ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN THE FUNCTIONALITY OF HUNGARIAN HOMESTEADS

Abstract

The issue of the homestead system has become an important factor both in urban and in rural development. We studied the major homesteading area, the sand ridges of the Hungarian Great Plain between the Danube and Tisza rivers. The farms have been divided based on their purpose into economic, residential and uninhabited functions. The proportion and features of these are presented in this paper. The number of farmsteads with traditional agricultural functions has greatly diminished in Hungary. The main changes that can be seen are the expansion of the purely residential functions, the spreading of hobby-farms and the appearance of farms in the hospitality and tourism business. In addition, a large number of them simply became empty or abandoned. The issue of homesteads in Hungary is a complex problem which must be solved at the governmental level by developing targeted programs.