This year the Lectar Gingerbread Workshop and Museum in Radovljica celebrate a venerable 250th anniversary. The first gingerbread products were made in 1766, and in the old house built 500 years ago they are still using the same old recipe, and swear by handicraft – they believe it is the only way to assure quality, and preserve the famous Slovenian tradition of baking and decorating traditional pastry made from honey dough.

It all started when the young gingerbread maker from Tržič Jakob Krivic married into the family, and started a gingerbread workshop. He and his wife Urška had 12 children, and one of their children, their son Janez, carried on the trade. In 2006 the married couple Lili and Jože Andrejaš revived the gingerbread production, and today four girls are working in the workshop, where gingerbread is still made by old recipe. By celebrating the high anniversary Lectar would like to draw attention to the fact that 'lectarstvo', manufacturing of decorated pastry made of honey dough, is one of the oldest crafts in Slovenia, mentioned for the first time in the 14th century. When a young man wanted to express his love to a young woman, he gave her a gingerbread heart with a mirror. The girl who received the gift knew that her reflection in the mirror meant he carried her in his heart.

The pastry made of honey dough lasts for a long time, even decades. Therefore they make a nice souvenir, presenting old folk art, and cultural heritage. With that in mind, Lectar decided to initiate the search for the oldest preserved gingerbread in Slovenia – the collected specimens will be exhibited at a special exhibition which will be open all year round, and constantly replenished. Everybody is invited to visit Lectar on April 2, their doors open day, when the products of their local suppliers will be presented, and on December 11, the municipal holiday, when the official celebration of the 10th anniversary of reopening of the renovated gingerbread workshop and museum will be organized.