Sheltered by woods and lakes, villages and hamlets nestle in Suwałki Region. Most of them were built in the 17th century, and the rest during the next hundred years. Very often these are rather small places consisting only of just a few farms. An exception is the commune villages which used to be little towns. The first villages appeared in places where beaters, wood-distillers, vendors and fishermen had their huts and dug-outs. Later, villages were built on the land obtained after grubbing up primeval forests, usually along trade routes, river valleys and near lakes. Bigger mansions had manor houses and granges around which villages were located, too. Suwałki Region is one of the least populated areas in Poland, however with numerous villages. Some of them, like Bryzgiel, Błaskowizna, Szurpiły and Dzierwany have a compact structure with ranges of close-packed houses along the road. Other villages, like Stary Folwark, Gawrychruda, Smolniki, or Sobolewo consist of many parts. Especially in the Sejny district there are villages of a completely spread-out structure with single farmsteads built on hills or in valleys. Surrounded by fields and forests, they are a harmonious element of cultural landscape. Wooden structure of villages in this region disappears slowly. Yet, one can still see a lot of houses made of wood, with ornamented porches, shutters and roof hips, as well as barns with decorated gates, sheds with walls made of chipped blocks, or other farm buildings built of clay, husk and cut straw mixture. Roadside crosses, shrines hung on old trees add to this special, tranquil charm of old farms. However, most farm buildings in this region are brick so that they could catch up with new standards of modern agriculture, and give their inhabitants comfort. Many houses which are built in attractive places are included in the offer of agrotourism. Holiday-makers and tourists willingly stay here and enjoy local hospitality, warmth and regional cuisine.