Ethno village Stara Lonja

The ethno village Stara Lonja is situated in the village of Lonja at the heart of Lonjsko Polje Nature Park. The village is 120 kilometres away form Zagreb and 45 kilometres from Sisak. Stara Lonja is situated in the part of Lonja called Budžak . The name comes from Turkish and it means a nook or a hidden corner. Stara Lonja is 500 metres away from the main road and the village centre. A long time ago the river Lonja flew through Budžak and there were about thirty houses here, too. The houses disappeared along with the people who died or went away. The only houses left are these refurbished for tourism. The ethno village Stara Lonja is bordered on the old river bed of the river Lonja in the west, and the dirt road leading into the field called Poljice and the field itself in the east. The river Lonja was the boundary between Slavonia and Croatia in the past. In old times you could hear a song coming form Budžak, there was a sound of hammering a scythe, you could hear horses neighing and cows mooing, sounds of hammers and saws. Local people were building Budžak as if it would stay here forever. In some places only the old water wells bear witness to the life that began, went on and ended in its full swing. In 1900 Lonja had a population of 727. The greatest number of people lived in Budžak. A few surviving wooden houses have been refurbished in a traditional way and furnished with authentic furniture.

Hosts’ words

We are Igor and Mladen Bojanić, the owners of the ethno village Stara Lonja. We grew up here and spent the most beautiful childhood in this divine region. Our great-grandfathers, grandmothers and our mother lived in Lonja. We have lived in many places in our lives but we have always come back to Lonja to enjoy the countryside, the traditional architecture, fields, woods, horses and the peace this region offers. Being anglers from the earliest childhood we have become familiar with the beauty and size of Lonjsko Polje by taking our friends and acquaintances on many fishing tours to show them the beauty of it all. It is easy to love Lonjsko Polje. You just have to come and feel it, smell the flowers in fields, walk along the village lanes, take a swim on the sandy beaches of the river Sava, wake up in dewy mornings, smell and taste the fish grilled by the open fire, admire horses in the sunset and do many other things words fail to describe. Lonjsko Polje is a cure for the soul of an urban man who has long forgotten to relax and live the way his ancestors lived. For all those who would like to experience something different, something more beautiful, something to remember their whole life, something that would always make them come back to Lonjsko Polje and the ethno village Stara Lonja the choice is simple.

Visit us and be happy again!