Each year, the nativity scene in Pučišća’s parish church is being hand made by local craftsmen and stonemasons.
Each year, the nativity scene in Pučišća’s parish church is being hand made by local craftsmen and stonemasons, representing hours and hours of dedication, hard work and love carved into the final product.
“If Jesus had been born on Brač, it wouldn’t have taken them long to seek refuge“, says Marko Eterović Hoje, this year’s leader of the building process. And this couldn’t be more true! The art of dry stone walling, knowledge and techniques are already inscribed into UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and Brač is a perfect example of why that is – with so many drywalls (suhozid), shepherd’s habitats (bunje) and stacks (gomile) around the island, testifying of centuries of hard work, knowledge transfer and patience for this scarce land.
Answering the invitation of nun Danijela Mihić, Marko gathered friends and fellow craftsmen and got down to work, on this year’s edition of nativity scene which represents a bit of all that Pučišća are, honoring the art of stone and this tradition which is beginning to fade, once again. In his idea of nativity scene, Jesus would be born in a traditional stone shelter, used by shepherds throughout the long history of island Brač. These structures were always made in perfect harmony with the environment and the technique exemplifies a harmonious relationship between human beings and nature*.
Enjoy these images and feel a bit of the Christmas magic in Pučišća! Photos were taken by Milan Kalilić Trife, who also helped built it.
International summer music school Pučišća fills the streets with music all through July and August!
International summer music school Pučišća is one of the longest summer traditions on Brač. July and August are filled with amazing music coming from the center of Pučišća!
Each summer in July and August in Pučišća on the Island of Brač, music courses are held for a range of instruments in classical, jazz and pop music. The duration of each course is ten days. Instructions are delivered by highly qualified musicians from leading music academies and conservatories from Croatia, Europe, the USA, and Russia.
There are no entry requirements for participants in the courses and everyone is welcome to participate regardless of origin, age, and musical ability or knowledge. The courses consist of a combination of individual and group instrumental teaching.
Here is the program of the upcoming workshops in Pučišća, in the summer of 2021!
International Music School Pučišća for the summer 2021 has organized 9-10-day workshops in the period from July to September on two locations on the island of Brač, Pučišća being the main location, where the most of the workshops are held.
Workshops include classical music, jazz and salsa and singing and musical, with renowned professors and expert musicians in various instruments from all over the world. Each 10-day workshop is planned to have daily individual classes with chosen professor and orchestra classes and also concerts that are held all over Brač.
Before the beginning of the workshop it is recommended for students to arrange with their chosen professor syllabus, individual goals and preferences so they are both prepared for individual classes.
Prices of the workshops
CLASSICAL MUSIC
290 EURO
MODERN IMPROVISED MUSIC
150 EURO
JAZZ SINGING
250 EURO
CHAMBER MUSIC & STRINGS ORCHESTRA
100 EURO
PIANO REHEARSAL
40 EURO
COURSE BOOKING
100 EURO
Deadline for registering
Deadline for course reservation extended to July 1st 2021.
Payments are to be made by:
postal money order
in cash (upon arrival)
via bank transfer to the following accounts:
OSNOVNA GLAZBENA ŠKOLA BRAČ Trg Hrvatskog skupa 10 , 21 412 Pučišća, otok Brač, HRVATSKA IBAN CODE : HR 30 2360000 1102161457 SWIFT CODE : ZABA HR2X
Ref. International Summer Music School
Note: if paying by a bank transfer, do not forget to mention your name and the purpose of your payment so that the money can be assigned to your account. On your request, school can make bookings for your accommodation.
People from Pučišća live with the stone, off the stone and for the stone. With a centuries-old tradition of masonry, we are proud that we have a stonemason high school – a sculpting academy!
It is often said in Pučišća that people here live with the stone, off the stone, and for the stone. With a centuries-old tradition of masonry, we are proud that we have a stonemason high school – a sculpting academy, which is unique in this part of Europe, but we dare to say – in the world, as well!
In 1906., stone cutting classes took place in Pučišća and Selca, where most of the stone production takes place, and soon, a “School of advanced training in stonemasonry” was established, in 1909.
After the Second World War, stonemasonry on Brač is revived and becomes the strongest economic branch on the island. The first generation in Pučišća was thought the stonemason’s craft in 1946., and the students worked for 6 hours in “Jadrankamen” (stone cutting company), and in the evening they went to school. In 1956., an industrial school was formed, along with a dormitory for students, in Pučišća, since this is where the biggest quarry was.
Since 1991., the training of stonemasons, in now an independent school, was divided into three directions: stonemason technician, stonemason, and surface miner. Stonemasonry technicians attend classes for four years, and after the final exam, they can continue their education at faculties (construction, architecture, mining, art academy, etc.). The training of stonemasons lasts for three years, and after three years of practice, there is the possibility of taking a master’s exam. Training for a surface miner also lasts three years.
Today, this school is attended by students from all over Croatia, but also from neighboring countries. They participate in numerous projects, promoting the school, the craft, the art, and Pučišća in the world.
In 2020., the construction of the new workshop added to the school is underway, making more space for creating works of art, cut in stone.
Pučišća’s stone masters offered to rebuild parts of the Notre Dame cathedral, after the devastating fire. Stonemasons who attended this school have already proven themselves in the restoration of numerous facilities, including churches damaged during the Homeland War in Croatia. Their help would, therefore, be very valuable in the process of restoring Notre Dame.
P.S. Arrange a tour with the school, and you can walk through their amazing workshop, accompanied by one of the Masters of stone crafts. You might get dust all over yourself, but that can be a unique experience as well.
Island life is dictated by certain events, and olive picking is one of the most important ones. End of the summer means one thing – olives will soon be ready for picking.
Island life is dictated by certain events, and olive picking is one of the most important ones. Many of us (or at least the author of this text) can’t wait for summer to end and autumn to show its colors cause this usually means – olives will soon be ready for picking.
Olive picking means leaving behind your dancing shoes (cause you most definitely won’t have the energy to dance when you need to get up before the sun!) and putting on your dirty old clothes, a couple of layers, some of which you will eventually take off, as soon as the sun starts to shine over your olive grove. Ours is on a drive from Pučišća to Postira, when you turn left near Bračuta.
It’s not big – there are a total of 40 olive trees, which is not much, considering many people own even more than 100! This usually means we will get enough olive oil for the entire family and the entire year. If we’re lucky and the year was good, we just might have some to sell.
Sights like this sure help when waking up early!
Olive picking starts early in the morning – it’s a job which takes up a lot of time, and we all want to be finished before the great cold comes in or the strong winds throw olives to the ground. Also, many of our family members work during the week and the only time available for picking is the weekends. Adding the fact that the sun sets so early these days, getting up early, however hard it might be, is a must.
As soon as we got to the olive grove, we put on our saket, which is a bag or a waist pack which you tie around your waist to put picked olives in. Once your saket is full, you untie it and pour the olives into a larger mesh bag or a plastic bin. We like to keep our olives “clean”, so we make sure to remove all the stems and leaves which make olive oil taste a bit more bitter. However, sometimes you end up picking more than you planned – like this weird mushroom we found!
Olive picking is not hard. It takes time, you have to stand up all the time (or if you’re more skilled, sit on a branch picking those that are way up high), but the fresh air and great company make it a great trip and even better exercise! It is also very satisfying knowing you’re a part of the centuries-long tradition of olive oil production. We also love the fact that we are creating our own food – olives which we grew ecologically (our grandparents laugh when we mention this because our generation made a trend of something very normal to them – not so long ago, all food was eco!) and which we picked by hands, are soon to become oil in which we’ll enjoy for months to come!
But, our favorite part must be marenda – breakfast or brunch however you wish to call it. There is always some homemade wine, bread, cheese and fruits, and nowadays salami, cookies, or just leftovers from yesterday’s meals. We opt for some coffee and a lot of mandarins. Marenda takes time in the middle of the picking so you don’t get too tired or bored, but so you can fill up on energy for the rest of the working day. It is usually served as a picnic, on the table cloth spread across the ground, or on a table in front of a small shed, such as this one.
Once you’re done with olive picking for the day, you start picking around, whatever else (edible!) grows on your field (and only yours, don’t go stealing around). Do you know what these are? Have you tried them? We call them manjiga, and google translate says its bearberry. They’re not ripe yet but we found few to try.
After a long day in the olive grove, we head home, tired and sleepy, but happy and with a huge grin on our faces. Each time, we hear and learn something new – stories of our ancestors, our relatives, or just some old funny songs our grandparents sang when they were younger. Somehow, most of them could be described as mating songs! 🙂 Guess our elderly had more interesting lives than we give them credit.
Once we’re home, the next thing we must do is put all these olives we picked into a huge container and pour sea over them. This is an old technique that many don’t use anymore, but our grandparents are certain that it makes olive oil taste better. And who can argue with decades of experience? So, we head over to the port of Pučišća, pour some sea in cans, stop by for a beer, all sweaty and stinky (but it’s ok, cause it’s that time of the year) and head back home. One more day of olive picking is behind us, and one more is in front of us. We spend the rest of the day playing games, waiting for the appropriate time to go to sleep. Six in the afternoon isn’t too early, right?!
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