The house of the Hristić family is the best preserved monument of traditional architecture from the middle 19th century in Pirot. With its beauty and construction characteristics it exceeds the frontiers of Serbia and becomes a part of the Balkan cultural heritage.
The house consists of basement, ground and the second floor. The most significant and distinctive characteristic of the building is the unique way of constructing the roof and a special kind of platform in the attic meant for teferièenje (being on excursion party). The roof is indented and wavy. The roof has a large eaves made of the wreath of tympanons over each window frame. This element of the house contributed to its achieving the outstanding position in the Serbian architectural heritage which led to its being proclaimed to be the cultural monument of exceptional significance. The main decorative elements on the radiant white facade are the wooden window frames and the external and corner pillars boarded up and framed by profiled laths.
The house is entered from the porch into the lobby where the rooms at the ground floor served as bedrooms. At the ground floor there was also a room called „iža“ (kitchen) and the hearth, as well as the pantry for storing flour and wood for heating. The wooden stairs lead to the second floor directly to the large lobby which comprises the central part with wooden shelves („rafovi“) and the hearth, men’s room (“divanhana”) and a room for women. Round the hall there are „bed-room”, “kandil-soba” (the icon-lamp room), the large room, the treasury and “sark-room” which served as a kind of wardrobe. The family resided on the ground floor and the second floor served for showing off, for receptions and celebrations.
