Numerous buildings that gained a position of ethnological monuments or heritage are the products of local creativity. This gives the imprint of exceptionality to the landscape, which is included in the natural protected area of Kozjanski Park.

Ethnological monuments are areas, buildings, groups of buildings, everyday objects and other products that express the lifestyle of Slovenian, Italian and Hungarian people and of other nations living in this area. There are 96 ethnological monuments in Kozjanski Park.

The region included in Kozjanski Park is characterised by three landscape types, inter-dependent with folk architecture types. As a rule we could say that the homes are moderate, the proportion on the ground plans are lengthwise, the buildings are made of stone, originally made of wood, situated either into or next to the hillside, above the cellars. The sloping roofs are very steep, mostly equipped with “čop”, (a roof detail). For most part of the protected area, the dispersed settlements are typical, as the consequence of highly dispersed estates. It is not very usual for farmers to have all their estate around their houses.

From 1999 to 2000 Kozjanski Park carried out a systematic inventory of architectural heritage. 3057 objects were listed. 1161 were documented. As regards to building material, the biggest part is a combination of stone and wood, and quite often only wood is used. Fire-baked bricks are the most frequent roofing material, followed by concrete bricks and of course Salonit roofs (asbestos and concrete), which in that time substituted the straw.

	Podsreda, Levstik mill Favourable conditions contributed to the settlement of millers at the river Bistrica. Here they could use the waterpower of Bistrica. It is impossible to specify the time when millworks first came to the river Bistrica, since no written testimonials have been found. In 1972, there were 14 mills situated along the Bistrica  that ran occasionally. Today, two of them are still running periodically: the Levstik and the Kukovič  mill. The Levstik mill was first mentioned in the legacy inventory of the miller Martin Levstik, a serf of Podsreda from the year 1801. Today, the Levstik Mill also includes farming facilities with a stall, a granary, which is today used for living, and a new house. People used to live in the old mill. Two mill mechanisms are standing in the mill and they are connected to the driving wheel with an axis. With first mechanism the wheat is ground for white flour. In second one, other grains are ground for mixed flour. The residential part used to be on the left side of the building and the mill was on the right. Today Miran Levstik with his wife Sonja runs the farm. The mill is used only for their personal needs. They kindly open the mill and run the wheels for visitors that come to see them. They also offer flour and delicious home-made “mlinci” (flat cakes). A complete renovation of the Levstik Mill was carried out by Kozjanski Park between 1988 and 1990.
	Podsreda 3 - Kukovičič mill The home of the family Kukovičič  includes, besides the main building that is a mill and the residence at the same time, also a stall with a barn, a wine chamber and a drying loft for maize, a pig stall, a blacksmith’s workshop and a facility which is a garage, woodshed and a kitchen for preparing cattle fodder. A part of the farm is also a “gorca” – a small hill, where a vineyard and a wooden house are situated.   The architectural image of the mill, which is a one-storey house, is almost completely preserved. It was built in the middle of the 19th century. In the northern part the mill there is an open room that runs through one half of the building and both storeys. The mill is still operating and all equipment for millwork is preserved. The mill also has separate millstones for white and mixed flour. The residence is situated in the southern part of the building on the ground and first floor. As a speciality we would also like to mention a smokehouse for meat drying, which is made of rods.
	Podsreda, Slovene-Bavarian house Opposite the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist in Podsreda stands an old curate’s house, which is a typical regional market town building, first mentioned in the 17th  century. In 1996, with the help of Kozjanski Park, the Slovenian-Bavarian Society and the parish of Podsreda, the house was restored into the Slovenian-Bavarian house, which is now a gathering point for Slovenian and Bavarian friends and for numerous visitors of the Kozjanski  Park. It is also an exceptional place for events and exhibitions. At least two exhibitions take place annually and at Easter and Advent season creative workshops are organised. The workshops attract younger and older people from Kozjansko  and other regions.
	Kozje, Kroflnov mill At the end of the stream Bistri  grabn stands the Kofl  home with two buildings – a house with the former mill and a farm building, squeezed on a narrow shelf between the stream and the overhanging rock wall of the Kozjek hill. Once it was the home of the miller, tinsmith –“špengler”, joiner and worker in the nearby industrial factory. Till the first half of the 19th  century a sawmill had stood here. The home was renovated between 1998 and 2000. In the former residence part there is a permanent museum exhibition.
	Bizeljsko - Vitna vas, etnographic collection Sušnik The ethnographic collection of farming tools by Marija Sušnik is a result of careful collecting that lasted long years. The collection can be seen in her house. When visiting, we can see which tools are still used by the farmer for cultivation. Special care was given to the collection of the tools for vine cultivation. Everyone who visits this region should see the collection. Moreover, it is a basic part of the tourist offer in the area of Bizeljsko.
	Hrastje 1, Štadler house The Štadler house was built in 1795, which is shown by the date on the massive transverse beam in the “house” on the ground floor. The owner in that time, whose name was Janez, as is the name of the today’s owner, engraved into the beam beside the year 1795 also the monogram IHS, with which he protected himself from evil spirits and misfortune. He even remembered to add his name, but the unknown carpenter rounded the name in his own manner up – IANES ShTOGLER. This surname has preserved itself till today yet in a somewhat different form. The residence house counts among the oldest dated houses in the area of the municipality of Šmarje pri  Jelšah and it is defined within the documentation as a “rural palace”. With this the significance of the object is emphasised. Because of its structure and pictorial decorations, it stands out of the average and proves the wealth of the owner. The building has a rich architectural decoration; the front is formed with a motive of double pilasters. The front is symmetrical with a specially emphasised middle part with the portal. The form of the stone portal is more complicated; crowned by a crossbeam in the form a yoke (we could classify it as a Podsreda portal type). This form was taken from the architecture of high Baroque and has nothing to do with the cattle. On the ground floor the windows have simple mortar window borders. The window borders on the first floor have profile shelves and a baroque wavy line above the crossbeam. The floor structure is traditional with a large entrance hall, a black kitchen and living quarters. The ground floor is connected to the first floor by an inner staircase. The ground plan of the floor is traditionally structured. Along the whole length of the back front runs a wooden gallery. The estate also possesses a »marof« i.e. a farming building with a stone portal and framed notches. Approximately one fourth of the marof is made of wood; the rest was built with bricks and stone. The Štadler house in Hrastje suggests that the houses of rich farmers in different settlements are sometimes very similar, as the social influences are stronger than the regional.
	Križe 5 This home represents a typical example of rural agriculture from the end of the 19th century. A special added value to the complex of the buildings is the fact that there are farmlands, meadows, pasture land, vineyards, orchards and forest in the immediate vicinity. All land connected to the estate is directly at the buildings and it is strongly bound with the complex. Thus, the estate represents a concluded whole, and it shows the rural architecture excellently. It gives a clear impression about the lifestyle of a certain class of rural population. The estate has been abandoned since the death of the last owner (around 1980). The buildings and the land have not been maintained. The estate is formed by the residence house, stall, granary, barn  and vineyard house. The heirs have no interest to live on this complex as they permanently live elsewhere. Since the estate is abandoned, some buildings and their surroundings are very much overgrown. The complex should be preserved as a whole and should be further developed. It should become a part of the historic expressiveness of building construction art and farm life.
	Brezovica, Repnice Repnice are caves, dug into pebble sand, which was deposited by the Pannonian  Sea. The sand holes belong among the original natural, historical, ethnological and cultural heritage of this region and represent a point of interest on the vine and tourist road of the region Bizeljsko-Srem. The local people dug holes in the pebble stone with a pickaxe and spade. Except at the entrance of the hole, which protected the hole from outer influences, no other building material was used. The entrance needed to be especially reinforced. The original name of these holes is “repnica – turnip hole” and the name originates from the fact that people stored turnips among other crop in these holes. Because of the constant humidity of 95% and a temperature of 8º C, these holes were the most suitable place for storing the crop. Today they are sometimes still used for storing the crops but mostly they are used for ripening and storing of wine. The high humidity does not allow the storing of wine in wooden barrels. This is why the farmers store the wine in stainless steel containers and glass bottles. Here visitors can taste the most typical wines of the vine region of Bizeljsko and Srem. Six “turnip holes” are open to the public at the moment: the repnica at Najger, the repnica at Balon, the repnica Graben, repnice Pudvoi, repnice at Kelher and the repnice of Kovačič family.
	Podsreda, Lime pit The lime pit belongs to the family Javeršek. The sale contract between Martin Javeršek and his son Anton still exists. It says that Martin leaves the estate to his son. The father kept his “baskets” for burning lime so the son Anton set up a new and bigger lime pit right next to the river Bistrica. In one burning he could produce 16.000 kg  of lime. The lime pit was burning for three days and three nights (32 m2 of firewood were needed for one burning). Anton was burning lime approximately eight times a year. In 1912 he registered his “lime production” as a craft. The production of lime was an activity which brought a substantial source of income to the family. The lime pit burnt for the last time in 1973 and it was burnt by the Anton’s great-grandson Drago. The thirty year period when no lime was burnt here caused the collapse of the lime-pit and the pit was overgrown by bushes and trees. With financial help of the Ministry of Culture and in co-operation with the Institute for Cultural Heritage Protection from Celje we reconstructed the Javeršek lime pit here in Kozjanski  Park. With this reconstruction we wish to revive and preserve the memory of this almost forgotten craft.
	Podsreda, The house of Nežina This single celled »cottage« was built by Anton Javeršek in 1934. The large projecting roof before the cottage was intended for protection from bad weather when working at the lime pit and for storing the tools. The house of Neža is an object for residence and work, which was built in 1934, when the family Javeršek built the lime pit. Later, it was used as a house, where Neža Slatner lived. She was an unmarried elderly seamstress, who was sewing for long years for all the members of the numerous Javeršek family. She probably began to work for them during the time of Anton Javeršek and then also in the time of his successor Martin, who took over the business in 1938.  Neža sewed till she went into the home for the aged in Vojnik, where she died in 1958. With the financial help of the Ministry of Culture and in co-operation with the Institute for Cultural Heritage Protection in Celje we managed the reconstruction works here in Kozjanski Park.
	Lesično 15, Fiket This single celled »cottage« was built by Anton Javeršek in 1934. The large projecting roof before the cottage was intended for protection from bad weather when working at the lime pit and for storing the tools. The house of Neža is an object for residence and work, which was built in 1934, when the family Javeršek built the lime pit. Later, it was used as a house, where Neža Slatner lived. She was an unmarried elderly seamstress, who was sewing for long years for all the members of the numerous Javeršek family. She probably began to work for them during the time of Anton Javeršek and then also in the time of his successor Martin, who took over the business in 1938.  Neža sewed till she went into the home for the aged in Vojnik, where she died in 1958. The residence house is a raised ground floor building made of stone with a lengthy ground plan and with partly buried cellar i.e. with two parts where a wood turner and blacksmith used to have their workshops. The building was constructed in 1837. The year is engraved in roman numbers into the stone entrance portal with a crossbeam (the inscription) and a skylight (N 18). The house is designed symmetrically and it has a traditional order of the interior according to ground plan. It was built in the baroque tradition. The front panels are divided with pilasters; the windows have borders, made of lime mortar. Single concrete stairs lead to the ground floor level, and the railing is built of stone. Above the platform there is a  “frčada” (roof structure) standing out of the roof. The structure is carried by two wooden pillars. The house has a preserved black kitchen, which leads to the courtyard front. The courtyard has a partially open inner corridor, which ends in the lavatory on one side and in small household rooms on the other. The corridor has two arches, supported by a bulbous stone pillar. The access to the corridor is provided by wooden stairs and a platform, covered with roofing tiles that are supported by two slim pillars. The house has a special significance also because of its location opposite the Church of Saint Urh. It is rare also due to its structure, since in vicinity only two similar buildings can be found. The building is owned by Kozjanski Park, which is currently preparing a revival plan for this monument. With the financial help of the Ministry of Culture and in co-operation with the Institute for Cultural Heritage Protection in Celje we managed the reconstruction works here in Kozjanski Park.