Intangible heritage of Međimurje, the intangible cultural heritage of Croatia

Unlike other parts of Europe, where lace was made by women of higher classes who would have time and resources to make it, in Sveta Marija the specialty in making lace was that it was made by peasant women. For them, it was a way of filling the household budget, and women would go to nearby villages or cross the Drava to exchange exquisitely made lace details for goods or money. Young girls learned how to make the lace from their grandmothers and mothers, and before they got married, they would secure a dowry by selling lace and earning money. Lace made of thread, with the help of studs and pins, was used mainly in folk costumes, for women’s head garments, or “poculica” that the richer Međimurje women could afford.

The production of lace from thread in Sveta Marija was revived by Nada Mance, and today her former students continue the tradition of making the unique lace f Sveta Marija. Interestingly, there is no pattern according to which the motif is made for the lace, and there is also the use of unbroken thread – all the necessary thread is immediately wound on the wooden pistons. The work requires at least two pairs of pistons, and the most complicated motifs require as many as 38 pairs of pistons.