Vlkolinec, a borough of the city of Ruzomberok (Slovakia), was declared in 1977 as Folk Architecture Reserve by the Government of the Slovak Republic, and in 1993 it was inscribed on the List of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO. Vlkolinec is a remarkable untouched residential unit consisting of 45 typical rustic wooden dwelling houses of central-European type with their economic infrastructure. This mountainous village has kept until present time its original, almost intact, character of folk architecture on hilly terrain. It represents a living open-air museum and creates an "island" of unique biocultural heritage within the surrounding rural landscape.
The inscription of Vlkolinec on the List of World Heritage Sites brought significant changes to the everyday life of local people. The multiple unregulated number of visitors, increased after the year 1993, has unfavourably affected the quality of life, resulting in the long term resident population decline in Vlkolinec. Currently, only 21 inhabitants are permanent residents and the majority of the protected buildings are used as cottages or weekend houses. Population decline caused not only major changes in residents´ lifestyle, but also in landscape management. The buffer zone is no longer managed in the traditional way, and is overgrown by self-seeded trees. Fields are not cultivated, and meadows and pastures are not grazed. In order to reduce these negative impacts, an innovative management plan needs to be developed taking into consideration heritage values (Dvorakova, 2009; Kozova et al., 2017).
In the paper the first results of a project carried out by the city of Ruzomberok, together with other partners and academics, are presented. The project aims at social innovations involving reconstruction of the characteristic landscape features and historic landscape structures in the buffer zone, through the revival of the traditional farming means in the landscape, typical of Vlkolinec and its surroundings. The project proposes to maintain the tradition of the village, currently under tourism pressures, strengthening the local economy, restoring traditional farming in the buffer zone, reviving traditional crafts, managing tourism in locality, and making it all acceptable for local people (Kozova et al., 2016; Kozova et al., 2017, Pauditsova et al., 2014). Moreover, fostering green tourism with the new activities conducted in the buffer zone would be helpful to move the visitors beyond the Folk Architecture Reserve, where the local community lives.
Dvoraková V.: Vlkolínec (Slovakia): Maintaining a traditional village under tourism pressures. In: World Heritage Papers 26: World Heritage Cultural Landscapes: A Handbook for Conservation and Management, UNESCO, (2009), No. 26, p. 96-97. ISBN 978-92-3-104146-4.
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Kozova, M., Pauditsova, E., Basary, J.: Assessment of strategic documents of city Ruzomberok regarding the governance tasks´ fulfilment in UNESCO Vlkolínec site. Studia Scientifica Facultatis Paedagogicae, Universitas Catholica Ružomberok, Vol. 16, No. 3 (2017), (in Slovak, in press)
Pauditsová, E., Skrigan, A.J., Jilková, J., Kozova, M., Slabeciusova, B.: 2014. Accountability of governance in cities, municipalities and communities. In: Kozova,M., et al. (Eds.), Environmental Governance for Cities,Municipalities and Communities, First ed. Comenius University, Bratislava, pp. 111–157. ISBN 978-80-223-3611-6
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