The Zlatibor Mountain is one of best known tourist places in Serbia. It is famous for the health tourism, and in the past few years for beautiful ski tracks as well. At the same time, the area of Zlatibor is interesting for the preservation of traditions.
The idea of building an ethno village in Sirogojno is directly connected with the knitting tradition of that region. A few decades ago, an ingenious clothes designer Dobrila Smiljanic, adhering to a time honored tradition in Sirogojno, gathered together the women of the village to hand knit models according to her designs. They began with sweaters, and when they became a sought after commodity even outside Serbia and Europe, Dobrila Smiljanic created other clothing made out of wool, which these skilled knitters turned into unique pieces of clothing. Thus the world quickly became aware of this beautiful tradition of the Sirogojno village, and that inspired other artists, and even tourists to become interested in this village.
The unique qualities of folk architecture of the Zlatibor mountain region can be see in the STARO SELO Ethno Park. The Zlatibor wood cabin known as the brvnara is the perfect example of Serbs homes in the regions of the Dinaric Mountains. They were built by self-taught builders according to their needs, their own feeling of harmony and spatial beauty. In that part of Serbia for centuries several generations and families lived under one roof in a so-called zadruga, a community with strictly regulated rules of conduct, and this kind of lifestyle dictated the layout of the rooms in the house.
A common life together of many families went on in the house, near the hearth, the only fire in the household. Thus the elder family members slept in that room as well as the youngest children. The entire family would gather by the fireside in the evenings. In winter the men would play the gusla, a string instrument, or the pipe, and the women would knit.
The Ethno Park in Sirogojno consists of several authentic houses with furniture dating from the previous century, and replicas are made in the workshops out of wood and clay, which make a valuable souvenir.