Trends in Hollókő: a summary of the village seminar research workshop’s 2015 and 2023 studies
Hollókő is internationally one of the best-known settlements in Hungary. This presents a particular paradox, considering that barely a hundred years ago, this now prominent tourist destination was shrouded in obscurity. Viola Tomori’s 1935 study on Hollókő also described an isolated small village: “The village has neither a notary nor a priest. The notary comes to the village once a week, and the priest once a year. Thus, urban influence reaches the peasants only through the village’s single teacher at the undivided school” (Tomori, 1992). The Village Seminar Research Workshop conducted a comprehensive social and economic survey in 2023 for the second time after 2015, aiming to understand the village’s current successes, challenges, and problems. Comparing the results of the two surveys allows us to outline trends. This study provides a synthesis of the work carried out by the Workshop’s village researchers, aiming to summarise what we currently know about Hollókő from the examined perspectives, taking into account the main directions of change.
Copyright (c) 2025 Nagyné Molnár Melinda (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Mental and geographical spatial-value analysis in Hollókő
This study pursues a dual objective. First, we examine the structural elements of the village’s inhabited area, including the condition of its residential buildings and streets. We start from the premise that the physical appearance of any village is defined by its streets, dwellings, and public spaces. The layout, architectural style, and level of maintenance determine the overall impression of the settlement. The second objective of the study is to assess how residents perceive their living environment, how they define their relationship with the village, and what image of Hollókő exists in the minds of the locals.
Copyright (c) 2025 Kátai Balázs Elek, Nagyné Molnár Melinda (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The status and role of agriculture in Hollókő
During village-research camps – besides many other topics – the role of agriculture as an endogenous competitive factor in long-term local development is consistently analysed. After introducing the short history of the agriculture in Hollókő, this chapter focuses on the role of the sector in the current situation and further development opportunities of the analysed settlement based on the results of secondary and mainly primary research (questionnaires among residents and in-depth interviews with the main local actors). Overall, we found that the decline of the role of agriculture is a continuing trend in the settlement, and behind the disappearance of backyard farming (as a general rural phenomenon) there are general and some specific local factors. The presence of full-time farming is low, while only a few young people are involved in agricultural production. The attributive importance of the traditional local farming forms emphasised in our previous research was not achieved, and the community role of agriculture could not be identified. Based on the results agriculture has no significant role in the long-term development of the settlement.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ritter Krisztián, Lőrinc Balázs (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The sustainability dilemmas of Hollókő’s heritage: alternative tourism development based on botanical values
The Old Village of Hollókő was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. It received this designation for its vernacular architecture, preservation of traditions, status as a living village, and, not least, for the harmony between the built environment and the landscape. Naturally, the tourism value inventory established here has been continuously evolving and expanding. In this study, we present how it has become necessary to seek new directions in place of living folk traditions. We focus on how highlighting the village’s landscape values could offer opportunities to shift the village towards more sustainable, soft tourism. More specifically, we examine whether the botanical assets of Hollókő could serve as alternatives in this regard.
Copyright (c) 2025 Nagy János György, Nagyné Molnár Melinda (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Local community perceptions and engagement with tourism in Hollókő
The Old Village of Hollókő, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site, experiences significant effects from tourism on its daily life. This study explores how local perceptions and participation in tourism have evolved in Hollókő over eight years, from 2015 to 2023. The findings show that although the majority of residents continue to see tourism as the village's main opportunity, their actual engagement — especially in entrepreneurship and event-related activities — has declined sharply. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation have contributed to increased risk aversion and weakened business confidence at the community level. The results call attention to the necessity of stronger local involvement to ensure sustainable tourism development.
Copyright (c) 2025 Kovács Csaba József (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Hollókő's dilemmas: 'obligatory' tradition and/or business interest?
The study describes the local society of Hollókő and the characteristics of local social coexistence. The main themes of the study are related to the local community, developments in the settlement and community life. It also describes the NGOs that play a key role in community building, the traditions and the public perception of the future of the settlement. The information for the study was obtained through documentary analysis, a publicly available database, a questionnaire survey of the population and interviews with representatives of NGOs.
Copyright (c) 2025 Gerencsér Ilona (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Today, cultural heritage, including tangible and intangible heritage, has a clear role to play in the sustainable development of rural areas. The focus on heritage entails the creation or transformation of (local) identities, sometimes not without conflict. Heritage is a subject of constant discourse, continuously reinterpreting the past according to the needs of the present. Cultural tourism, in particular, creates the potential for economic exploitation of heritage, stimulating other sectors and creating job opportunities that can help to retain the active population and strengthen their identity. At the same time, mass tourism and the quality dilution of the narratives around heritage can threaten the authenticity of heritage sites, degrade the condition and value of heritage, and disturb the tranquillity of local people, thus risking long-term sustainability. The most important asset of Hollókő is its cultural heritage, which makes it a globally visible site, while the attention and special status that comes with it also brings challenges. The research presented in this article aims to provide an overview of the conceptual framework of heritage, its typification, the characteristics of (rural) heritage sites and heritage tourism, to understand the heritage of Hollókő, its history of exploration, protection and (touristic) utilisation in the light of contemporary social processes, and to map its present state through a questionnaire survey of the local residents and interviews with key actors in the community.
Copyright (c) 2025 Bálint Csaba (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Labour market situation – The characteristics of economic life in Hollókő
The village of Hollókő in Nógrád County is the only village in Hungary included on the UNESCO World Heritage Site at the time of manuscript completion. Due to this fact, the composition of the local society, its activity and mobility trends, and thus the everyday life of the village, display many unique features. The study focuses on the labour market of Hollókő, and then on the main characteristics of local economic life. A secondary analysis of the census data shows that Hollókő's employment rate had approached to the county average by 2022, and there is also a so-called „daytime population turnover” in the municipality, which is the result of a significant proportion of local residents commuting for work purposes to other municipalities and a high share of people commuting from other municipalities to work in Hollókő. In addition, the results of the primary research cover the main factors of local economic life and its perception by the local population, thus providing a complex picture of Hollókő.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lőrinc Balázs (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Examination of of public educational institutions and social services in Hollókő
The aim of my study is to present how public educational institutions and basic social services are provided and operate in Hollókő, located in Nógrád County. For this examination, I utilize municipal statistical data and the local equal opportunity program, supplemented by the results of a village research survey conducted in the summer of 2023 and interviews done during the same period. In Hollókő, the identified social challenges – unlike those typically found in Northern Hungary, Nógrád County – are more related to the declining population and aging: the low number of children in public educational institutions, the employment situation of the older but still working-age population, and the care of the elderly, who often live alone, are all outlined as a result of the research.
Copyright (c) 2025 Bogárdi Tünde (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The social condition in Hollókő on the basis of census statistics
In 2023, the members of the MRTT Faluszemináriumi Kutatóműhely conducted research for the second time in Hollókő, where they were assigned to assess and analyse findings related not only to the World Heritage site, but to the everyday life of the village as a whole. It is in this context that this manuscript presents a descriptive and exploratory study, which will, among other things, examine the population change trends in Hollókő, the ethnic and religious distribution of the local society, its age structure, and its proportions in terms of marital status, education and economic activity. The main goal of this manuscript is to provide a comprehensive picture of Hollókő, compared with the data for Nógrád county, using census data.
Path to heritage tourism: village seminar research in Hollókő
The Village Seminar Research Workshop of the Hungarian Regional Science Association, operating as an independent professional section, only began its activities a few years ago, although the tradition of village seminar research dates back further. The work under the name “Village Seminar” started in 2007 in Gödöllő, connected to the former Szent István University (Nagyné Molnár 2022). Eight Hungarian settlements were designated with the aim of monitoring the processes of rural transformation and social and economic changes by returning to these locations periodically. Among the selected settlements is Hollókő, perhaps Hungary’s best-known village, located in the northeastern part of the country, in Nógrád County, approximately 100 km from Budapest, where we first conducted research in 2015. Compared to many other studies concerning Hollókő, the most striking feature of this work was its aim to provide a comprehensive analysis of the social and economic situation. A common characteristic of the research conducted within the framework of the village seminar is their complex problem formulation and application of multifaceted methodologies, resulting in a layered depiction of the examined settlement. The present study presents the problem formulation and research methodology description of the investigations carried out in 2023.
Lessons from the 2014 and 2022 Átány research
As a result of the long research work of Edit Fél and Tamás Hofer (Fél-Hofer 2010), we have accurate knowledge of the daily operation of the once dominant Átány peasant farms and the characteristics of village life. About the Átány, whose livelihood and existence once were linked to agriculture. But change cannot be avoided. Even in 2014, it was clear that the peasant tradition was still kept alive with apparent model programs, mainly in the framework of the “Élő Paraszti Porta” program, but there were many signs that a new future was coming for Átány. In this study, we are primarily looking for the answer to what has changed and in what direction in the settlement in the last decade.
The value of space: spatial studies at Átány
The spatial image of a settlement is a specific imprint of the past and present of the community living there. While, of course, buildings are replaced, technical equipment changes, and various settlement development interventions rewrite the face of the inhabited environment in other ways, archaic properties that speak of the past remain. The present study characterizes the settlement image of Átány. The aim is also to present the results of the 2014 residential real estate condition survey (Vitéz B. 2014) repeated in 2022.
Copyright (c) 2025 Nagyné Molnár Melinda, Nagy Kamilla (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The aim of the study is to get an overall picture of what the people of Átány think about their own municipality. Through mental mapping research, we can find out what residents think about their village, how attached they are to their village and how they see the world around them.
Copyright (c) 2025 Kátai Balázs Elek (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Social needs and innovations in the village of Átány
Social innovation, which means developing and implementing new ideas, concepts and strategies to address social and environmental challenges, is particularly important for improving the situation of peripheral rural areas. Often bypassed in the wake of accelerated urbanisation and technological development, as well as global crises, these areas face unique challenges and their problems can lead to their permanent marginalisation through cumulative causality. Through solutions that harness primarily local knowledge, resources and capacities, social innovation can help overcome existing disadvantages and strengthen local communities by encouraging cooperation and a change of mindset. As part of the southern periphery of Heves county, which bears the hallmarks of a declining agricultural region, the village of Átány faces a number of crisis phenomena that require innovative solutions when conventional systems and measures have proved ineffective in addressing the problems. The study explores the main social challenges, needs and opportunities in the village, and how innovative approaches and practices, different from the previous ones, are emerging and triggering change in the operation of institutions, organisations and projects.
The religious community of the Reformed Church and it’s changing status in Átány
Religious identity and the Reformed Church were the key factors in the development of the local society in Átány. A strong local identity is a community value that has the power to retain the local population. The Reformed Church and some other religious communities continue to play an essential role in the village. However, religious traditions and ways of practicing the faith are constantly changing in time. The status of the Reformed Church has also changed a lot, partly due to the generational change and partly due to the consequences of COVID-19 epidemic. The main aim of this study is to explore and to present the confessional composition and the religious tradition of the village, with a special focus on the changes that have taken place in recent years.
Community activities, civil organisations, and their role in the village of Átány
The study describes the local society of Átány and the characteristics of local social coexistence. The main themes of the study are related to the local people's own community, the developments in their municipality and community life. It also presents the opinions of the people of Átány about their civil society organisations and their level of awareness of these organisations. Information for the study was obtained through documentary analysis, a publicly available database, a questionnaire survey of the population, and interviews with people familiar with community life.
Copyright (c) 2025 Gerencsér Ilona, Bálint Csaba (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The status and role of agriculture in Átány
During village-research camps - besides many other topics - the role of agriculture as an endogenous competitive factor in long time local development is permanently analyzed. After introducing the short history of the agriculture in Átány, this chapter focuses on the role of the sector in the current situation and further development possibilities of Átány based on the results of secondary and mainly primary research (questionnaires among residents and in-depth interviews with the main local actors). Overall, we found that the loss of the role of agriculture is a continuing trend in the settlement, and behind the disappearance of backyard farming (as a general rural phenomenon) there are general and some specific local factors. The presence of full-time farming is low, while only a few young people continue agricultural production. The elements related to agriculture of the so-called Átány model explored during our earlier research can still be found, and the community role of agriculture can still be seen through them.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ritter Krisztián, Erdélyi Dániel (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The livelihood opportunities of young people in Átány
Átány is one of the country’s most disadvantaged villages where low educational level, high number of children and unfavourable labour market positions are present. In my research, I aimed to discover the living condition of young people in Átány and their opportunities to earn a living locally. My research was conducted mainly through questionnaire surveys, but my spontaneous interviews with representatives of the local care system and the mayor also help to shed light on the results. In this study, I first review the literature, then I turn to the status of young people in the municipality, their livelihoods and finally to local institutional problem-solving. The results show that Átány is characterised by low living standards, financial insecurity and that the local government is the main provider of employment through public employment.
Copyright (c) 2025 Nagy Alexa (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Examination of the local education, social and health care system in Átány
The purpose of my study is to examine the human care system in Átány - public education institutions (kindergarten, school), child welfare/child protection, social care, and health care. During my research, on the one hand, I used the annual reports prepared for the municipality, and on the other hand, this was supplemented by secondary analyzes of additional statistical data and interviews conducted with professionals working in the care system. During the survey, special focus was given to the investigation of how local services and benefits meet disadvantaged social groups. The relevant questions of the satisfaction survey conducted during the 2022 summer Átány village survey are also part of my study.
Study of the development related to the rejuvenating age structu-re in the community of Átány
In my study, I examine the developments related to the rejuvenating age structure of the village of Átány in relation to Heves County, mainly in relation to the interval since the previous (2014) Átány village survey. First, I present the evolution of population trends through the share of the permanent population aged 0-7, the dependency ratio of the young (0-14 years old) and the change in the ageing index. Closely related to this, I also illustrate the number of children enrolled in kindergarten as a share of the resident population aged 3-6. In addition, by focusing on the kindergarten in Átány, using the available secondary data, a complete picture of kindergarten development and investment related to the municipality's rejuvenating age structure can be obtained.
Copyright (c) 2025 Tóth Borbála (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Investigation of Átány's income and labor market situation
In the course of the village survey in Átány, a topic closely related to the economic situation of the settlements, namely income relations, was also examined. The income situation of Átány was examined for the period 2010-2020.
Copyright (c) 2025 Böhm Zsanett (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Age structure and the labour market trends in Átány
The aim of the study is to analyse the age structure of Átány and its strongly correlated labour market situation in the period 2014-2021. The age distribution of the society in the village shows a very youthful or even a rejuvenating age structure over the period under study, in contrast to the values of Heves county. These population dynamics have a strong impact on local unemployment, public employment and income trends. The analysed secondary indicators and the experience of the primary research show that a large share of the population of Átány is at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The results of the study have shown that access to work and adequate income is the biggest local challenge today.
The second village seminar research in Átány (2022)
The Village Seminar Research Workshop, which has been conducting research since 2007, visited Átány in 2014 as the seventh place in the selection of its nine sample sites. In 2016, the first "deep drillings" were completed at the selected locations of our village research. We started returning to our previous locations in 2017. This is of great importance because the return makes it possible to monitor trends, i.e. to be able to follow the social and economic changes of the space over time. We consider it important and desirable that the investigation at a specific location is not a one-time occasion, but a continuous process. We also returned to Átány in 2022.
Analysis of the Digital Communication of Central European Shrines
Religious tourism, rooted in pilgrimages, has expanded beyond traditional practices to include diverse spiritual and secular interests. Visitor motivations range widely, from spiritual fulfillment and cultural exploration to relaxation and curiosity. Today's pilgrims often seek comfort and lively environments over asceticism and solitude. This shift prompts a need for more modern strategies in site management. Online marketing leverages digital platforms for interactive global outreach. ICT supports tourism by improving service quality, enhancing visitor experiences, promoting events, and ensuring safety. The study analyzed the websites of Central European shrines across multiple criteria. Findings indicate varied fulfillment levels among these criteria related to information content and services. Some key areas are generally well-covered (mainly the fundamentals), some aspects are less commonly addressed (mostly extensive touristic information and features related to accessibility for the disabled), but the websites themselves show significant discrepancies too. Many shrines have integrated social media into their online presence, but there is variability in the level of engagement and originality of the content posted. Future studies could delve deeper into the qualitative aspects of website usability, user experience, and the impact of social media engagement on pilgrimage tourism.
Copyright (c) 2024 Csaba Bálint, Minucsér Mészáros (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Sport and Spiritual Life – Insights From Survey Research in the Mária Maraton Project
In Hungary, the Mária Maraton is an almost decade-long project. However, like many other community activities, it was non-operational during the COVID pandemic. This study aims to present pilgrimage tourism, primarily from the perspective of its participants. The investigation is facilitated by a comprehensive survey conducted by the Mária Út Association and its partners, who sought new tools to promote pilgrimage and Mary’s Route. The survey examined two target groups. First, it focused on those engaged in community and/or personal development as their main occupation or as volunteers. Second, a questionnaire was administered to a target group interested in the topic, through whose opinions we can learn about their general views on the significance of pilgrimages and whether sports, which can appeal to both believers and non-believers, could be a new tool for promoting pilgrimages and sacred sites.
Copyright (c) 2024 Melinda Nagy-Molnár, Tünde Bogárdi (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Mary’s Route – The Settlement and Regional Development Aspects of Pilgrimage Tourism
In this paper, we examine the situation of pilgrimages, their impact on the related rural area, their economic and tourism role and their future. [1] The pilgrimage has a centuries-old tradition in the Csík region in Romania and the surrounding villages. It is part of the local culture and has been gaining ground in recent decades, with an ever-widening circle of interested people. The Pentecost Feast of Csíksomlyó and the pilgrimages have a great impact on the cultural and religious life of the county, but it is also a question of the pull it has on the economic and tourist life of the region... [1] This article is an abbreviated version of Emese Hosszú &#39;s previous MSc thesis (see Hosszú, 2023, supervisor: Dr. habil Krisztián Ritter).
Copyright (c) 2024 Emese Hosszú, Krisztián Ritter (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
The Mary's Route as a Possible European Cultural Route
The European Network Association of Mary's Route (Eunam) is a Christian-based cultural and tourist association on a European scale, with the important aim of preserving and strengthening European Christian traditions. The history of the Mary’s Route dates back nearly two decades, when a pilgrimage to Csíksomlyó gave rise to the idea of a route linking the Marian shrines across the Carpathian Basin. The ideas were followed by actions, after pilgrimage events, meetings and planning, the route, which is more than 2000 kilometres long, was mapped out. Today, the Mary’s Route is still supported by nearly 400 volunteers, and thanks to their sacrifice, the route and signs of the Mary’s Route are still visible today. However, the Mary’s Route is much more than a marked route through a beautiful natural environment. The Mary’s Route carries the faith, history, ethnographic traditions and gastronomy of the Carpathian Basin. It also connects the 15 million Hungarians living in the Carpathian Basin and the nations living with them. The Mary’s Route is both an instrument of peace and of unity...
Copyright (c) 2024 Zsombor Kápolnai, Lóránt Dávid, Norbert Beták, Dorottya Varga (Szerző) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0