Göcsej

As the valleys flooded at snow melting or after heavy rains, the original settlers built mostly on the slopes, less often on the ridges or crests of hills.

Göcsej is the country of "szeg"s. It refers to settlement pattern, where the village is made up of groups of houses perched on hilltops or in clearings.

Whereas the Mongol Invasion (1241-42) destroyed the organization of military border zones, the frontier guards stayed and the majority of them became serfs.

The privileged class of the managing and administrative system of the Kingdom of Hungary, established by King St.Stephen I (Hungarian: Szent István), and their serfs settled in these parts.

These villages that evolved on the flatter stretches of land along the main roads and on the banks of a brook or a river, could more easily expand than the settlements of the szegs.

In spite the devastation caused by the Turks in the 16th and 17th centuries, the region's peasant culture remained largely intact for hundreds of years.