Religious Routes in Slovakia

Abstract

We have noticed an uptick in the popularity of cultural routes in recent decades. They combine several tourist attractions into one product, which is more attractive to a potential tourist than the individual tourist elements by themselves. With its Christian foundations, Europeincluding Slovakia -has natural predispositions for pilgrimage routes. In addition to the economic effects for a wider range of beneficiaries along the route, they bring knowledge and peace to the tourists/pilgrims, and they have a spiritual dimension. The goals of this article are multidimensional -identification of the relationship between cultural and religious routes, classification of religious routes according to various criteria against the background of the religious structure of the Slovak population, and analysis of the current state of knowledge about eight religious routes identified on the basis of the patronages in their name. The assessment of their condition leads to the conclusion that they have great potential for development. Their development is mainly provided by the Church, various grants and voluntary activities. However, experience also suggests that state support is essential in maintaining and developing the activities of this type of sustainable tourism.