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Deutsche Welle
- August 6, 2026 12:00
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Interviews with residents, local officials and visitors show that the debate had less to do with UNESCO itself and more with how to protect a vibrant community from the pressures of tourism. “Those who come with humility, to admire the village and to understand how people lived here, are always welcome,” says 68-year-old Anton Sabucha. “They don’t bother me. They’re the rude ones.”
From the headlines in the world media, the story seemed simple: a small Slovak village wanted UNESCO to remove it from the World Heritage List due to the pressures of mass tourism.
But that's not all that's happening in Vlkolinec, in central Slovakia.
Interviews with residents, local officials, and visitors show that the debate had less to do with UNESCO itself and more with how to protect a vibrant community from the pressures of tourism.
"Those who come with humility, to admire the village and understand how the people lived here, are always welcome," says 68-year-old Anton Sabucha. "They don't bother me. They're the rude ones."
Sitting under a canopy outside his wooden house, Sabucha leafed through a history of the village, pointing to photos of neighbors and relatives. His wife brought in a tray of fried pancakes.
He recalled a time when about 200 people lived in Vlkolinec. Today, only 17 live there year-round.
UNESCO did not create the tourism problem in Vlkolinec. The village was declared a Folk Architecture Heritage Reserve in 1977, during the communist era.
The state is in its fifth attempt to restore the endangered monument.
But Sabucha argued that its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993 accelerated the transformation, bringing visitors who often forget that people still live in the centuries-old wooden houses.
"You go out into your yard, you want to sit quietly and have a coffee with friends. Then the first tourist comes and asks you: 'How are you? How is it living here?' Then another one. Then another one," he told DW.
Sabucha has erected a barrier at the entrance to his property with signs saying “No Trespassing” and “No Photography.” He says that despite this, some visitors still enter the private gardens, trampling on the flowers and treating the village as an attraction rather than a community.
"Someone sees the 'No Photography' sign and still has to take a picture. They just don't respect people's privacy."
But the greatest loss, according to him, has been the gradual disappearance of traditional village life.
The surrounding meadows are no longer mowed, the old agricultural terraces have been covered by vegetation, and many of the people who shaped this landscape have left.
Tourism revenues, according to him, have done little to halt this decline.
Residents receive about 400 euros a year from ticket revenue — “barely enough to buy a pallet of briquettes for the winter” — while many of those who earn from tourism no longer live in the village, he says.
"To an ordinary tourist, these are just wooden houses. To us, they are people. We know exactly who lived in each house."
Justine, a tourist from France, says that the village's appeal lies precisely in the fact that people still live there.
"Usually places like this are museums. Here, people still live. This is unique," she says.
When told that some residents want Vlkolinec to be removed from the UNESCO list because of tourism, she responded that she understood their frustration.
"Having people walking through your village every day can be uncomfortable," she says. "But at the same time, tourism supports the region. It's hard to know what's best."
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Not everyone agrees that UNESCO is the problem.
Miro Parobek, who oversees tourism for the town of Ruzomberok, which administers Vlkolinec as a municipal district, acknowledged that tourism has brought challenges. But he argued that the solution is better management, not removing the village from the World Heritage List.
"Our first priority is to preserve the traditional architecture," says Parobek. "But our goal is also to keep this a living village. We want to support the people who live here."
He says the city has already responded to residents' concerns by replacing large festivals with smaller cultural events, while residents now meet regularly with local officials through a special working group.
The municipality has also helped homeowners apply for grants for the restoration of historic buildings and has even provided twice-weekly transportation to Ruzomberok for elderly residents.
Parobek points out that every entrance ticket carries the same message: "Vlkolinec is not an open-air museum. Please respect the privacy of the people who live here."
He acknowledged that the balance between protecting residents and welcoming visitors is not always easy.
Much of Parobek's optimism was based on plans that have yet to be realized.
Ruzomberok was seeking funding from Norway for a package of measures aimed at reducing pressure on the village, including a parking system below the hilltop settlement, improving paths and drainage, restoring traditional barns and terraces, and converting the village's former school into a community and cultural center.
The project would also create more opportunities for local residents to work as guides and caretakers, he indicated.
Anton Sabucha is in the minority. But he is unlikely to achieve his wish, to have Vlkolinec removed from the World Heritage List. This is almost impossible.
UNESCO has only removed three sites since the program's creation in 1978: the Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany, after the construction of a four-lane bridge, Liverpool's historic waterfront after major urban development, and the Arabian Oryx Reserve in Oman after most of the protected area lost its status.
In each case, UNESCO acted because the countries had irreversibly lost the qualities for which they were originally included on the list.
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There is no precedent for a community to seek voluntary removal.
And there is no sign that Vlkolinec will become the first to succeed in this request.
