Grešna Pilnica Rural Household

About twenty kilometers from Varaždin, in the village of Bezeki near Klenovnik, at the top of the first hill, there is a tourist destination known for offering simple traditional peasant cuisine – porcini mushroom soup, homemade sausages, and delicious roasts from a bread oven.

Near Klenovnik, known for the Croatian noble Drašković family, who for years built one of the most representative Renaissance castles in Croatia, where meetings of the Croatian parliament were held during the time of Ivan Drašković's ban, lies a property with a cellar once known as "Grešna pilnica." It was here that a certain landlord named Aftek sold wine to the villagers, mainly visited by women. After having a few too many glasses, many of them, as the story goes, ended up stuck on Aftek's second-hand barrel. And from there, it wasn’t far to sin. As a reminder of this bygone time, Aftek's worn barrel still stands in the corner of the wine cellar.

Today, this property, which has preserved the authenticity of a past era, with its original house arranged as a museum, barn, carriage, wine cellar, and orchard filled with old fruit tree varieties (apples: rambule, božićnice, kanade, mošancike, kolačićne, and pears: tapka, viljamovka, orah, and plums: driste, bistrice, dironcije), has been fully restored by the Gladović family and transformed into an attractive excursion site. Visitors can enjoy a beautiful view of the Drašković Castle, the stunning Zagorje landscape, and the highest Zagorje mountain, Ivanščica.