Country Perspectives on Hay-Making Landscapes as Part of the European Agricultural Heritage
Alexandra Kruse,
Jana Špulerova,
Csaba Centeri,
Sebastian Eiter,
Viviana Ferrario,
Suzan Jurgens,
Drago Kladnik,
Zdeněk Kučera,
Teodor Marusca,
Dragomir Neculai,
Hans Renes,
Hanne Sickel,
Maurizia Sigura,
Martina Slámová,
Kari Stensgaard,
Peter Strasser
Affiliations
Alexandra Kruse
Insitu World Heritage Consulting, 10bis rue du Haras, 78530 Buc, France
Jana Špulerova
Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Štefanikova 3, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia
Csaba Centeri
Institute for Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly utca 1, 2103 Gödöllő, Hungary
Sebastian Eiter
NIBIO—Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Division of Survey and Statistics, P.O. Box 115, NO-1431 Ås, Norway
Viviana Ferrario
IUAV, University of Venice, 30135 Venice, Italy
Suzan Jurgens
Independent Researcher, 7325 NK Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Drago Kladnik
ZRC SAZU, Anton Melik Geographical Institute, Novi Trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Zdeněk Kučera
Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 2 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
Teodor Marusca
Agricultural Research and Development Station Lovrin, Banat University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Timișoara, B-dul. Marasti Nr. 61, Sector 1, 011464 Bucuresti, Romania
Dragomir Neculai
Research and Development Institute for Pastures Brasov, 500128 Brasov, Romania
Hans Renes
Faculty of Humanities, Free University Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Hanne Sickel
NIBIO—Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Division of Survey and Statistics, P.O. Box 115, NO-1431 Ås, Norway
Maurizia Sigura
Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Science, University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy
Martina Slámová
UNESCO Department for Ecological Awareness and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovakia
Kari Stensgaard
NIBIO—Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Division of Survey and Statistics, P.O. Box 115, NO-1431 Ås, Norway
Peter Strasser
Center for Architectural Heritage and Infrastructure, Department for Building and Environment, University for Continuing Education Krems, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems, Austria
This paper provides an overview of traditional hay-making structures and the related agricultural landscapes in Europe. The information was collected using a standardised questionnaire that was completed by experts from different countries. What all countries had in common was that hay production with its corresponding structures was widespread. However, the scope and importance differed among the countries today. We found differences in type and extent, in degree of awareness, and in the cultural meaning of hay-making structures. The differences were connected with built structures, as well as with other tangible and intangible aspects of cultural heritage. The distribution of the broad variety of hay-making-related structures, especially semipermanent ones, has changed throughout history, as well as the hay-making techniques, as a result of agrarian specialisation, land reclamation, and consolidation. Today, in some countries, the relevance of hay-making was mainly connected to horse keeping and landscape management (like in Germany and Hungary), while in others (like Slovakia and Slovenia), it was still predominantly used for cattle and sheep.
