A chardak (

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

, Macedonian and sr, чардак, italics=no, ''čardak'') is an old typical house in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. It is derived from the word ''cardak'', which is a component of Ottoman Turkish house design. This term, which is also called ''sofa'', denotes an open hall of a house's upper living floor.

Description

The chardak is timber-framed and usually include a ''hayat''. The design has been described as "Greek-Oriental," Southern European," and "Mediterranean". It has a fortified ground floor and a wooden upper floor. This dwelling was used as a protective small fort. Chardak can also refer to the space – a part of the central hall area – that connects the rooms of the house. Chardaks were also used as fortifications in the early modern period.

References

* Милан Крухек: ''Крајишке утврде хрватског краљевства тијеком 16. стољећа'', Институт за сувремену повијест - Библиотека хрватска повјесница. Загреб, 1995. Vernacular architecture Balkans {{architecture-stub