The cultural heritage of the Heart of Slovenia is tightly interlaced with unique ethnological and architectural features of this mainly rural area, even nowadays. In the Heart of Slovenia, heritage can be explored at homesteads with ethnological collections and live activities, such as charcoal producing. Museums will take you to the times when straw hats were being made, popular all over Europe, and when the locals used to be involved in shipping trade. Rural architectural heritage will impress you in the Land of Hayracks (Dežela kozolcev), world’s first museum with these types of drying structures, and on the Velika planina alp with shepherd’s cottages. Another kind of past can be seen at Bogenšperk Castle (grad Bogenšperk) and other castles, the Stična monastery (samostan Stična) and other places of spiritual and sacral heritage, as well as strolling amidst the unique sights in towns, such as the mediaeval Kamnik or the mining and railway influenced Litija.