Horse and a carriage toy

Pilgrims have journeyed to the town of Marija Bistrica since at least the 1600s to worship at a statue of the Black Madonna, a carved figure of the Virgin Mary holding an infant Jesus. From the 1800s, townspeople in the villages along the pilgrims’ paths that lead to the shrine have sold souvenirs to worshipers, in the form of small, handcrafted wooden toys and musical instruments.