Historical and contemporary factors shaping the layout of rural buildings

: The layout of rural buildings has been shaped over centuries as most existing towns were founded several hundred years ago with the main reason for establishing a village in a given place being natural factors such as access to resources. Over the centuries, some characteristic building layouts have emerged. The aim of the research presented in the article was to determine the degree of impact of natural factors on the process of establishing a village and to identify contemporary factors influencing the development of the historical layout of rural buildings. The research was carried out using the example of a rural commune neighboring Częstochowa. All the towns in the exemplary rural commune were analysed historically. The results are presented in the form of numerical indicators showing the influence of individual factors on the settlement of the village. Then, using the example of four representative settlements for different types of buildings, the historical and current layout was compared. It was found that the original layout of buildings has been preserved as a general outline, and current development depends mainly on economic factors and the attractiveness of the area, illustrated with appropriate examples.