.
