Research of the local road network

The study attempts to present the characteristics and research possibilities of the municipal road network in a summary way, based on the operational, morphological and historical aspects, using the example of a small region (Mecsekhát). A further aim of this article is to draw attention to the importance of this issue in historical and geographical disciplines, especially given that road network surveys tend to focus on main roads. The study is based on 18–20^th century maps, landscape morphological observations and ethnographic collections. The study distinguishes and presents four types of community roads: a) economic roads, b) traffic roads, c) hillside roads, d) country roads. Under the operational aspects, it describes the characteristics of the development of road directions, road use and maintenance, the importance of junctions and the local terminology of roads. From a morphological point of view, it distinguishes between active and fossil road types and introduces the process of road deepening. In the analysis of historical aspects, the study presents concrete road reconstructions based on archival sources and field trips through synchronous and diachronic examples.

Keywords: road network, landscape, historical geography, environmental history, deep roads, vineyard roads

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