Reprinted from "Gazeta Robotnicza", 9 November 1995 Bavarian CasesWe considered this article exceptionally interesting and highly relevant under the circumstances of seeking development paths for the local community of the Bolesławiec region. We believe that our colleagues at the widely read daily will not take offence at our using the material in its entirety.Editorial OfficeA group of farmers and local-government officials from Jelenia Góra, interested in German experience in agritourism, has returned from Bavaria. In Bavaria, a programme to create farms combining agricultural and livestock functions with tourism has been implemented for several decades. “We were guests of Bavaria’s poorest municipality, Grainet, which consists of seven villages with two thousand inhabitants. These are beautiful areas located about 800 metres above sea level, where around ten per cent of the residents make a living from agritourism,” Kazimierz Gawron, mayor of the Bolesławiec municipality, told us. “A typical farm in Bavaria has about 30 hectares of land and 25 cows. The agricultural activity, to which the local farmer devotes 5–6 hours a day, is supplemented by 12 to 15 accommodation places for tourists. Combining these functions is essential. Only then can a Bavarian farmer receive approximately 300,000 marks in a non-repayable grant, enabling him, on the one hand, to keep the farm running and, on the other, to rebuild it. Renting a double room from a Bavarian farmer costs 40 marks, including breakfast. In the hosts’ opinion, the average occupancy of agritourism accommodation is quite good, reaching 60 per cent annually. The entire agritourism programme, financed by the Bavarian government, is implemented in order to keep as many residents as possible in the countryside. “I returned from Bavaria somewhat depressed, because many comparisons are unfavourable to us. It is clear that the results achieved there are the product of habits, practices and traditions shaped over many years,” noted K. Gawron. “There, everyone really takes care of their homes and farmyards, but also of what is shared. It is unthinkable to use agricultural machinery to destroy municipal roads or vandalise bus stops. On the other hand, one can see the enormous sums that the authorities of that federal state spend on maintaining rural areas. The municipality where we stayed has its own annual revenues of approximately 350,000 marks, while its budget exceeds 6 million, that is, several times more. Here, the proportions are reversed. A municipality’s revenues have to be large because the government subsidy is negligible.”The enormous distance separating us from those who have been developing the agritourism business for many years does not mean that it is not worth doing anything in this field. In the Bolesławiec municipality, the busy east–west route favours combining agriculture and accommodation. Roadside guesthouses have already appeared in Kruszyn, Brzeźnik and several other villages.