The Concept of Small Mountain Tourist Shelters, So-Called Shepherd’s Huts – Offer and Functioning

Summary In the 1970s, due to the policy of the then authorities, tourism in the Polish Beskidy Mountains became very popular. The result was the appearance of large, organised groups on mountain trails, not necessarily interested in discovering the mountains but rather in participating in semi-free trips. Favouring of such groups for economic reasons by the hosts of the then-existing shelters caused significant problems with the availability of accommodation for individual hikers. A further complication was the lack of shelters on many mountain ranges in Poland. It was then that the concept of building bacówka , the so-called ‘shepherd’s huts,’ emerged. These were small shelters aimed at serving qualified tourists who walked the mountains consciously with the desire to improve their skills and explore the mountain space, looking for peace and rest rather than comfort and civilisation. This case study presents the idea of shepherd’s huts as conceived by the initiators, as well as to diagnose their specificity and contemporary functioning in terms of their offer and activities. The analysis includes several facilities operating mainly in the Polish Beskidy Mountains. Information © The Author 2025