Karanac is a village located between Beli Manastir and Kneževi Vinogradi, on the southern edge of the wine-growing Banov Brdo hill. North of Karanac there are vineyards, with endless Baranja fields to the south. This is the first village in Baranja that has been branded as an ethno-village, and for a good reason.
In Karanac, there is the Baranjska Kuća ethno-restaurant, which also includes the Street of Lost Time, then family farms Sklepić, Tri Mudraca, Bakine Čarolije, Kukuriku, Ivica i Marica, Villa Baranya…
Just like Zmajevac is the wine capital of Baranja, Karanac is the centre of rural tourism and represents Baranja with all its ethnocultural group. It is a village with as many as three churches: Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant.
For a tourist destination to live a full life and attract new (and old) visitors, it is necessary to have well-conceived and well-managed events, and there are plenty of them in Karanac. Most have been initiated by the owner of Baranjska Kuća Vladimir Škrobo Bajo, and one of the most successful is the Spring Fair, held annually on Palm Sunday, the first day of the Catholic Holy Week.
Bad weather failed to spoil this year’s fair. It was raining for several consecutive days, and therefore the whole Karanac was muddy and drizzly. Despite this, the festival brought together a large number of exhibitors, primarily family farms from Baranja (and Slavonia). It also included the competition for the Smokehouse Princess – the biggest, the heaviest and the most beautiful bacon.
Among the exhibitors, we must mention Petar Dobrovac, or as everybody calls him “Čika Pero” from Kneževi Vinogradi. He is one of the foremost Baranja producers of kulen, as well as homemade ham, sausages, bacon and greaves. In this category of exhibitors, we should also mention the Kraljik family farm from Belišće whose owner, Hrvoje Kraljik, won several times at the Graves Festival, which is also held in Karanac.
Also present were Andrija and Ljubica Bošnjak from Branjin Vrh, with their aphrodisiac speciality: ajvar with okra. They are also known for their plum jam and wine jelly.
The Gašić mini-dairy from Beketinci near Đakovo presented its fantastic cheeses. They specialise in the production of cooked and smoked cheeses from cow milk. Another dairy producer who took part in the event was the Đurković family farm from Marjančaci near Valpovo, which makes fine goat cheeses.
As for minced red peppers, we must mention the Major family farm from Kotlina, whose stemless peppers are hand-picked and the final product is made according to the traditional recipe. The women’s association “Sretne i Spremne” from Jagodnjak presented its delicacies. They are also known for organising a great gastronomic event, Baranjska Už’na.
Of course, good food is always accompanied by good wine. The Spring Fair featured wineries Szabo and Svijetli Dvori, both from Karanac.
The whole village was full of homemade cakes, grave scones, langošicas, and visitors could also try beans in a jug, and a special Pannonian delicacy – carp on a fork.
This year, the winner of the Smokehouse Princess competition was the “5 Kumova” team from Valpovo, led by Tomislav Blažević-Bisko. Their bacon weighed 196 kilograms. The second place went to a piece of bacon weighing 166 kilograms, while the third one weighted just 82 kilograms.
More Baranja news can be found in the Lifestyle section.
