Kaján Imre (szerk.): Zalai Múzeum 23. (Zalaegerszeg, 2017)
Kardos Ferenc: Határtalan Zala. Egy magyar–osztrák–szlovén hármas határ vizsgálat zalai tanulságai
Határtalan Zala 423 Zala - a county without borders The experiences of a study in the Hungarian-Austrian-Slovenian tripoint area In the frame of the research “Studying the triborder areas in the south-western, south-eastern, and north-eastern part of Hungary’’ within the OTKA programme in the period 2012-2015, there have also been ethnographic and cultural anthropologic researches carried out in the Hungarian-Austrian- Slovenian tripoint area. The study discusses the experiences gathered in the Hungarian-Slovenian border area in County Zala, the southern fringe of Őrség, and Hetés. The most important findings of the study: Ageing population is characteristic on both sides of the border with social segregation phenomena. It is more typical on the Hungarian side. The linguistic border of Hungarian as the mother tongue is close to the physical border on its Slovenian side and it is getting even closer with the “Slovenisation” of the local population. On the Hungarian side of the border, the local vernacular is closer to standard Hungarian, on the other hand, the language use of Slovenian-Hungarian bilinguals is more archaic with palpable influence of Slovenian. The possibility of border crossing has a melting effect in both economic and cultural sense. The number of cross-border family ties has decreased, the relatives usually gather only for funerals. On the Hungarian side, there are no Hungarian- Slovenian mixed marriages, moreover there are no cross-border Hungarian-Hungarian marriages, either. On the Slovenian side, mixed marriages are becoming more and more popular. The ties between local governments and nongovernment groups on the two sides of the border have become stronger since the opening of the borders. Towns and villages with similar size of population are organizing joint programmes alongside friendships and family connections. In smaller villages, these two types of connection system are merged. A significant change here is the lack of young Border Patrol agents. With the end of the conscripted Border Patrol, the number of young people plummeted in the area, which set back the improvement of nongovernment groups usually based on young activists. The religious connections are usually built between parishes or they can be linked with religious tourism (pilgrimage: Chapel of St Vid in Bakónak, Mary’s tree in Radamos, and Homokkomárom). The cross-border economic connections are weak. The economic migration tends to Austria. Possible break-out points are the wine tourism (connections in Zala and Lendva wine region), ecotourism, nature tourism, bicycle tourism, rural tourism, and vegetable oil production. From 2008, 49 municipalities (eg. Csesztreg, Rédics, Zalabaksa), working as microregion centres, started cross-county and cross-country improvements in the frame of Őrség Without Borders project. Summarised: The population around the 102-kilometre-long Hungarian-Slovenian border is still struggling with living on the fringe and with economic disadvantages. The net of tiny villages, and the narrow roads between them set back the important infrastructural improvements. The decrease in population results in the petering out of social life, and the extinction of traditions, even though the county and the country tries to support the survival of local folk traditions with cultural tenders. Earlier, to succeed in this, there were not enough financial sources, now there are not enough people. The villages experience a vital lack of human resources. Translated by Veronika Nagy
