The Perception of Idyllic Rural Areas in Slovenia The transition of society from a traditional to a modern form brought changes in the structure of society and caused phenomena such as urbanization, fast pace of life and alienation, which affect changes in our value system. One of the areas that we consequently as a society are beginning to value differently is the concept of the countryside. Today\u27s society relies heavily on industry and technology as a driver of development, which has caused the countryside to change its purpose, functions, symbolism, characteristics and identity. Modern society quite often associates the concept of the countryside with a beautiful, peaceful, clean and happy living environment that can be characterized as idyllic. The emergence of an idyllic idea of the countryside can further influence changes in the concrete rural area. The purpose of the paper is to show that the countryside can be studied as a social construct, which is influenced by the interpretation of the surroundings or wider society. We want to show the characteristics of the perception of the countryside in Slovenia, or to present the evaluation of Slovenian rural regions based on the opinion of the inhabitants of Slovenia, and to show how the social perception of space can affect the changing of various characteristics of the region and the changing pattern of behaviour of residents and visitors.Tranzicija druzbe iz tradicionalne v moderno obliko je prinesla spremembe v ustroju druzbe in povzrocila pojave kot so urbanizacija, hiter tempo zivljenja in odtujenost, ki vplivajo na spremembe nasega vrednostnega sistema. Eno od podrocij, ki ga posledicno kot druzba zacenjamo drugace vrednotiti je koncept podezelja. Danasnja druzba se pretezno zanasa na industrijo in tehnologijo kot gonilo razvoja, kar je povzrocilo, da se je podezelju spremenil namen, funkcije, simbolika, znacilnosti in identiteta. Moderna druzba tako neredko povezuje koncept podezelja z lepim, mirnim, cistim in srecnim zivljenjskim okoljem, ki ga lahko oznacimo kot idilicno. Nastanek idilicne predstave o podezelju pa lahko nadalje vpliva na spremembe v konkretnem podezelskem prostoru. Namen prispevka je pokazati, da lahko podezelje preucujemo kot druzbeni konstrukt, na katerega vpliva interpretacija okolice oziroma sirse druzbe. Prikazati zelimo znacilnosti predstave o podezelju v Sloveniji oziroma predstaviti vrednotenje slovenskih podezelskih regij na podlagi mnenja vzorca prebivalcev Slovenije in pokazati, kako lahko druzbena predstava o prostoru vpliva na spreminjanje znacilnosti regije in na spreminjanje nacina delovanja prebivalcev ter obiskovalcev
