Vlkolinec, Slovakia

Vlkolinec, is a Carpathian mountain village.  It is a UN world heritage site. It has remained authentic, I think, because it is accessible only by a one lane serpentine road up a mountain with turnouts for cars to pass.  The only stone buildings are the church, its “parish hall” which is now an art gallery, and the public restrooms.  It is a working village, and while tourists have to park outside the town and walk a very little way up the mountain, residents can bring their cars in.  The buildings are squared logs painted in pastel colors or white and there is a shingled bell tower and a water system made of wooden troughs that distributes water from a spring higher up.  Behind each home is a courtyard with the barn in the back.  Woodsheds and other out buildings frame the courtyard.  The farmer’s field is a strip of land directly behind the barn.

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