Come home to Lika. Even if you’ve never been.


Where Lika’s land, living history, and the rhythm of horses restore you.

This bar moves with every purchase — help us restore our family estate and bring more visitors to Lika.

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Be Part of Our Story
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THE FOUNDING STORY
Josan Štimac

It all began with one man’s extraordinary act of faith. Josan Štimac — a widower from Lika — left everything he knew during World War II and made his way to the United States, where he found work in a shipyard. Dollar by dollar, he sent his earnings back across the Atlantic to gradually purchase the land in Lika that now carries our family name. He never stopped believing in his homeland, even from thousands of miles away.

Why ŠTIMAC FAMILY ESTATE
“ My great-great-grandfather crossed an ocean and worked with his hands so that one day, this land would belong to our family. Rebuilding it is our way of honoring everything he believed in — and sharing it with the world feels like the most natural thing we could do.”
KATARINA ŠTIMAC TOMIĆ

great-great-granddaughter of Josan Štimac

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About the Project


Štimac Family Estate is being lovingly brought back to life — and we’d love for you to be part of the journey. Whether you’re dreaming of a future stay, exploring partnership possibilities, or simply curious about what’s growing here in Lika, we welcome you with open arms. The land is ready. The story is waiting.

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Luxury Rural Stay
Beautiful Scenery
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Excellent Facilities
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Friendly Team

Štimac Family Estate – Lički Osik, Croatia

Therapeutic Sessions


Our certified equine therapy sessions are thoughtfully designed for children with autism and sensory sensitivities. Grounded in the principles of equine-assisted therapy and guided by qualified therapists, these experiences harness the unique healing bond between child and horse to build confidence, communication, and calm — set against the serene backdrop of Lika’s countryside.

Organic Produce & Webshop

Bring a piece of Lika home. Our online shop offers seasonal organic vegetable boxes, hand-preserved pickles, and traditional Croatian preserves — available year-round for delivery or pick-up on site. And soon: a curated collection of Štimac Family Estate goods, where every purchase directly supports the estate’s ongoing revival. Shop with heart.


Workshops & Education


Roll up your sleeves and learn something real. Our seasonal workshops cover traditional Croatian farming, organic growing, and equine care — hands-on experiences for families, school groups, and professionals who want to reconnect with where food and life actually come from.

Rural Retreats & Farm Stays


Slow down. Breathe. Wake to birdsong, walk through ancient Lika forests, and eat food that was grown steps from your table. Our farm stays — and our signature spring “Back to the Land” retreats (March through May) — are designed to give you back the kind of rest that a city weekend simply cannot.

LIČKI OSIK – LIKA, CROATIA

A Place to Heal, Grow, and Belong


Discover what happens when ancient land, gentle horses, and generations of care come together in one place. Our family farm in Lički Osik, Lika, is more than a getaway — it’s a sanctuary where the rhythms of traditional Croatian farming meet deeply human, purposeful healing. Here, horses become healers, forests become medicine, and every visitor becomes part of a story that has been unfolding for over a century.

A Legacy Rooted in Resilience and Compassion

Before leaving for America, Josan — himself a widower — opened his home to a widow from his village, raising her eight daughters alongside his own children. What followed is the kind of story that makes you believe in something larger than coincidence. One of those daughters, Ana, and one of Josan’s sons, Stipe — both born on the very same day and year — fell in love and married. Together they had four children: three sons and one daughter.

And in a beautiful echo of the past, that next generation brought forth eight daughters and one son — as if the family itself was keeping a promise. This quiet tradition of matriarchy is honoured in our family crest, where eight mountain flowers bloom — one for each daughter, one for each woman who shaped this land.


Silent Pillars, Strong Hands: Rebuilding What War Left Behind

Education comes in many forms. The women of the Štimac family learned theirs from the land, the seasons, and the quiet necessity of keeping a family whole through impossible times.

They managed the finances, made the hard decisions, and held the household together with hands that rarely stopped working — true, silent matriarchs in every sense. The men of our family fought through World War II and the Balkan War of the 1990s. And while they were away, the land fought too — scarred by conflict, weathered by neglect, waiting patiently to be remembered.

Now, the wait is over. It is the women of the Štimac family who are leading the revival — with vision, with care, and with the same quiet strength that has always defined this family. This estate is their historical answer.

OUR MISSION

Preserving the Past. Healing the Present. Cultivating the Future.


At Štimac Family Estate, our purpose is to honour the land, the heritage, and the extraordinary people who shaped it — by opening it up to the world. We weave together traditional Croatian farming, therapeutic equestrian practice, and the natural healing power of Lika’s landscape to create experiences that nourish body, mind, and spirit. We welcome guests, partners, and dreamers who believe that places like this matter — and that the best way to preserve them is to share them.

A Message to Our Lika Diaspora


I live in Barcelona. I love it here — but some part of me continues to be pulled to horses, forest, cold air, and wilderness.
If you grew up with stories about this region, or if you left and never quite stopped thinking about it, you already know what I mean. This estate is being rebuilt for those people, too. Come and stay when we open. And until then, our shop carries something for everyone who has Lika in their bones — t-shirts printed with the words and phrases that only make sense if you know this place. Every purchase goes directly into bringing this land back to life.

MERCH SHOP

Do you want to support our project?

Every piece of merch you buy is more than cotton and ink — it’s a love letter to the land that shaped you, a way to carry Lika with you through every city, every season, every life lived far from home. By supporting Stimac Family Estate, you’re not just buying a hoodie or a mug, you’re making sure the next generation knows exactly where they came from — and that it was somewhere worth being proud of.

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SEND US A MESSAGE!


Whether you’re planning a stay, curious about partnership, or you grew up hearing stories about Lika and want to find your way back — we’d love to hear from you. There are no strangers here, only people who haven’t arrived yet.