The textile museum in Strojkovce is the only museum of its kind in Serbia. It is located in the village of Strojkovce, next to Vučje, 11 kilometres from Leskovac. The museum is located in a mill that was built in the second half of the XIX century.
The museum building has preserved its specific architectural beauty, typical of the period in which it was built, and it is furnished with authentic furniture and dishes.
The building represents the type of a “builder`s house of Crna Trava”. A mill is located in the left wing of the house, while on the right there are the living quarters on the ground floor and upstairs. There is a terrace with arcades.
According to its size and its living quarters, it was the property of the rich Turks. In 1884, some entrepreneurial residents of Leskovac opened the first “Braća Teokarević,” cord factory which is considered to be the beginning of the textile industry in Serbia.
The first Serbian cord factory in the village of Strojkovce stopped working in 1896 when the looms were transferred to Leskovac to “Ilić Popović and Co,” the First Cloth Factory where the cord was still produced. The cord from Leskovac soon became popular and known not only in Serbia but also in the area of Southeast Europe and Asia Minor.
The museum was opened in 1954, and was reconstructed in 2011, restoring the former glory of the building and the former, authentic way of producing cords – water flows through the canal, the power of which drives the mechanism for turning the wheels for spinning the cord.
The canal through which the water flowed whose power started the mechanism for turning the loom and spinning the cord was also restored. The inventory and everything in the museum is authentic. Also, you can see the original way the cord was made during that period. In 1980, the Strojkovce Textile Museum was declared a cultural asset – a cultural monument.
