Miloš Gregor

The tradition of making straw hats in Sweden is associated with the Dalsland region. The town of Bengtsfors is home to a specialised museum, Halmens Hus (“The House of Straw”). It presents not only the history of the craft—once pursued by almost every household with even a small plot of land for growing grain—but also brings straw into the present and keeps the heritage alive. It was here that instructor Miloš Gregor, a maker of straw ornaments, attended a course focused on making straw hats.

He sees great potential in the hat he learned to weave and sew in Sweden, especially because of its practical use. He described the production process as moderately difficult but extremely enjoyable.

“I had been opening the Swedish museum’s website every day for two years, dreaming about the course. But when I calculated all the costs, it seemed like an expensive hobby. Then, thanks to Erasmus+, I suddenly found myself there—and at the end of the stay I walked away with a handmade hat on my head and the knowledge of how to make it. It was also wonderful to experience Sweden up close as a country with a rich straw-working tradition, and to meet Swedes who were not at all as cold as I had imagined,”, adds Miloš Gregor.

Miloš Gregor shared the information, knowledge, and experience gained during the mobility through a lecture and creative workshop for ÚĽUV instructors at the ÚĽUV Regional Craft Centre in Bratislava. The lecture was also made accessible to the general public via an online stream.