Oravská Polhora, Region Žilina, Slovak Republic

Oravská Polhora, Žilina Region, Slovak Republic, impresses with outstanding civic engagement, a pioneering development concept drawn up with experts and a focus on environmental education which already starts in elementary school and is widely spread.

An established senior citizen university strengthens the educational approach. Based on the world heritage of bagpipes, the community has developed into a supra-regional center of this culture.

It seeks to promote sustainable tourism, for which the use of an existing medicinal spring for the construction of a health center and bicycle paths are important contributions. Accompanying this, the creation of jobs in the commercial sector is actively promoted and the emigration is thereby counteracted.

Social services and creation of living space have been recognized as major challenges and are in the process of being resolved. Justice to the motto is ensured by multi-faceted „th!inking further“ in many areas.

Evaluated: 2018