What Lectar is known for
Jakob Krivic opened this honey-dough workshop on Radovljica's main square in 1766, and the family that revived it in 2006 still hand-bakes and paints lect gingerbread hearts in the cellar workshop. Lectar today combines the original bakery with a guesthouse and gingerbread museum.
Lectar's lect (honey-dough gingerbread) tradition in Radovljica dates to 1766, when Jakob Krivic opened a workshop for honeybread and candlemaking on the medieval town's main square, Linhartov trg. In 1822 the family added an inn to the property, and the combined business took its name from the craft itself: "Lectar," the honeybread maker.
The business changed hands over two and a half centuries, and in 2006 its current owners revived the gingerbread-making tradition alongside the inn. Today Lectar operates as a working craft house: visitors can watch lect hearts hand-painted in the cellar workshop, stay in one of nine medieval-styled rooms, and tour a museum devoted to traditional Slovenian crafts. In 2025 the family opened a second restaurant in Ljubljana.
One correction to note: earlier copy for this listing described the lect craft as being on "UNESCO's list." The UNESCO-inscribed gingerbread craft (added 2010) belongs specifically to Northern Croatia's licitar tradition, a related but distinct craft from Slovenia's own lect -- this listing does not repeat that claim for Lectar itself.
Best for — Hand-painted lect gingerbread hearts baked since 1766
Slovenia
Where next
- Arnaud Soubeyran — Global / Online
- Meşhur Safranbolu Lokumcusu — Türkiye
- Saung Angklung Udjo — Indonesia
Hand-curated for ORBIS · no paid placement