Dehumanizing and Rehumanizing the Countryside

The paper examines two regions, Baranya in Hungary and Kočevska (Gottschee) in Slovenia. It focuses on the cultural and societal consequences of processes of abandonment and their manifestations in both locales. First, the historical background of both regions is presented, followed by changes within the rural society after World War II, and the democratic change in the 1990s (i. e. depopulation, changes in ethnic structure and agriculture, etc.). Finally, we examine recent trends and current regional characteristics. The paper interprets the recent landscape as the manifestation of competing values and attitudes of rehumanization and rewilding intentions.