The south-eastern part of Zagreb situated between the rivers Sava and Kupa includes the fertile pain of Turopolje or the Field of Zagreb and slightly elevated low hills – Vukomeričke gorice or Vrhovlje. This low region of Turopolje once was swampy and covered with thick forests inhabited by “tur”, an ancient breed of cattle that gave Turopolje its name. In lower parts of the region excellent oak trees grow successfully, while Vukomeričke gorice region is covered with beech and birch forests and beautiful vineyards. Its people often grew fruits and vegetables; they were excellent bee-keepers, and fishermen. Vast areas of oak tree forests have become the trait of this region and through history they gave the main material for building trade. Spacious houses of Turopolje were built of excellent oak-tree. Tall trees were cut down and an oak timber was trimmed and turned into building material. In more ancient times they used round logs, but later thick boards – planks were placed horizontally one onto the other, forming the walls of a future house. The first four planks were put on four stones, and joined into so called “Croatian angles” (“hrvatske vugliće”) i.e. beam ends were not trimmed as a difference to new “German angles” (“nemški vuglići”) with trimmed ends. In earlier times small houses were built with only two rooms, they were covered with thatch, and later on spacious family houses with a large collective room called “iža” and three more rooms big family co-operatives of 30-50 members. High grandiose roofs were made of rye straw or thin pieces of board called shingle. The structure of wood, a special feeling and a sense for proportion that these people posses contribute to the fact that timber houses of Turopolje express unique beauty and charm and they represent cosy and pleasant places to live in. While in western parts of Turopolje and Vukomeričke gorice one can come across one-storey houses, going east we could find more advanced two-storey blockhouses, called “?ardaki”. There are particularly large and beautiful blockhouses in Mraclin and Posavina region. At the ground floor there were husbandry rooms, while rooms on the first floor were occupied by the members of the family. You could climb to the second floor up the outdoor staircase with low handrail which was regularly beautifully carved. The wish to decorate one’s home led to magnificently lace-like carved stairs with many different motives. Such wooden houses, surrounded with other farm buildings, also made of wood, were situated on a spacious court-yard “dvorno mjesto”, which was fenced in either wattle or thin boards. The front door columns with a volute top called “spuži” form a unity with timber houses and their surroundings in which, like a stork standing on one leg, there is a “draw-well” known as “?eram.” Inside such a house we could find large dining tables around which members of the cooperative would gather for meals and to discuss the chores for the next day. These tables had sometimes striking proportions. They were made of a kind of poplar-tree which grows by rivers. It is knotty and it can be very thick. The upper board was put on steady oak-tree legs, forming a cross. It contained a deep drawer for keeping bread. The upper board made of a single piece 120 cm wide and sometimes up to 14 cm thick. One of these could be found in the Museum of Turopolje. Villagers were very skilful in making wooden chests, beginning from the smallest ones used for documents through the large ones used to keep linen to the huge ones where they kept wheat. In large cooperatives all objects were made of wood. Everything he needed the man made by himself. He made a wooden glass, called “?anek”, which a shepherd carried at the belt walking behind his herd, buckets for water, called “vedrica”, jugs for taking water, called “hrg”, milking tubs, called “muzlice”, dishes for keeping flour and other eatables – “tun?ec” and “štubalj”, dishes hollowed out of a single piece of wood to which a special bottom was inserted. Exceptional beauty could be found in simple objects such as distaffs for spinning, beautifully carved by shepherd’s hand. While the village people were building small one-room houses, or large cooperative houses with maximum two rooms, where even ten people could sleep, the rich were building huge, spacious houses, timber-framed palaces called “kurija”. This country-house was also built of wood, but it was much larger. At the ground floor there were utility rooms, beer-hall and so on, while up to five large rooms were usually situated upstairs. The largest, called “pala?a” had a big table and was used as a dinning room. Next to the dinning room there was a drawing room with classical furniture and three other bedrooms. Spacious court-yards surrounded country-houses, and sometimes they were turned into parks. Such a timber-framed country-house could be found in a nearby village of Vukovina. It is so called "Alapićeva kurija.

Small village chapels were also made of oak-wood. After Turkish devastation in the 15th century, when most churches had been destroyed, new small chapels started springing up in Turopolje and Vukomeričke gorice. Tens of them were built from the 17th to 19th century, but only 11 have been preserved until today. They are usually situated on a small hill near a village, and are surrounded by tall, old trees. They have a little wooden bell-tower and with a metal cockerel parading proudly and they fit harmoniously into the countryside. Walking from one to another, we stop in front of each, puzzled by their beauty, whether they are old and simple with Croatian angle and thick planks or new ones, decorated and beautifully carved. Timber-framed country-houses, blockhouses and chapels have been frequent motives on postcards from the region of Velika Gorica.

In the 13th century pig breeding was the main branch of agriculture in Turopolje. Although it is supposed that as early as the neolith period a sort of pig, so called “krškodolska svinja” was tamed, as well as an ancient cattle “tur”, the local breed of pig called “turopoljka” was probably raised in the medieval times. It was white and black spotted pig that was raised interbreeding north European pig with the existing “krškodolska” pig, which was originally raised from the Mediterranean pig. Tamed longhorn cattle “tur” died out till the 16th century. It was strongly related to cultivation of land.

Pig breeding in Turopolje is a part of the wide zone of Posavina and Pokupsko region. As pastures were the exclusive preconditions for the development of an extensive pig breeding, it is clear that forests of Turopolje contributed to its excellent development. Pigs feeding on acorns were spreading through a continuous forest complex from Stupnik, Brezovica, Hraš?e forests to the forest called Turopoljski lug. Old documents testify that herds as big as 160 pigs fed on acorn. Today pigs of Turopolje are being raised again in the forest Turopoljski lug.

One of Turopolje resourses is surely the production of linen. For that purpose, in Turopolje people grew hemp, while flax was grown in Posavina region. The treatment of flax and hemp was of a high quality; as all linen objects were produced by people themselves. After cleaning flax in several phases, fixed flax fibres were put into sheaves “povijesma” and they were ready for spinning. For that purpose, distaffs, spindles and spinning-wheels were used. “Snovanje” is the process during which we prepare yarn for the weaving loom. Apart from waving looms there were other waving devices for production of ribbons, and belts. They were called “deš?ice” (thin pieces of wood). Producing linen that their family members were wearing every day, weavers developed an enviable skill, almost an art of weaving and embroidery, which was handed on from generation to generation. Decorating their products, weavers were carrying out different motives which were with their colourful and ornamental content closely related to their life, believes, fortune-telling and the soul of the people of that time. Decorations were made by purchased thread, with silk, wool or cotton. Red colour prevailed together with black, green, yellow, blue and white, and little bit later pink and violet colours appeared.