Priest’s house / Petilokve pond
Along the main road, in the direction from Njivice before the intersection for Sv. Vid, there is a ruined and abandoned house that the inhabitants of this area built for their curate – priest. Today, we know that it was inhabited from 1782 to 1863. It belonged to the wider area of the old village of Miholjice, which people began to abandon on a large scale in the first half of the 19th century. In the past, here was a pond for cattle to drink from. According to local tradition, the well was dug by five brothers, hence the name Petilokve (‘five ponds’ in Croatian). It was supposedly twenty metres deep with wooden steps leading to the bottom.
Unfortunately, malarial diseases began to appear in such humid areas, so people moved from unhealthy places to the surrounding, healthier areas, especially towards the church of St. Vitus (Sv. Vid). Since the pond is no longer used, it is completely overgrown and has almost dried up. The ruins of the first curate’s house, although overgrown with ivy, are relatively well preserved. It was quite a large house with a traditional volta, a balatura and a first floor, offering a total of 2,400 m2 including outdoor space. Historical sources give the reasons for this house being abandoned: its unhealthy position, the priest’s house becoming dilapidated, and the seclusion and insecurity of the inhabitants.