An exhibition at MaxCity explores everyday life in Istria in the past. On Saturday, 24 October, crafts, folklore and storytelling join the programme — a chance to look beyond the attractive surfaces of stone huts and clay pots.
A Saturday for a different side of Istria
Štorije od starina runs from 19 to 30 October at MaxCity in Pula. On Saturday, 24 October, the organiser adds demonstrations and workshops to the exhibition. For anyone who usually looks for beaches and viewpoints on the peninsula, it offers a specific opportunity to explore everyday culture.
Our suggestion: do not fill the whole day with activities. Choose a craft that genuinely interests you and leave time for questions. How something is built or shaped often becomes clearer when you watch one stage closely rather than briefly passing by everything.
The relevant time slots on 24 October
Kažun and dry-stone walling are scheduled from 10:00 to 11:00 and 15:00 to 16:00; the Rakljanski lonac follows from 14:00 to 15:00. Istra Inspirit storytelling runs from 16:00 to 17:00, with dialect poetry and music announced for 18:00 to 19:00. The organiser publishes the full programme, including folklore, a quiz and puppet workshops.
If you specifically want to take part, check available places and participation conditions with the centre in advance. The announcement is not an individual guarantee of a workshop place. Nor should the exhibition dates be read as a guarantee of daily opening: specific visiting times need checking separately, particularly on Sunday.
Why a kažun is more than a photo opportunity
The small round stone houses with conical roofs are linked to work in Istrian fields. The Istria Culture portal describes them as shelters for farmers and shepherds and places to store tools. Clearing fields produced stone, which could be used to build a hut without mortar. Their shape also tells a story about how people used the material around them.
The Kažun Park near Vodnjan shows four stages in the construction of these huts. It is a separate location, not the event venue in Pula. Anyone wanting to explore further after the workshop has a possible idea for another outing there. A demonstration in a shopping centre and examining a structure outdoors answer different questions: one about a technique, the other about the complete building.
A pot could also serve as a measure in barter
Rakalj’s pottery tradition offers a particularly vivid link between shape and use. According to the Marčana Tourist Board, craftspeople mixed clay with crushed quartz to make their vessels. In the 19th and 20th centuries, pots were also exchanged for grain and other supplies; the vessel itself could serve as the measure in the exchange.
Knowing this changes how you look at such a pot. Colour and silhouette are not the only interesting features: material, durability and transport matter too. If you want to buy something, ask about its origin and manufacture rather than automatically assuming a rustic appearance means local handcraft. At the workshop, too, watch and ask before touching an exhibit.
A small cultural addition, not a compulsory programme
MaxCity is at Ulica Stoja 14A; the centre lists bus line 1 towards Stoja among the ways to get there. What matters for your visit is the current connection, not a time copied from an older city map.
The event works as an addition to a day in Pula, not as proof that you have now discovered all of Istria. Dialect, stone construction and pottery offer three very different approaches. Perhaps what stays with you most will be a question you return to later in a village, museum or workshop. A manageable afternoon can be just the right starting point for that.
Evidence
Sources & date
Sources support the facts. Planning notes and recommendations are Golden Beach editorial assessments.
- Putovanje kroz povijest i običaje IstreMaxCity Pula · 13 October 2026; checked 21 OctoberExhibition, Saturday programme, address and travel information; no confirmed registration or admission rule
- The Kažun ParkIstria Culture / Istria Tourist Board · Checked 21 October 2026Dry-stone construction, historical uses and four construction stages at the park near Vodnjan
- Lončarstvo u RakljuMarčana Tourist Board · Checked 21 October 2026Materials and barter in Rakalj’s pottery tradition
