Heart Shaped Gingerbread – Slovenia

Have you ever gifted your beloved with a heart-shaped gingerbread? This traditional sweet treat has always been a graceful symbol of love and affection. Lectarstvo, a gingerbread bakery, is an old and renowned traditional handicraft of Slovenia.

Ginger heart makers in a workshop in the small town of Radovljica, are preserving the tradition, making around 100 hearts daily according by hand.

The tradition is believed to go as far back as the 14th century, the ginger heart making became hugely popular in the 19th century, when the hearts were a cherished gift among lovers.

Today they are mostly a beautiful tourist souvenir, which can be preserved for decades.