Kecskés Péter (szerk.): Upper Tisza region (Regional Units of Open Air Museum. Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 1980)

2. THE VILLAGE

2. THE VILLAGE Settlement The type of settlement conserved in villages with little land is a type deriving from the middle ages. Some villages centred around the church built on an island-like elevation surrounded by marshland; in other cases, the village street surrounding the church had a ditch dug to protect the settlement, with either natural water or water led there by a canal. Most of the villages were built on hillocks or river banks so as not to be flooded, and the single street would follow the winding of the river. The church and the belfry would be built at the widening of this single street. In rainy weather the street was so muddy that is was practically impassable, and the condition of the road was further aggravated by the herds of cattle and pigs. In bad weather carts could go along the paths between the plots, and pedestrians would walk through the lanes and cross over the stiles. Sometimes a boat was needed to visit a neighbour, or a tub used as a boat, a barn-gate could be punted like a raft. The street could only be crossed on oak planks laid on the mud. (111. 2.). 2. A street in Mezőtarpa (1927) 12