The preserved village of Holloko is set a convenient return day trip’s distance from Budapest. When we visited it in 1986 towards the end of the communist era it was certainly very “pleasant to the eye” but we didn’t find the visit that satisfying. The site is so much more than just a street of pretty wooden houses with a church at the end. The local “Palosz” people ignored agricultural and social changes going on elsewhere and in so doing “preserved” not only the buildings but a way of life from the 18th and 19th centuries. The site includes all the surrounding lands with their multitude of uses and where these were lost, such as with strip fields, they have been restored .

However, whilst communism sat less heavily upon Hungary than on many Soviet satellites, everything in those days was organised for group tourism, often under the pervasive banner of IBUSZ the “Intourist” of Hungary. So this museum village with its old fashioned rural atmosphere was organised for coach parties who were given a quick walk round, a visit to the church, a Hungarian meal at “the” tourist restaurant and a bit of “folklorique” from locals dressed up in Palocz costume.

We were self driving around Hungary and had thought of staying overnight at one of the local houses which acted as hostels in those days – but no one seemed interested in handling a couple of Western Europeans so we moved on (perhaps our lack of Hungarian or Russian didn’t help as we didn’t encounter many Western European language speakers!). There was also still an “Aliens Registration Form” which had to fully account for all one’s nights in the country (on pain of fines for any gaps) so self service foreigners not using IBUSZ or the tourist office were potentially “bad news”! I remember on one occasion after “complaining” about the emphasis on group travel being told that it was all the UK’s fault that Hungary was communist anyway as Churchill had given it away at Yalta!

I wonder what the place is like today? In my mind I see a picture of privately run restaurants with tables outside the houses and guest houses all packed with tourists. There is probably a huge car park on the outskirts too. And, no doubt, the local costume is hyped up even more!

Even if such changes have occurred I would recommend anyone travelling in Hungary to “take a detour” to visit Holloko. The WHS list doesn’t have as many European “vernacular” sites as it should. Such places will inevitably become tourist honey pots and I just hope that Hungary has exercised some control over untrammelled capitalism! It certainly promised to do so when the site was inscribed. Maybe it is better presented too and you can get behind the “top show” and understand more of the lifestyle which the village supported.