Couples-friendly stone cottage
A very special romantic stone cottage in the village of Donje Raštane. Wake up surrounded by organic olive trees and lavender in a pure tranquility without neighbors and noise. Here you can still experience a traditional village life that stayed preserved through centuries. Eco cottage Paljka represents a unique piece of eco-etno heritage. It is built in a traditional eco-friendly way and has its own drinkable water from the well. Every piece of interior and decoration holds its story in harmony with nature and culture. You’ll get a special key from a private organic olive oil & wine cellar with selected high quality wines, dalmatian prosciotto and home-made organic olive oil. Olive garden Paljka is a perfect choice throughout the whole year. You can attend organic olive harvesting holidays in autumn, enjoy a romantic winter holidays in front of the fireplace, join in planting organic artichokes in spring or just relax under the shadow of olive trees and stare at the clouds during the summer.
Olive Garden Paljka
Construction began in 2009; we acquired rough, unworked stone from the area of Benkovac, which was then carved until it could be incorporated. At the start of construction, tools had to be acquired (chisels and hammers) and it was necessary to be acquainted with natural stone treatment. It was hard and grueling work to transform rough, unworked stone into a block of rock. Stone by itself is multidimensional and could be similar to a type of Lego brick for adults and you need to have patience and be willing to work for each piece of stone. Moreover, there needs to be exceptional physical competence. The position and the size of the cottage in the olive grove were made in the style of old houses, according to the compass rose and the orientation of the cardinal directions while taking in account the sun position. I made the design project thanks to some advice from my friends who stuck from the initial phase to the end of construction (Marko Smolić, Duje Raspović, Ante Zelić, Milan Galešić, Dado and Ribar and Šime Rođo). Stonework took about a year as I was doing everything independently with breaks. In 2010, the basic outline of the cottage with the roof got finished and the cottage started to look like a beautiful new Dalmatian beauty.
After that, everything started to fall into place:
-photovoltaic system for consumers
-thermosiphon water heating system
- gas boiler
-indoor fireplace for heating and food preparation (under the bell, grill)
-outdoor fireplace
-natural ventilation