Koliba as part of Slovak gastronomic culture

Abstract

The article focuses on the situation in regional gastronomy and how it is reflected in the material culture in Slovakia, which is part of our country’s cultural identity and plays a significant role in tourism as one of its pillars. Gastronomic culture embraces not only traditional regional dishes or drinks, but also the way they are served and the environ-ment in which it happens, so architecture, and interior design and graphical design are relevant, too. The article maps the historical context, previous and current influences that have played their role in the food and eating culture in food service premises and the effect of globalization. It also explores the significance of preserving traditional local gastronomic culture as part of the concept of sustainable development of regional tourism. The main focus is on a koliba (a specific log cabin or wooden house) that has historically been associated with shepherds’ culture in mountainous or highland areas of Slovakia as a seasonal dwelling for herdsmen and has progressively developed into one of the symbols of Slovak hospitality in relation to tourism. The paper is an introduc-tion to an extensive study and presents the results of pilot mapping of the current situa-tion in regional gastronomy as part of research project titled APVV IDENTITA.SK.

Keywords

• identity
• region
• gastronomy
• log cabin
• tourism
• architecture
• design
• roadhouse