
I visited this WHS in 2022 on two separate days, the second simply because I happened to be passing close by so I did a quick revisit (not that it was "necessary". Holloko is Hungary's version of Holasovice and together with Vlkolinec in Slovakia and perhaps Cumalikizik in Turkey covers vernacular architecture. It has a slightly better feel of a little village than Holasovice (a pretty square and a pond) but still overall is quite weak and apart from being almost a museum village, it is practically reconstructed (I've seen at least two house being rebuilt with a concrete core, then diligently covered with straw and white plaster.
That said, I must say that overall my visit was rather pleasant and luckily I didn't encounter any group tours. Many of the village houses have been converted to different museum or workshops, exhibiting or selling dreamcatchers, dolls, honey, postal stuff, crops and rural stuff, pottery, knitware, etc., while another two have been converted to a cafeteria and/or restaurant. I visited a couple just to see the houses' interior hoping to be surprised by the interiors (as was the case in Halsingland in Sweden) but there wasn't much to see inside except for very few hints of painted wooden decorations or carvings on beds, chairs, and small furniture from the local Palocz folk tradition. Perhaps, timing your visit with local festive days when the men and women of Holloko (and nearby) wear their traditional costumes would help to enjoy the place better. After the 1909 fire, the row of houses in Holloko (best examples seem to be those along Kossuth Ulica) were rebuilt in their traditional form, with truncated gables, hip roofs and front verandas. The original wooden houses of Holloko were gradually outnumbered by adobe, stone and brick buildings. The most noteworthy houses are the half-timbered adobe houses built on a stone base with wooden pillared galleries and balconies.
The small half-timbered St Martin Church (still in use) can't be missed and can be found at the heart of the village of Holloko. From there one can do a small nature walk by a stream on the right hand side, and a short uphills hike to reach the remains of the castle towering above the village. Views from near the castle nowadays aren't so beautiful as the village is covered by the tall trees. Quite a lot of importance is attached to the castle by the locals due to a legend. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden in Holloko and the lord of the neighboring castle fell so deeply in love with her that he could not bear to live without her, so he kidnapped her and hid her in his stone fortress. However, the beautiful maiden's nurse was a witch, who made a pact with the devil to get her back. The devil ordered his minions to fly to the fortress on the top of the hill disguised as ravens and set the maiden free from her prison. The devil's minions appeared each night at the castle and worked until dawn to dismantle its walls and each morning the love-struck lord rebuilt the castle from the stones the ravens had removed. This is why when approaching the village from the highway, you'll see a huge black raven statue (Holloko, actually means "raven's stone"). While walking down the main road in the village, on the left hand side, you'll be able to spot the UNESCO WHS plaque.
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