Cultural heritage represents a unique and irreplaceable cultural value of a nation. Preservation and protection of cultural heritage is an important moral role of the entire modern society. The paper singles out the notion of vernacular architecture and traditional houses as a significant part of the architectural heritage. The case study includes examples of traditional houses in Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. The current condition of buildings, their purpose, the degree of preservation, as well as the applied methods of protection are considered in more detail. By analyzing examples of positive and negative practice, conclusions were drawn about the active approach to the architectural heritage of these countries. The goal of this paper is to consider the approach to the preservation of vernacular architecture and the relationship of these countries to this form of cultural heritage. The methods used in the paper are analysis, synthesis, comparative analysis, modeling method and case study.Kulturna baština ili kulturno nasleđe predstavlja jedinstvenu i nezamenjivu kulturnu vrednost jednog naroda. Očuvanje i zaštita kulturne baštine predstavlja bitnu moralnu ulogu celokupnog savremenog društva. U radu je posebno izdvojen pojam narodnog graditeljstva i tradicionalne kuće kao značajan deo graditeljskog nasleđa. Kroz studiju slučaja obuhvaćeni su primeri tradicionalnih kuća u Srbiji, Rumuniji i Bugarskoj. Detaljnije je sagledano trenutno stanje objekata, njihova namena, stepen očuvanosti, kao i primenjene metode zaštite. Analizom primera pozitivne i negativne prakse izvedeni su zaključci o aktivnom pristupu graditeljskom nasleđu ovih zemalja. Cilj ovog rada jeste sagledavanje pristupa očuvanju narodnog graditeljstva i odnosa navedenih država prema ovom obliku kulturnog nasleđa. Metode korišćene u radu su analiza, sinteza, komparativna analiza, metoda modelovanja i studija slučaja.
