4.1. Examples of Transformed Territories of Slovakia into Tourism Localities
4.1.1. Alekšince
An example of a transformed landscape with the military form of relief is the village of Alekšince, specifically its Museum of Socialism and the Cold War. The village of Alekšince is located in the west of Slovakia. The area of the village is 15.07 km2 and the village has 1669 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2019). The relief of lowland hills is dominant, while the village center is located at an altitude of 162 m. The traditional landscape type of the municipality in terms of land use is agricultural landscape, which accounts for 89.9%. Arable land takes up 82.4% of the village area, vineyards 3.23%, gardens 2.67% and permanent grassland 1.48%. Built-up areas dominate the non-agricultural land with 7.3% of the municipality’s area. Forests have only a minimal share of 0.4% of the current landscape structure. Water areas represent only 1.8%. Thus, agriculture still has an important position in the economy of the municipality. Crop production carried out by several agriculture companies and privately farmed land prevails, and animal production, focused on horse breeding, is also represented.
The Museum of Socialism and the Cold War was established in the village in a former underground military shelter in 2012 (
Figure 4).
It is unique in Slovakia, as the museum is located at a depth of 7 m underground. The military underground shelter against weapons of mass destruction was built in the 1960s [
47]. The shelter consists of a massive monolithic reinforced concrete skeleton with a tangle of corridors and rooms with an area of 350 m
2. The specialized museum maps the period of Slovak military history in the period 1948–1989. The museum has two basic parts—exterior and interior. The exterior includes statues from socialism, which stood at the squares of Slovak towns and villages and military equipment from the Cold War. In the interior, the first section presents the underground shelter equipment from the Cold War and the second section presents the Cold War’s atmosphere and character through exhibits, information panels and audiovisual recordings [
48,
49]. The position and area dimensions of the site in which the Museum of Socialism and the Cold War is located in the rated periods of 1950 and 2017 do not show further changes that are significant. The 1950 orthophotoimage is a small shot of a location on the land whose surroundings comprise forests and arable land. Due to the type of construction and the period, it is easily identifiable. The 2017 orthofotomosaic is the same. The immediate surroundings are still forests and agricultural land. Significant interventions in the land in the form of technical or social infrastructure are not evident in connection with the museum. Based on the obtained statistical data and reconnaissance of the terrain, we compiled a DPSIR model (
Table 1).
The pros of the area are the offer of a retro tourist attraction, symbolized by the Museum of Socialism and the Cold War, but this museum is also important in education. The museum building does not represent an environmental burden. The absence of tourist infrastructure in the village can be identified as a con. Chance or the opportunity for sustainability is found in the anticipated networking of tourist sites with a similar focus. We consider the financial aspect, which will not allow the expansion of trendy multimedia presentations or virtual reality, to be the most problematic aspect. If the building is not further restored, it will remain abandoned and become a burden eventually.
4.1.2. Butkov
The Butkov locality is an example of the transformation of the landscape created by opencast mining. Butkov Hill (765 m above sea level) is located in northwestern Slovakia and limestone and silt have been mined on its northwestern slope for 132 years. By quarrying within the framework of visual–spatial significance, we rank it among the exposed dominant forms of anthropogenic relief of the Považie region, significantly changing the landscape’s character [
50]. It is a wall-type quarry, which currently has fifteen floors. Until 2012, this mining work did not differ from others in Slovakia. From 2012, a unique transformation of anthropogenic relief began on the southern side of the quarry, on its 11th floor, and mining is an ongoing process in the rest of the quarry [
51] (
Figure 5). On this floor of the quarry is the youngest pilgrimage site in Slovakia—“Rock Sanctuary of Divine Mercy on Butkov”, which is gradually transforming into a center of religious tourism. The complex of the rock sanctuary consists of several sacral buildings. In 2013, the first 12 m cross was built, then the monument of St. John Paul II (2014), the memorial of St. Sister Faustina (2015), Chapel of the Divine Mercy (2016) and 900 m long stone Stations of the Cross (2016) [
52]. In May 2017, another significant landmark was added to the complex, a 6 m high statue of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Mercy, which measures 9 m with the pedestal, making it the tallest statue of the Virgin Mary in Central Europe (
Figure 5). The complex also includes a stage and an auditorium where either services or concerts take place. Regular pilgrimages take place twice a year. During the construction of the entire complex, including the sacral buildings, the quarry’s material was used as much as possible. The area also includes additional services such as stalls with devotionals, refreshments and sanitary facilities. The whole complex is electrified and a potential visitor can view a substantial part of it through not only the website but also by broadcasts via a live camera [
53]. The attractiveness of the locality is increased by the possibility of beautiful views of the Považie region as well as the Biele Karpaty Mountains.
The rock sanctuary is located in the cadaster of the village of Ladce. The area of the village is 15.69 km
2 and the village has 2587 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2019). It is located about 5.6 km from the village. The landscape structure of the village is dominated by forests (34.87%), and other areas, where mining areas and recreational areas are 8.38% of the total area [
54]. Agricultural land makes up 42.39%, while arable land has a share of 20.78%. Gardens occupy 2.23%, permanent grassland 19.28%, water areas 4.28% and 10.05% of the municipality is built up.
The company Považská cementáreň, a.s. Ladce has long been the largest employer in the area and plays a significant role in the economic development in the region. A positive benefit of the company is the implementation of activities following sustainable development. The company also excels in its philanthropic activities, as evidenced by the Rock Sanctuary of Divine Mercy on Butkov, in the creation of which this company has the largest share and puts in the most effort.
In this locality, we can observe a very significant change in land use in the time horizon of 1950 to 2017. According to the historical orthophotomap from 1950, it is clear that the locality of today’s sanctuary was wooded. Mining was realized at lower altitudes, west to northwest of current quarry. The orthophotomosaic from 2017 already captures the transformation of the mining landscape. On the 11th floor of the quarry, a complex has constantly been under construction since 2012, which is becoming an important center of religious tourism, based on the obtained statistical data and reconnaissance of the terrain (
Table 2).
The location excels with a strong story, which leads to the gradual transformation of a tourist-unattractive mining landscape with an anthropogenic form of relief into a religious landscape. In the context of the growing interest in the site in question, the con is the absence of accommodation. We also see an opportunity to develop the locality connected to the network of cultural routes such as St. Jacob’s Way, where Butkov could be one of the stops. Such a transformed site will not represent an environmental burden, except for waste generation with long-term high traffic levels.
4.1.3. Hniezdne
Another example of a transformed landscape in which part of the tourist landscape is formed is the village of Hniezdne. The area of the village is 17.98 km2 and the village has 1445 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2019). In the territory there is a basin hill and the relief of plains and floodplains. The altitude in the middle of the village reaches 533 m.
Historically, the area has undergone several changes. In the period of the 17th and 18th centuries, the settlement-craft landscape type was dominant. At the end of the 18th century, the village acquired an agricultural character. Since the 1990s, the industrial landscape type, represented by the industrial enterprise BGV, s.r.o. Hniezdne with a focus on the production of alcohol and alcoholic beverages, has been seen. Significant for the municipality’s economy is the company BGV, s.r.o. Hniezdne [
55], operating in the village for more than 20 years.
Since 2012, a tourist type of landscape began to be created in the village, primarily by BGV, s.r.o. Hniezdne, which created a tourism operation in the eastern part of the village in the area of tourism known as Nestville Park. The basis for creating the park was establishing an exhibition of distilleries and traditional folk crafts—Nestville Distillery. Nestville Distillery consists of three parts—historical, modern and traditional. The historical part has examples of historical crafts related to distilling. The modern part presents one of the most modern refineries for alcohol production in Central Europe, with more than 35,000 tons of grain processed annually [
56]. The traditional part consists of a tasting area and Nestville Whiskey maturing warehouses. The park also includes other parts such as Exposhop, Nestville Chocolate (
Figure 6), a playground, Nestville Taberna (
Figure 6), Nestville Horses, Nestville Apartments, Nestville Market and a skating rink.
Despite the ongoing activities, the village’s landscape structure is still dominated by agricultural land (53.46%), while arable land covers 30.15% of the area. Important landscape components of the village are permanent grasslands (22.67%) and forest areas (27.53%). Built-up areas cover only 4.37%, water areas 2.47% and other areas 12.15%.
The historical landscape structure is preserved mostly in the central part of the village. It presents Hniezdne as a town-type residence with a preserved medieval town center, a lenticular square.
We follow distinctive interventions into the use of the landscape during the last seventy years. In 1950, the use of sites is obvious for agricultural purposes on the orthophoto map. They include the surface of the wild built-up areas that are made up of buildings of a single peasant cooperative of Hniezdne. We follow the results of previous land transformation in 2017. In 2001, industrial land related to BGV, s.r.o. Hniezdne and its production of alcohol drinks appeared. In 2012, recreational land began to grow in Nestville Park (
Figure 6). Based on the reconnaissance of the terrain, we compiled a DPSIR model (
Table 3).
There is a strong business entity in the village, which initially started a business in spirit production. It has expanded its portfolio with activities in the area of today’s extremely popular gastronomic tourism; thus de facto directly capitalizing its production. In this context, we think that a one-sided orientation to the gastronomy segment can also be a weakness of the area in question in the case of, e.g., a decline in interest in this phenomenon. A potential threat is the loss of authenticity (the use of English building names, as well as the offering of a product—whiskey, which is not typical for this region). The potential environmental burden may be closely related to local production (distillery, brewery), requiring high pressure on water consumption.
4.1.4. Podhájska
An example of a transformed agricultural landscape, which has significantly focused on tourism activities, is the village of Podhájska. The area of the village is 11.12 km2 and the village has 1015 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2019). The village is situated in its most productive agricultural part. In the village, agricultural land covers 77.1%, while the degree of plowing reaches 81.2%. Permanent grasslands cover 7.4%, gardens 3.16% and orchards 2.13%. Non-agricultural land accounts for 22.9%, of which 10.3% is forests and 9.2% is built-up areas. Water areas are 1.0% and other areas are 2.44%.
The stimulus for the development of tourism in the village was the discovery of thermal mineral waters in the 1980s. Maximum water temperatures are up to 80 °C and heat output is 14.42–19.2 MWt. From a chemical point of view, these are waters of the sodium chloride type with mineralization up to 19.6 g/l. They represent marinogenic waters with varying degrees of degradation of marine salinity [
57,
58].
Based on thermal strongly mineralized water, a thermal swimming pool was built in Podhájska in 1973, to which the Aquamarin Wellness Center was added in 2012 (
Figure 7). At present, the thermal swimming pool complex consists of 10 pools during the summer season, of which 4 pools have geothermal water. Natural solariums complement the water attractions. During the winter season, there is a relaxation and reconditioning complex. The Aquamarin Wellness Center consists of an indoor pool world, an outdoor pool world and a vital world. The indoor pool world consists of 5 pools and the outdoor pool world includes 2 pools with thermal water and 2 pools with regular water [
59].
Sports grounds and accommodation facilities complete the recreational area of the swimming pool. In the area of the swimming pool is located Hotel Borinka (105 beds), the campsite at St. Urban (30 places for caravans and 60 places for tents) and the cottage complex Bungalovy (64 beds). Catering services are offered by the Jasmín restaurant (90 seats). Other accommodation capacities in Podhájska are provided by B&Bs, apartment houses or private accommodation in the village and the surrounding villages. With its natural sources of thermal water, the village of Podhájska has gradually transformed into an important tourist center not only in the Nové Zámky district but also in the Nitra self-governing region. However, it is also attractive to foreign visitors, especially from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Hungary. The Podhájska thermal swimming pool ranks 4th, following resorts such as Aquacity Poprad, Bešeňová Water Park and Aquapark Tatralandia, with 781,568 visitors and a total revenue of EUR 6.9 mil.
The location presents a very significant change in land use in the time horizon of 1950 to 2017. The sole use of territory for agricultural purposes is apparent in the orthophotomap from 1950. In the following periods of the 20th and 21st centuries, several campuses with different uses of the land, as presented in the orthophotomosaic from 2017, have been added. These campuses also include areas of accommodation and catering facilities, road communications and parking and housing stock (
Figure 7), based on the obtained information of statistical data and reconnaissance of the terrain (
Table 4).
The village’s tourism is realized only using the main attractor—thermal water—while emphasis should be placed on the offer of more variability, which is significant.
The village is also beginning to show the harmful effects of tourism, such as tourist inflation, the growth of duality in the community, as well as signs of excessive tourism.
4.1.5. Čierny Balog
The village of Čierny Balog, the largest village in Slovakia with an area of 147.10 km
2, is located in Central Slovakia. In 2019, the village had 5090 inhabitants. It is found in the Vydrovo locality and reaches an altitude of about 570 m. This area’s settlement dates back to the 15th century and is related to pastoralism; later, lumbering settlements were established in this area, which supplied wood from the surrounding forests near the mines and smelters. As per Supuka and Štefunková [
60], it represents a forestry type of cultural landscape. The current landscape structure is also strongly influenced by the historical development of the area. The village is dominated by forests—78.9%. Within this share, commercial forests dominate (92.2%). Agricultural land is less than 19%, permanent grasslands (17.3%), water areas (0.21%), built-up areas (0.99%) and other areas (1.03%).
The harvested wood was transported in the first phase by water. The growing demand of industrial factories for wood led to constructing a unique and efficient transport system for its time—the forest railway. It began to operate in 1909. The end of the operation of the Čiernohronská Railway was set for 31 December 1982. By the Slovak communist government’s decision, the entire railway and machinery were to be scrapped by 1985. Her rescue owed to a few enthusiasts and their personal courage. An important step was the registration of the Čiernohronská Railway in the Central State List of Cultural Monuments (1982). The resumption of operation on the railway took place on 1 May 1992. To this day, visitors have the opportunity to drive in period wagons powered by steam locomotives.
The historical development and traditions of Čierny Balog, inspired the company Lesy SR š. p. to create the Forest Museum, opened to the public in 2002 on an area of 140 ha in Vydrovská Dolina Valley. Its goal is to introduce visitors to foresters and forest workers from the past to the present. On an area of 140 ha, of which 116 ha is occupied by forest, the open-air museum has more than 70 thematic stops. In the open-air museum area, visitors can also see an eco-gallery, a symbolic forest cemetery, an information center, a didactic shelter or a map of Slovakia’s forestry.
The open-air museum’s construction is not completed, and new attractions are added every year [
61]. The symbiosis of these two elements so typical for this area (technical monument—forest railway and open-air forest museum) (
Figure 8) has brought visitors an extremely attractive tourist product. In addition to relaxation, it also offers an educational moment through forest pedagogy.
A comparison of 1950 and 2017 orthophotomaps shows an increase in afforestation in 2017. Through visible afforestation, the area has come close to fulfilling the principle of sustainability. This is also documented by movable and immovable exhibits that symbolize the history of the site, e.g., mountaineering and steam locomotives (
Figure 8).
Based on the obtained information of statistical data and reconnaissance of the terrain (
Table 5), the area presents a strong story, transformed into an offer of a sustainable tourist products, which the open-air forestry museum in combination with the old-fashioned steam railway is. The municipality must ensure better conditions, especially in terms of car parking and expanding the catering facilities’ capacity.
We see the opportunity to develop tourism mainly in the expansion of the offer, e.g., during the summer months, concerts by folk bands or observations of the night sky, with the astronomer’s live interpretation.
4.1.6. Špania Dolina
Špania Dolina, as an example of a mining landscape, is located in Central Slovakia. The area of the village is 12.72 km2 and the village has 215 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2019). The village center lies at an altitude of 711 m. The current landscape structure of the village is dominated by 79.1% forests (36.8% special-purpose forests). Agricultural land covers 16.9% and permanent grasslands 15.7%. Water areas make up 0.2%, built-up areas 1.78% and other areas 2.05%. Since 1978, part of the village has been included in the protection zone of the Low Tatras National Park. In the village are Special Area of Conservation Baranovo and the Special Protection Area Veľká Fatra.
The village was known in the world for the mining and processing of copper ore. An extensive, unified mining complex was created here with massive towing shafts, long, well-equipped towing tunnels and complicated machines and equipment. The village experienced extreme prosperity in 1496–1546 [
62] when the Thurzo-Fugger copper mining company controlled mining. During this period, Špania Dolina and its surroundings was one of the wealthiest areas in the world. From the 17th century, the yield of copper ores from the mines in Špania Dolina gradually decreased.
Thanks to its unique location and, mostly, the remnants of mining activities (350-year-old mining works), the village has become a popular tourist destination. In contrast, in all current documents, the village is listed as a recreational village [
63] (
Figure 9). The spoil tips—the most dominant artificially created landscape forms in the natural environment—are located in the area at altitudes of 430–900 m. The uncovered, unforested Maximilián spoil tip comes into contrast with the surrounding landscape, making it an essential and characteristic element of the area. A dense network of mining trails is currently used as bike paths, hiking trails and, in the winter months, as ski trails.
It is also attractive with its spatial arrangement, representing a unique valuable urban complex consisting of folk, technical, church and public buildings. The village’s dominant feature is the church, built on a terrain terrace; the mining astronomical clock is one of the attractive sites, which represents a model of a typical Špania Dolina mine from the 16th century. The famous copper tradition is also reflected in the Museum of Copper and Lace (a product by which families improved their living conditions). The mining history has recently been transformed into a mining nature trail, which acquaints the visitor with the village’s glorious past using information boards or a guide.
A comparison of the 1950 and 2017 ortophotomaps is documented by the fact that the territory in question is conserved. Shown in the orthophotomosaic from 2017 is a more significant proportion of forest, with a heap in the southwestern part of the village showing signs of succession. Houses in the village are transformed into recreational buildings with a view of cultural monuments or old mining works, based on the obtained information of statistical data and reconnaissance of the terrain (
Table 6).
The site has an engaging story based on local history. The problem or the weakness is the limited space for building a possible tourist infrastructure, which results from the morphology of the relief and the monumental character of the area. The opportunity is a connection to the existing Barborská route with potentially growing tourist importance. We do not anticipate an environmental burden in the area.
4.2. Life Cycle of Transformed Tourism Sites
The life cycle model of a tourism center is one of the most popular ways of evaluating the stage of development of a locality or center. The commonly used Butler model [
42] can be effectively supplemented with the phases and conditions of sustainability and ecological stability, following the current requirements for the sustainable development of tourism, based on the proposals of Szromek et al. [
33].
In evaluating our selected tourist sites, we monitor their various phases of the life cycle as centers of tourism (
Figure 10).
Based on the characteristics of the tourism, the village of Alekšince can be perceived as being in the exploration phase. The village’s dominant feature in terms of tourism development is the location in which the Museum of Socialism and the Cold War is located. The site represents a new area, sporadically discovered by small groups of tourists looking for a change of environment, fun, uniqueness and attraction. In the locality case, the biggest attraction is the authenticity of the environment, which is unknown to the current young generation. An important attraction is also the educational aspect of the locality and its uniqueness in Slovakia. The museum is gradually beginning to respond to the positive feedback from visitors with other activities. The destination’s development is very slow, without significant landscape interventions, and currently does not include any tourist infrastructure construction. The landscape itself shows almost no changes in the structure of the land cover. Sustainable development of the territory is typically based on functioning processes typical for the agricultural landscape. There are no significant new anthropogenic interventions in the locality. Pressures on its ecological stability do not threaten the museum’s territory; stress factors are minimal, as well as the effect of risk factors on individual components of the environment.
The Čierny Balog locality is in the phase of penetration or involvement. It is a location where tourists regularly appear, thus encouraging local people to provide simple services, especially in accommodation and meals. In 2006, it provided 165 beds for accommodation which, in 2005, was 261 beds [
64]. The location is already relatively well known to the public, mainly due to promotional activities. The number of visitors is gradually increasing. Their activities have only a minimal impact on local societies, the landscape and its ecological environment. Sustainable development is still prevalent in the landscape with minimal manifestations of risk factors, and with small anthropogenic interventions in the environment. The locality principle is instead to preserve the authenticity of the area and cultural and historical values of the area and offer a demonstration of our ancestors’ way of life. The site does not prefer excessive transformation and significantly altered infrastructure, which would have a counterproductive effect in this environment and could destroy authenticity elements, but is based on preserving its character and uniqueness.
The Butkov and Hniezdne localities are in the development phase while including the higher development stage in Nestville Park in Hniezdne. This is expected for both localities as they are currently well known and gradually popular tourist destinations, to which a larger number of tourists come regularly. The original parts of the localities have undergone a transformation process in recent years, and the types of the landscape have changed in the tourist parts. The primary role in the development of the destination is given to priority investors who respond to visitors’ demand in their offer. On top of Butkov, construction has taken place since 2012. In the near future, the planned construction of a seating area is planned, and the construction of a chapel and social zone for pilgrims. In the locality of Hniezdne, it is also in the zoning plan of the village to create a complex zone of a production and recreational character with an agrotourism focus in Nestville Park. Employment is increasing, the quality of life is improving and endogenous regional development is being implemented. The development of tourism also encourages the emergence of artificial tourist attractions in the form of products, such as parks interfering with the locality’s culture and authenticity, responding primarily to the effect of current trends. The original character of the destinations is gradually changing in the localities. Among the visitors, groups of individual mass tourists are the majority, having higher demands for the quality of infrastructure and services. Impacts on the landscape are significantly visible in the localities at this stage. The shift from a state of sustainable development to a state of conditional sustainable development and the sustainability of the area must be purposefully incorporated into a tourism center’s construction. We observe an evident anthropogenic pressure in the localities, which is reflected in the decreasing tolerance of ecosystems, in the landscape’s growing stress and in decreasing the area’s ecological stability. Processes of environmental and ecological damage to the landscape are also observed on a small scale.
The Špania Dolina tourism site is in the consolidation phase. Due to its unique historical landscape structure, which the locality has among its priorities and tries to adhere to consistently, it has already reached a position in its life cycle characterized by the most advanced stage of development. Tourists already exceed the number of locals. The housing stock has not changed over recent decades; the village has 220 homes, including 50 tourist cottages [
65]. The area’s tolerance for change is very low, as the area has undergone significant changes during its historical development. Its stability can be easily changed and even minimal pressure on the landscape’s carrying capacity can cause severe damage and devastation. Interventions in the territory are due to the inclusion of the site in the Nízke Tatry National Park. At the same time, the village has been targeted since 1979 for the conservation of folk architecture with established conditions for construction and economic activities.
In the phase of stagnation, especially when considering sustainable development, is the locality of tourism of Podhájska. Central to its character (center of international importance), offer (year-round operation) and infrastructure (200 beds in the swimming pool area, over 1500 beds in the village, various kinds of catering facilities) is a period of full maturity within the tourism industry. In terms of sustainable development, there are multiple problems, such as excessive and unbearable growth of visitors at a limited capacity, increasing water consumption and growth of municipal waste. The daily number of visitors is growing, reaching an average of 5000 people per day, which represents an annual water consumption of 101,000 m
3 per year only for tourism in the village. The amount of waste is growing, which in 2011 was 245.06 tons, in 2015 it was 413.27 tons and in 2016 it was 598.7 tons [
66]. Environmental damage has reached a top position in the landscape and the landscape has significantly changed its appearance, structure and function. The number of tourists already exceeds the number of residents and is still growing, along with growing profits. While in 2006, 545,000 visitors visited the swimming pool, in 2009, there were 560,000 visitors and in 2018, there were 782,000 visitors. In the structure of the landscape, a significant recreational area is evident, which has become dominant. The appearance of the village has changed significantly in recent years. In accordance with Antrop (2004) [
13], we state that the traditional rural village discovered by tourism was affected by morphological and functional urbanization, which caused profound social, economic and cultural changes. The original houses of the local population have been replaced by buildings that disrupt the rural character of the development. Due to the village’s excessive development for tourism needs, there are already manifestations of tension between residents who are not involved in tourism and tourists, limiting and affecting their daily lives. Tourism in the village is gaining mass character. Tourism is beginning to be perceived by some residents as a burden, with the first signs of excessive tourism appearing. The local population cannot keep a sufficient pace to respond to rising land and real estate prices, and the risk is that the young population may lose interest in living in the village.