Thematic village

Thematic villages are small tourist villages formed from a need to generate an alternative source of income and foster a feeling of community and pride in declining rural areas.

Austria

The idea of thematic villages began in 1984 using four municipalities as test communities. With the success of those communities the non-profit Lower Austrian Village and Urban Renewal Project was founded in 1990 to motivate the population to participate actively in their villages, towns, and cities. By 2010 village redevelopment activities were implemented from 1341 locations.
Examples of thematic villages:

Krummnußbaum - Nut Village
Purgstall an der Erlauf - Book Village
Armschlag - Poppy Village
Herrnbaumgarten - Nonsense Village

Poland

Seeing the success of the Austrian villages, Poland followed with their first thematic villages 15 years later.

West Pomeranian Voivodeship

The first Polish thematic villages, mostly geared towards children of school age, were established in this voivodeship. They include: Dąbrowa, the Village of Healthy Living; Iwiecino, the Village of the End of the World; Paproty, the Village of Labyrinths and Sources; the Fairytale and Fun Fair in Podgórke; and the Tolkien-inspired Hobbit Village, Sierakowo Sławieńskie.

Podlaskie Voivodeship

The District Office in Bialystok and the County Office in Suwałki promoted the idea of thematic villages in this voivodship starting November 2008. This endeavor is co-financed by the EU.