Kroje

Kroje (pronounced "kro-yeh") (singular: kroj) are folk costumes worn by Czechs and Slovaks. Gothic influence is seen in tying shawls and kerchiefs on the head. Fine pleats and gathered lace collars typify the Renaissance era. From Baroque bell-shaped skirts to delicate Slavic patterns, these folk costumes show the complex growth of Czech and Slovak traditions.

Kroje had many regional variants with typical decorations and/or colours.

There are three basic types of kroje:

1. the simple one, used in everyday life that looks very similar in all regions.
2. the celebration one, used for Sunday masses, feasts etc. - these are the decorative ones you often see on pictures.
3. the wedding one - used only when you were a bride or a groom. As it was not reasonable to have a one-purpose clothing, it was often a celebration one upgraded by typical wedding accessories.

Kroje are not worn by people in Czech and Slovak republics anymore, only during feasts people use them as a living tradition.

Kroje started being replaced by "town" clothing during 19th century: it started in bigger cities and towns and villages followed. It was quicker in Bohemia and industrial regions and of course for male clothing, so on the old photos you can see a father in a suit, but a mother (and possibly children) in a local costume (kroj). The last regions where kroje were worn on everyday or almost everyday basis were regions near the border between Moravia and Slovakia - Slovácko, Horňácko, Valašsko - where you could meet esp. old women wearing kroje even in the second half of 20th century.

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  A couple wearing traditional Bohemian kroj from Prácheňsko area
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  Kroje from Horácko region, the Czech Republic
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  The folk costume of kroje, seen in Vlčnov, the Moravia part of the Czech Republic
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  Kroje from Moravian Wallachia
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  Folk costumes of Slovakia
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  Slovak kroj from the Hont region

Sources

• a promotional brochure from the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library