Croatian Wooden Toys

Very beautiful traditional wooden toys are made in several villages around the town of Marija Bistrica. Marija Bistrica is a famous Catholic pilgrimage town in the north of Croatia. These toys have been made for over a century. Toys are made of willow, beech, lime or maple wood. After carving each toy is painted and decorated with floral or geometrical patterns. The most common colours are red, blue, black and white.

Croatian wooden toys

There are about 50 different wooden toys like for example horses, small furniture, wagons, whistles, birds, folk musical instruments (for example “tamburica”) etc. Toys are usually sold at local markets, religious and other events. UNESCO declared Croatian wooden toys part of the World Intangible Cultural Heritage.