Gigantic Istrian kažun in Vodnjan

Did you know that the greatest kažun - stone shelter in Istria has a diameter over 4.5 m and the height of over 4 m? They are small field dry wall shelters widespread throughout Istria. The kažun shelters are so small that an adult was unable to stand up inside them, and it was a real discovery that three persons could fit into one of them.

Those stone giants resembling the ancient temples can be found at the Vodnjan area, which has an abundance of these traditional edifices, which have been preserved from deterioration in the last decade. There are approximately 5000 kažun shelters in Istria at present, and 2000 -3000 of them are located in this area. It is an interesting fact that there used to be 10000-20000 kažun shelters in south Istria.

So called “Kažun Twins” in the village of Batvači near St. Foška church will take your breath away. The first kažun has a 4 m diameter, the inner height is 4.3 m, while its wall is 1.2 m thick. It was probably used for keeping the livestock. The second one is somewhat smaller, it is interesting due to a small opening at the roof instead of chimney and the fireplace, which evidences that people used to live here during their work in the fields.