EYEWITNESS TRAVEL HUNGARY

SOUTHERN TRANSDANUBIA  199

1 Zamárdi Tips for Drivers
A world away from
noisy Siófok, Zamárdi is Length: 87 km (54 miles)
home to some fine Stopping-off points: All of the
thatched cottages, shore resorts have a wide range
including this arcaded of restaurants to choose from.
house on Fő utca, now For a quieter ambience, the
the village’s museum. many small places in Buzsák
are recommended. The best
2 Balatonföldvár Veszprém panoramic lake views are from
Look out for the remains of the Iron Balatonalmádi the top of Bokros-hegy, above
Age fortifications (földvár) that gave this Balatonberény.
small town its name. The village’s leafy ∑ balaton-tourism.hu
promenade is generally considered
the finest on the lake’s south shore. Balatonfűzfő

Balatonkenese

3 Kőröshegy Budapest
A short detour south of
Balatonföldvár is Kőröshegy, Veszprém
where a well-preserved
Gothic fortified church Balatonfüred J
was built in 1460.

Tihany

J Siófok
Szekszárd
Zánka
J

Balaton

Balatonlelle

Balatonboglár Halastó

J Kaposvár 4 Balatonszemes
This quiet resort has a Postal and
Carriage Museum. Its tree-lined
streets are ideal for a stroll and
nearby is an aquapark.

Lengyeltóti 0 kilometres 10
0 miles 5

Kaposvár 5 Somogyvár
Somogyvár is well worth the detour
south from Buzsák – the impressive ruins Key
of the Benedictine monastery here date
back to the 11th century. Motorway
Tour route
7 Fonyód 6 Buzsák Major road
Unremarkable as a resort, The Living Museum of Arts and Other road
Fonyód sits at the foot of the Crafts at Buzsák is the best place Major railway
largest hill on the southern around Balaton to learn about the Ferry line
shore, Várhegy (233 m/764 ft), traditions of the lake and its
which is an extinct volcano. people. Fine cloth, pottery and
costumes are still made here.

For keys to map symbols see back flap

200  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

y Keszthely nearby. During restoration work
in 1974, remains of 14th- and
Keszthely is the oldest of the towns that line the banks of 15th-century frescoes were
Lake Balaton. Many of its elegant streets effortlessly preserve discovered. Lost during the Turkish
the small-town atmosphere of the 19th century, when the occupation, when the church
town was the sole property of the Festetics family, whose served as a fortress, these
Baroque family seat, Festetics Palace (see pp202–3), is one represent the largest collection
of Hungary’s finest stately homes. The town possesses of Gothic frescoes remaining in
one of the few genuinely sandy beaches on the lake, and Hungary. The fine rose window
it is also the cultural hub of Balaton. Since the conversion above the western portal is also
in 2006 of a nearby former Soviet airfield into Hévíz-Balaton an original feature of the church.
Airport and the expansion of the M7 motorway, Keszthely’s
attractions are more easily accessible than ever. E Doll and Waxwork
Museum
Church and former monastery buildings on Keszthely’s main square Történelmi Panoptikum
Kossuth Lajos utca 10–11. Tel (83) 31
P Festetics Palace (33-ft) spire is an 19th-century 88 55. Open May–Sep: 9am–6pm;
See pp202–3. addition. The crypt holds the Oct–Apr: 10am–5pm. &
tomb of György Festetics, ∑ babamuzeum-keszthely.hu
P Fő tér and Town Hall the patriarch of the Festetics family
Polgármesteri Hivatal and uncle of István Széchenyi. The highlight of this complex of
Fő tér. The church was originally built museums is a collection of 700
in Gothic style using stone taken porcelain dolls, each wearing the
At the heart of Keszthely is from an old Roman settlement traditional costume of one partic-
the attractive, bustling Fő tér, ular Hungarian village, together
dominated on its northern side with more than 200 scale models
by the late Baroque, town hall. of village buildings, including
The town hall was built after houses, stables and churches.
1769, although the façade was
extensively remodelled in the More esoteric collections
1860s. The square is one of include about 50 life-size wax-
the hubs of the town’s charming works of eminent Hungarians,
Verkli Festival in September, from Árpád to Imre Nagy;
when the air is filled by the a museum of torture; and a
fluting tones of dozens of display of Renaissance wax-
fairground and barrel organs. modelled erotica. Don’t miss
the Snail Parliament, an aston-
R Fő tér Church Stained-glass window featuring the Virgin ishing 7-m- (23-ft-) long model
Fő téri templom and Child in Fő tér Church of Hungary’s Parliament that was
made by Ilona Miskei from more
Fő tér 5. Tel (83) 31 24 59. than four million sea-snail shells.

This grand building, towering E Georgikon Farm Museum
over the southern side of the Georgikon Majortörténeti
square, is the former church and Kiállítóhely
monastery of the Franciscans, Bercsényi Miklós utca 65–7. Tel (83) 31
built in the 14th century. The tall 15 63. Open Apr & Oct: 10am–5pm
Neo-Gothic tower with a 10-m Mon–Fri; May–Sep: 10am–5pm Tue–
Sun. & 8 Hungarian and German
only. 7 ∑ elmenygazdasag.hu

Europe’s first Academy of
Agriculture was set up here by
György Festetics, in 1797. This
working museum traces the
history of Hungarian agriculture
from Celtic times to the present
day. There are displays on wine
production in the Balaton area,
as well as antique agricultural
equipment from Bronze Age
tools to steam ploughs and an
early motor tractor. Visitors can
try their hand at traditional
farming methods, and there
are animals to meet and farm
buildings to explore for children.

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

KESZTHELY  201

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST

Promenading and people-watching on pedestrianized Kossuth Street Practical Information
37 km (23 miles) E of Zalaerger-
P Kossuth Street E Balaton Museum szeg. Road Map B4. * 20,400.
Balatoni Múzeum n Tourinform, Kossuth utca 30,
Kossuth utca. (83) 31 41 44. _ Helikon Festival
Múzeum utca 2. Tel (83) 31 23 51. (end Apr every second year); Verkli
Keszthely’s main, pedestrianized Festival (early Sep). ∑ keszthely.
thoroughfare is markedly the Open May–Aug: daily; Sep–Apr: Tue– info.hu
widest street in the older part Transport
of the town, lined with some Sat. 8 7 k Hévíz-Balaton Airport. £
fine houses, many of them pro- @ Mártírok útja. 4 Hajóállomás,
tected buildings. The oldest, at The mustard-yellow Neo-Baroque Bal- atonpart from Szigliget,
No. 22, is the birthplace of the Balaton Museum building, erected Badacsony, Balatonmáriafürdő.
Hungarian-Jewish composer in the 1920s to a design by Dénes @ Bercsényi utca.
Karl Goldmark. With its porticoes Györgyi, is well worth seeing in
and covered upper-level loggia, its own right. The exhibitions effects of pollution on life in the
the house is Mediterranean inside are equally interesting and lake. Also shown is Roman stone-
in feel. Just behind, in a leafy include a fascinating look at life ware from the region and an
courtyard, is Keszthely’s well- around Lake Balaton in pre-Roman original milestone to Aquincum
preserved Neo-Renaissance times and displays showing the (see p114), 69 km (43 miles) away.
synagogue. Originally dating development of fishing on
from 1780, it was entirely rebuilt the lake. Children will love the The beautiful retro beach exhibit at the
in 1851–2 and assumed its models of sailing ships, steamers Balaton Museum
current appearance in 1894. and paddleboats that once
traversed the lake. A more
sombre display explains the

Keszthely City Centre Coach Festetics KATONA JÓZSEF UTCA VCÁSESRÁSZREGTUÉTRCA
Museum Palace
1 Festetics Palace pp202–3
2 Fő tér and Town Hall PÁL UTCA KASTELY U. Marzipan
3 Fő tér Church Museum
4 Doll and Waxwork Museum SZALASZTÓ UTCA RÁKÓCZI TAPOLCAI UTCA
5 Georgikon Farm Museum TÉR
6 Kossuth Street ERKEL UTCA
7 Balaton Museum GEORGIKON UTCA KISFALUDY U. LO VASSY SÁNDOR DÓZSA UTCA
Doll and UTCA
BEM J. UTCA ADY ENDRE UT
Waxwork
Museum

Georgikon Farm VAROSHÁZ UTCA M A LO M UT C A TESSEDIK UTCA
Museum PETŐFI UTCA

SZECHENYI DEAK FERENC UTCAUTCA FŐ Town Hall R UTCA FERENC UTCA
VAK BOTTYAN UTCA ISKOLA UTCA TÉR Fő tér UTCA
BERCSÉNYI MIKLÓS UTCA Church Á

GAGARIN UTCA K

Ó

C MÓRA

ZI
ER

SORHAZ UTCA H ELIKON UT F
ZS

LAJOS ER EN APÁT
ÉBET

CA C
K

I

R ÚT

BALATON ÚT Á SÉTÁNY
HUNYADI UTCA VINCE
LY RBAS

N

É

KOSSUTH PA R K Helikon ÚTJA
ZRINYI UTCA Park
UTCA
UTCA CSÍK
SÓHAJ FERENCALLÉ C Z Y
MUNKÁCSY M. U. SÉTÁNYKAZ
MÁRTÍROK BOIN
Balaton
U TCA Museum ÚTJA
0 metres 300 ROZSA Sports Bus
0 yards 300 SZENT BERI BALOG ADAM U.MIK LÓ S UTCA Stadium
Station

FESTETICS UTCAMADACH UTCA Train Station
RÓMAI ÚT
Lake
HONVÉD UTCA Balaton

Héviz-Balaton Airport For keys to map symbols see back flap
10 km (6 miles)

202  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

Festetics Palace and Helikon Palace Museum

Originally the home of the Festetics family, the . Baroque Tower
stately, Neo-Baroque Festetics Palace dates in its The tower was inspired
earliest parts to 1745; the final phase of building, by the Zwinger in
by little-known architect Viktor Rumpelmayer, Dresden, Germany,
dates to 1883–7. The family was forced to flee in while the northern
1944, after which the palace was occupied by the wing (left of the tower
German Army, then the Soviets; it was opened as here) was based on
a museum in 1974. About a quarter of the palace’s Vienna’s Belvedere.
101 rooms are open to the public, and feature fine
art, furniture and memorabilia from the Festetics Main
family. Adjacent buildings house a superb model entrance
railway, an exhibition of weaponry and hunting
trophies and a carriage museum. The palace is also
famous for its extensive library and its magnificent
English-style gardens.

. English Gardens
English – not French –
stately homes were the
inspiration for the palace
gardens. They were laid out
by the English landscape
artist Henry Ernest Miller.

. Palm House
The Palm House was built in 1880 using
structural elements made in Paris by
Gustave Eiffel. It was reopened in 2012
and exhibits rare exotic flowers and plants
from the Mediterranean and the tropics,
as well as a bird park that opened in 2016.

KEY Carriage Museum
In the palace’s former stables,
1 Rounded Belvedere-style the Carriage Museum is home
Tower of Northern Wing
to a priceless collection of
2 Rooms are each decorated in hunting and parade coaches,
a different colour scheme and carriages and sleighs from the
fully furnished.
18th and 19th centuries.

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

SOUTHERN TRANSDANUBIA  203

. Mirror Room VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
The ornate Mirror
Room, also known Practical Information
as the Main Hall, Kastély utca 1, Keszthely. Road
regularly hosts Map B4. Tel (83) 31 21 90.
chamber music n Tourinform, Kossuth utca 30,
concerts and (83) 31 41 44. Open May, Jun &
operettas. Sep: 10am–5pm daily; Jul & Aug:
9am–6pm daily; Oct–Apr: 10am–
5pm Tue–Sun. & 8 7 - =
charge for photography and use
of video cameras. ∑ helikon
kastely.hu

Transport
£@4

Chapel
The small, private Festetics

Chapel was built in 1801,
remaining unchanged by the

enlargements of the 1880s.

Portrait Gallery . Library
Portraits of almost The panelled Helikon Library holds over 80,000
every member of
the Festetics family, volumes on its oak shelves. Hungary’s literary
Croatian in origin, elite gathered here in György Festetics’s time.
as well as of related
European nobility,

line the walls of
the palace.

György Festetics Statue of György
Festetics
A polymath who combined a love of the land and the arts with the
progressive ideals of the Enlightenment, György Festetics (1755–1819)
was the grandson of Kristóf Festetics, who purchased the lands for the
family estate here in 1739. György Festetics is best known for founding
the Georgikon at Keszthely in 1797 (see p200), Europe’s first agricultural college.
A generous patron of the arts, he organized cultural events including poetry
and music festivals at the palace. He substantially expanded the palace’s
library, employing librarians and bookbinders to curate his literary treasures.

204  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

The Central Pavilion, dominating the relaxing warm waters of the thermal lake in Hévíz

u Hévíz i Balatonederics és Állatkert). Founded in 1984
by a Hungarian big-game
6 km (4 miles) north of Keszthely. 14 km (9 miles) east of Keszthely. hunter, Dr Endre Nagy, the
Road Map B4. * 5,000. @ from Road Map B4. * 1,200. £ from museum is home to Nagy’s
Keszthely. n Tourinform, Rákóczi Tapolca, Keszthely. @ from Tapolca, hunting trophies and ethno-
utca 2, (83) 54 01 31. Keszthely. graphical memorabilia that
he collected in Tanzania. In
With its vast Central Pavilion in Balatonederics is one of the the Safari Park, African animals
including buffalo, zebra and
the middle of what is the oldest settlements on Lake camels – which can be ridden –
roam freely, next to original
world’s largest thermal water Balaton, its name first Masai huts.

lake, Hévíz is a spectacular mentioned as long ago as O Africa Museum and Safari Park
Kültelek 11. Tel (87) 46 61 05.
sight. Covered with Indian 1262. The Roman Catholic Open Apr–Oct: 9am–4pm daily
(to 5:30pm Jun–Aug). & 8 7
water lilies, which flower church that stands in the ∑ afrikamuzeum.hu

in early September, Lake village centre was built about o Szigliget

Hévíz has been used for the same time, originally as 20 km (12 miles) east of Keszthely.
Road Map B4. * 1,000. £ from
bathing and treatments a Romanesque structure. Keszthely. @ from Keszthely.
4 from Keszthely.
since 1795. Up to It received its present
Underneath the ruins of the
30 m (98 ft) deep, Neo-Gothic look 13th-century Szigliget Castle
(often referred to as Óvár, Old
the lake has a surface during renovation Castle), the village of Szigliget

area of 47,500 sq m work in 1870–71.

(56,800 sq yards) The Holy Trinity

and a temperature monument in

of 36º C (96.8° F) front of the church
Fountain in front of the entrance dates from 1871.
in summer. It is to Hévíz thermal baths

replenished by An exclusive resort

a spring that without hotels,

produces 420 litres (92 gallons) Balatonederics nevertheless

of water per second. Even in welcomes hundreds of

winter the water temperature thousands of day trippers a year,

never drops below 28º C all visiting its Africa Museum

(82.4° F). The water is slightly and Safari Park (Afrika Múzeum

radioactive and recomm-

ended for the treatment of

rheumatism and arthritis. It

also tastes surprisingly good,

and is used to treat stomach

disorders. The radioactive

mud from the lake floor is

also therapeutic.

Although most patrons prefer

to bathe outside, even in winter,

there is a small indoor pool.

Hévíz also has the best range

of hotels in the area.

 Lake Hévíz A camel at the Africa Museum and Safari Park in Balatonederics
Dr Schulhof Vilmos sétány 1. Tel (83)
50 17 00. Open May–Oct: 8am–7pm
daily; Nov–Apr: 9am–6pm daily.
& 7 ∑ spaheviz.hu

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

SOUTHERN TRANSDANUBIA  205

stands on a small peninsula Badacsony Mountain, as seen from Szigliget Castle
that – as the castle’s name
suggests – was once an island. Grey Friar wine (Szürkeberát) squares and colourful
The last waters receded about can be sampled. The second 19th-century houses. Many
the time the castle was wine-press house on the trail have been converted into
destroyed, in 1702, after an was once Kisfaludy’s home, bars and restaurants, with
explosion in the gunpowder and today is also a wine cellar terraces overlooking the lake.
store. Some of the towers, part offering tastings. There are
of the living quarters and the great views from its terrace. An early 19th-century
stables remain. The ruins are Passing Rose Rock, where the watermill in the middle of
a steep, 30-minute walk uphill couple met, the trail continues the mill pond is now the Hotel
from the village, but the to the top, from where longer, Gabriella. What most visitors
picturesque thatched cottages more strenuous hikes depart really come to Tapolca for,
that line the route up and the for two other hills, Gulács-hegy however, is the Cave Lake
stunning views from the top and Szent György-hegy. (Tavas-barlang), a short walk from
make the climb worthwhile. the town centre. The lake lies
a Tapolca 18 m (59 ft) below the surface.
The village itself is dominated It was discovered by accident
by Esterházy Mansion, a Neo- 26 km (16 miles) northeast of Keszthely. when a well was being sunk
Classical 19th-century building, Road Map B4. * 18,000. £ from in 1902, and is reached via
now a hotel for the exclusive Budapest, Keszthely. @ from Budapest. a steep staircase. Part of the
use of the Hungarian Writers’ n Tourinform, Fő tér 17, (87) 51 07 77. 300-m (328-yard) cave system
Union. The hotel’s extensive can be seen from dry land,
gardens are open to the public. Encircled by 14 cone-shaped though much more can be
Szigliget also has a pleasantly hills of basalt rock, Tapolca has explored in a rented boat.
quiet grass beach and an one of the most spectacular
attractive harbour, always settings of any town on Lake T Tapolca Cave Lake
cheerful with its show of Balaton. Equally picturesque is
colourful sailing boats. the thermal pond in the centre Kisfaludy utca 3. Tel (87) 41 25 79.
of the town, encircled by little
p Badacsony Open Jul & Aug: 9am–8pm daily;
Mountain
Sep–Jun: 10am–4:30pm daily. &
30 km (19 miles) east of Keszthely.
Road Map B4. * 2,400. £ from ∑ tavasbarlang.hu
Tapolca. @ from Tapolca. 4 from
Keszthely, Fonyód. n Tourinform, Tapolca’s unique attraction, the mysterious Cave Lake
Park utca 14, Badacsony, (87) 43 10 46.

Beginning at the railway station
in lovely Badacsony village is
a well-marked and fairly gentle
trail, signposted in yellow,
which winds its way up to
the Kisfaludy Lookout Tower
at the top of Badacsony
Mountain (437 m/1,434 ft).
An extinct volcano, this offers
the best hiking in the Balaton
area, with spectacular views
from the top across the lake.

On the way up, almost
hidden among the vineyards
that cover the volcanic soil, are
two superb former wine-press
houses. The first, 3 km (2 miles)
from Badacsony, is the Róza
Szegedy House, named after
the wife of the 18th-century
poet Sándor Kisfaludy. The
couple met on the mountain
and the house contains a small
display dedicated to Kisfaludy’s
poetry, as well as a wine cellar
where the locally produced

206  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

Kinizsi Castle in Nagyvázsony, once a military fortress site of an earlier church, which
was consecrated in 1060 but
s Nagyvázsony d Tihany Peninsula destroyed in 1702. Beneath
lies King András I, laid to rest
26 km (16 miles) southwest of 15 km (9 miles) south of Veszprém. here in 1055. Károly Lotz’s
Veszprém. Road Map B4. * 1,750. Road Map B4. £ to Balatonfüred. superb frescoes of Faith,
@ from Balatonfüred. @ from Balatonfüred to Tihany Hope and Charity adorn
village. 4 car ferry from Szántód. the church’s ceiling.
Set in a valley between the Balaton n Tourinform, Kossuth Lajos utca
hills and Mount Kab, Nagyvázsony 20, Tihany, (87) 44 88 04. The western half of Tihany
boasts Kinizsi Castle, a well- is closed to motor traffic and
preserved fortress. It was given to Declared Hungary’s first accessible only on foot, along
local warrior Pál Kinizsi in 1472 conservation area in 1952, the a number of well-marked trails,
by King Mátyás in recognition of Tihany Peninsula is an outcrop most of which begin just
his outstanding military service. of volcanic rock extending outside Tihany village. The
Families will enjoy the games and for 5 km (3 miles) into Lake most intriguing route is
entertainments of the period Balaton. The symbol of the the Lajos Lóczy Nature Trail,
staged daily in July and August. peninsula, and visible from afar, which takes visitors past the
is the Baroque Abbey Church, hermit caves overlooking
From the top of the 29-m- built in the 18th century on the Tihany village, and the
(95-ft-) high keep a superb peninsula’s two inland lakes:
panorama of the surrounding Belső-tó (Inner Lake) and
countryside unfolds. In the dun- Külső-tó (Outer Lake). Belső-tó
geons is the Pál Kinizsi Castle is a volcanic crater and an angler’s
Museum (Kinizsi Pál Vármúzeum), dream, while Külső-tó is a bird
with a small waxwork display of sanctuary and nesting ground
medieval torture. Pál Kinizsi’s for tens of thousands of birds.
sarcophagus lies in the chapel.
Tihany has good grass
Opposite the castle stands beaches, although the most
St István Church, built for Kinizsi popular, on the promenade
in 1470 but rebuilt in Baroque at Tihany village, get very
style in 1740. The Open-Air busy during high summer.
Ethnography Museum The passenger port, Tihany-rév
(Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum) at the peninsula’s southern tip,
with two cottages (a copper- is the prettiest on the lake.
smith’s and a weaver’s) remain Car ferries cross from here
as they were in the mid-1840s. to Szántód on Lake Balaton’s
southern shore.

E Pál Kinizsi Castle Museum The High Altar in Tihany’s ornate Baroque Abbey Church
Vár utca 9. Tel (88) 26 40 11. Open Mar,
Apr & Oct: 10am–5pm; May, Sep: 9am–
6pm, Jun–Aug: 9am–7pm, Nov–Feb:
10am–4pm. &

E Open-Air Ethnography
Museum
Bercsényi utca 21. Tel (88) 26 47 24.
Open May–Sep: 10am–6pm Tue–Sun.
&7

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

SOUTHERN TRANSDANUBIA  207

from the same starting point.
The Hungaricum Festival held in
summer features a huge folk art
fair, folk dancing, sports events
and evening concerts.

h Herend

7 km (4 miles) northwest of Veszprém.
Road Map B4. * 3,400. @ from
Veszprém. ∑ herend.com

A café near Lake Balaton in the elegant resort of Balatonfüred The small village of Herend is
famous mainly for its porcelain
f Balatonfüred g Balatonalmádi manufactory, which has been
producing some of the finest
23 km (14 miles) southeast of Vesz­ 13 km (8 miles) south of Veszprém. porcelain in the world since 1826.
prém. Road Map B4. * 13,000. Road Map B4. * 8,000. £ from The structure itself is a master­
£ from Budapest. @ from Budapest. Budapest. @ from Budapest. piece, and a listed building. A late
4 from Siófok. n Tourinform, Blaha n Tourinform, Városház tér 4, (88) Classicist edifice built in 1840, it
Lujza utca 5, (87) 58 04 80. _ Anna 59 40 80. _ Hungaricum Festival has an amazing entrance, topped
Ball (last Sat in Jul). (last week in Jul). with an egg­shaped dome
guarded by two giant angels.
The site of the first medicinal The second­largest resort on
Porcelanium, the visitor centre
retreat on Lake Balaton, Balaton’s northern shore, of the manufactory, is a museum
of porcelain as well as a brand
Hungary’s first sailing club Balatonalmádi has welcomed shop. It has displays of the
decorative Herend china and
and one of its oldest bathers since the porcelain, from dinner plates
to intricately painted figurines.
balls, Balatonfüred 1870s. It has a fine There is also the opportunity
to visit a workshop to watch the
remains the grandest sandy beach, and production process. Visitors can
also try their hand at shaping and
resort on the lake. is an excellent base painting of porcelain objects.
There are demonstrations by
Though its streets for exploring the artists who meticulously hand­
paint every detail. A vast factory
have a faded air, the Balaton hinterland shop sells some 12,000 porcelain
items made here and painted in
villas, such as that and hills on foot. about 350 different patterns.

of the romantic From the railway E Porcelanium

novelist Mór Jókai station, a 6­km Kossuth Lajos utca 140. Tel (88) 52 31

(1825–1904), still (4­mile) path 97. Open Apr–Oct: 9am–6pm daily;

convey elegance; (marked with blue Nov–Mar: 9:30am–5pm daily (Nov–

Jókai’s home is today A sailing boat on crosses) leads up Dec: Tues–Sat). & 8 7
a museum dedicated Lake Balaton to the Wesselényi
to his works. Primarily Viewing Tower at

a health spa, patients flock the top of Öreg­hegy (132 m/

to the town’s hospital to drink 433 ft). A much tougher walk

its mineral­laced water. The leads to the top of Felső­hegy

“miracle” water is available to (321 m/1,053 ft)

all from the colonnaded

drinking fountain in Gyógy tér.

Gyógy tér is also where

the grand annual Anna Ball

is held at the Árkád Hotel in

July. The first ball in 1825

was a showcase event for

the granddaughter of a local

businessman. Traditionally,

the debutantes all wear

exactly the same gown, and

the high point is the election

of the belle of the ball.

Two great sandy beaches

flank Balatonfüred’s landing

stage, from where the Lake

Balaton ferry departs. The astonishing entrance of the Porcelanium

208  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

j Veszprém former market square, it is
surrounded by some fine little
The site of the nation’s first bishopric, and for centuries the houses, many of which are
seat of the Queen of Hungary’s household, Veszprém is one today cafés. The Pósa House
of Hungary’s great historical towns. It was all but razed by the at No. 3 was built for a local
Turks as they fled Hungary in the 17th century. Spread over merchant, Endre Pósa, in 1783.
five hills, the most picturesque part of the city is the Vár Its showy decoration, especially
(Castle District, see pp210–11), but the lower city offers some the two cherubs below the roof,
fine Baroque architecture, great museums and quaint streets. was to offset the linearity of
The twin towers of St Michael’s Cathedral, visible from afar, are the building. The contours
a symbol of Veszprém and of the Balaton and Bakony regions. of the Secession-era house
Visitors need to be fit to explore this city, as many sights are at next door are gentler. Opposite
the top of long staircases or at the end of steep, cobbled streets. is the Neo-Classical town hall,
built in 1896 as church offices,
The restored, grand interior of P Archbishop’s Palace but renovated and converted
St Michael’s Cathedral Érseki Palota in 1990. Behind the town hall,
Vár utca 16. Tel (88) 42 60 95. up a flight of stairs, is Lenke
R St Michael’s Cathedral Open May–Oct: 10am–6pm daily. Kiss’s fountain Girl with a Jug,
Szent Mihály Bazilika which is affectionately known
Főszékesegyház &7 as “Zsuzsi” by locals.
Vár utca 20. Tel (88) 32 80 38.
Open May–Oct: 10am–6pm (enter This Baroque mansion (1764) A late Secession-era stained-glass window
via side door). Closed Nov–Feb. was designed by Fellner and in the Petőfi Theatre
has his trademark rounded
There was a church here as early four-columned loggia. It houses F Petőfi Theatre
as 1001, when St István created the Archbishop’s archive and Petőfi Szinház
a bishopric, but the cathedral’s only a few rooms are open to Óvári Ferenc utca 2. Tel (88) 56 42 20.
present look is early 20th the public, with a fine collection Open during performances only. 7
century. Remains of earlier styles of Baroque furniture and The late Secession-era (1908)
include the Gothic undercroft frescoes by Johann Cymbal. municipal theatre, set in well-
(underground store) and the kept gardens, is named after
crypt’s vaulting, both from 1380. P Heroes’ Gate revolutionary playwright and
Following sensitive restoration Hősök kapuja poet Sándor Petőfi (see p46).
of many older features, the Vár utca 2. Tel (88) 61 05 16. The theatre was designed by
cathedral has returned to its Open 10am–5pm daily. & 7 István Medgyaszay, who studied
former glory, crowned by two in Vienna under Otto Wagner.
tall towers dating from 1723. This restored city gate, It has intricate folk motifs on
which was built in 1938 to the façade, typical of later
commemorate the Hungarian Secessionist buildings.
dead of World War I, houses a
small exhibition on the history
of the city and its original
fortifications. The gate’s tower
affords fine views of the city
from the top.

P Óváros tér and Town Hall
Városháza
Óváros tér.

Óváros tér sits directly below
the Castle District. Veszprém’s

R Gizella Chapel Façade of the Neo-Classical town hall, built in 1896
Gizella Kápolna
Vár utca 16. Tel (88) 42 60 95.
Open May–Oct: 10am–6pm daily. &

7^

The 13th-century Gothic Chapel
commemorates the life of Gizella,
wife of István and first Queen of
Hungary. The chapel was lost and
rediscovered only in the 1760s. Its
faded Byzantine frescoes of the
apostles on the walls are original.

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

VESZPRÉM  209

E Laczkó Dezső VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Museum
Laczkó Dezső Múzeum Practical Information
Erzsébet sétány 1. Tel (88) 78 81 91. 44 km (27 miles) southwest of
Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. & 8 Székesfehérvár. Road Map B4.
* 60,000. n Tourinform,
The County Museum, designed Óváros tér 2, (88) 40 45 48.
by the local architect István ∑ veszpreminfo.hu _ Gizella
Medgyaszay, was opened Art Days (May), VeszprémFest
in 1922. Its collection consists (Jul); Street Music Festival (Jul).
of local artifacts, including
folk costumes dating back Transport
to Celtic times. Most of the £ Jutasi út; from Budapest,
collection was donated Székesfehérvár. @ Piac tér; from
by local Piarist monks, for Budapest, Székesfehérvár.
whose leader, Laczkó Dezső,
the museum was named. It Panoramic shot of the historical town of
also housed Hungary’s first
public library, still a leading Veszprém, during summer
research facility.
O Veszprém Zoo
E Bakony Regional Folk
House P St István Viaduct Veszprémi Állatkert
Bakonyi Ház
Erzsébet sétány 3. Tel (88) 56 43 10. Szent István völgyhíd Kittenberger Kálmán utca 15–17.
Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun.
Stretching over the Tel (88) 56 61 40. Open May–Sep:
&8 Fejes Valley, from 9am–6pm daily; Oct–Apr: from 9am
Dózsa György utca daily, closing times vary with season.
Hungary’s first ethnographic to the St László & 8 7 ∑ veszpzoo.hu
museum, the Bakony House
(1935) was modelled on the Church, the St István Hungary’s best zoo, named
19th-century houses of Öcs,
south of Veszprém. The house Viaduct was built in after Africa explorer
is built on high foundations
and has a full-length covered 1938, a major engineering Kálmán Kittenberger
terrace. A small staircase leads
to a single door. Inside, items achievement at the (1881–1958), is spread
on show date back to 1700.
time. Designed by a over 130,000 sq m

Hungarian, Róbert (155,500 sq yards) in the

Folly, it rises 50 m lovely Fejes Valley. It is
A giraffe in home to 120 species,
(164 ft) above the River
Séd at its highest point. Veszprém Zoo including Sumatran

It affords magnificent tigers and Kamchatka

views of the castle, the bears, giraffes and elephants,

Betekints Valley and the Bakony seals, penguins and fine

Mountains to the north. exotic birds.

Veszprém City Centre Benedek UT C A 0 metres 200
PATAK Hill ÚRKÚT 0 yards 200
1 St Michael’s Cathedral
2 Gizella Chapel TÉR St George's
3 Archbishop’s Palace Chapel
4 Heroes’ Gate
5 Óváros tér and Town Hall St Michael’s Cathedral
6 Petőfi Theatre
7 Laczkó Dezső Museum Gizella Gizella Chapel Séd
8 Bakony Regional Museum Archbishop's

Folk House St István Palace DEÁK FERENC UTCA FENYVES U.
9 St István Viaduct Viaduct Piarist
0 Veszprém Zoo Veszprém T C A T UTCA Train Station
Zoo VÁR Church ÖG 2 km (1.25 miles)
Key
Street-by-Street pp210–11 UTCA U I K Ú Bus Station

Heroes' BUHIM UCTA Y
TH Ö LÖ K Y
JÓKAI Gate V U T C ACovered
Market
MÓR Firetower Town Hall CSAPLAR JÁNDS
FESTO
UTC Pósa ÓVÁROS
UTCA A House TÉR
JUTASI ÚT
AS UTV RÁKÓCZI U.
HORGOS
U T C A RANOLDER G UTCA CA KOSSUTH LAJOS UTCA
JÁNOS UTCA BUDAPEST
TÉR
VIRÁ

BEM TOBORZÓ UTCA

SZABADSÁG
TÉR
DÓZ BRUS
SA ERENC ÚT County Z ÚT
GYÖRGY ÚT Petőfi N YA BUDAPEST
I
ÓVÁRI F Theatre UTCA
ISKOLA U C TA
Hall KORKÁZ

MEGYEHÁZ MÁRTÍROK UTCA
TÉR

New
Library
UTCA Laczkó Dezső
ERZSÉBET Museum
TÉR

For keys to map symbols see back flap Bakony Regional
Folk House

210  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

Street-by-Street: Veszprém Vár

With the exception of Buda, Veszprém contains Hungary’s Gizella Chapel
Lost for hundreds of years, the
best-preserved and most accessible Castle District
13th-century Gizella Chapel
(Vár). Built on an outcrop of dolomite rock, it was rediscovered in the 1760s

consists basically of one street, which is during construction of the
Archbishop’s Palace.
narrow in parts and delightful with

its mixture of medieval and

Baroque architecture.

From here, the views over PATA K
the modern city from the TÉR

Szent István and Gizella

Monument are

stunning, and

make the walk

up worthwhile.

Szent István and Gizella Key
Monument Suggested route
Huge statues featuring Hungary’s
greatest king and his wife were Dubniczay House
raised in 1936, on the 900th Built in 1751, the
anniversary of István’s death. Dubniczay House
incorporates part of
. St Michael’s the old castle wall.
Cathedral
Standing on the site
of an 11th-century
church founded
by King István,
St Michael’s
Cathedral was
extensively rebuilt
in Neo-Romanesque
style in 1908.

Salesianum – Archbishopric’s
Tourist Centre
Set in the Biró-Giczey House, this
centre offers a cultural experience
with various educational and
recreational activities.

Holy Trinity Statue
Commissioned by the then

Bishop of Veszprém,
Márton Padányi-Bíró,
this statue was raised in
1750. The Bishop also
commissioned the
Bíró-Giczey House

opposite.

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

St Emeric Piarist and VESZPRÉM  211
Garrison Church
. Archbishop’s Palace
On the walls of this early Veszprém’s finest building is an
19th-century church are outstanding example of Baroque
design, the work of Jakab Fellner,
engraved the letters who also designed the dormitory
MMT: a Greek for ecclesiastical staff next door.
Seven of the mansion’s rooms,
acronym for Mary, including the frescoed dining
Mother of God. room, are open to the public.

VÁR UTCA Fire Lookout Tower
Open from March to
October, the views of
modern Veszprém from
the top of this elegant,
Baroque 48-m- (157-ft-)
high tower are superb.

. Heroes’ Gate 0 metres Route down to Óváros tér
Veszprém’s history, and the history 0 yards 30 Visitors should note that the
of the gate itself, is explored in an 30 Vár remains open to motor
exhibition within the restored castle
gate and tower. traffic, and beware of cars.



HUNGARY REGION BY REGION  213

THE NORTHERN
HIGHLANDS

Among the gems hidden in the mountains and
forests of the Northern Highlands are grand palaces
and castles, mysterious caves and grottoes, healing baths
and thermal springs. The Hungarian uplands are remote, lying beyond mountain
passes and deep forests, and their plantlife and wildlife are well protected in the
national parks. This region also produces Hungary’s best wine – Tokaji.

From Hollókő in the west to the Zemplén most spectacular of all Hungary’s
Hills on Hungary’s eastern border with thermal baths. Nature-lovers will head
Ukraine, the Northern Highlands feel for the Bükk National Park, where over
remote and other-worldly. Home to a 22,000 species of animal and plant live
number of peoples who are not of in a protected environment.
Magyar descent (the Palóc of Hollókő, for
example), this is the least homogenous Tokaji is Hungary’s finest wine: the
region of the country. Yet the people of golden wine of Aszú is made in the far east
the mountains are proudly Hungarian, of the country, a place where Calvinism,
and proud that at Eger Castle the most not Catholicism, is the predominant
heroic rearguard action in the nation’s religion. Many of the towns and villages
history was fought and won – and the east of the Tokaj hills are remote – to
myth of Bull’s Blood born. journey to gorgeous Baroque towns such
as Sárospatak and Sátoraljaújhely really
The region has much for sports is to step off the beaten track.
enthusiasts: skiing, hiking, caving and
horse riding are pursued in the resorts of This area is not short of good places to
the Mátra Mountains. Bathers and those stay, however. Converted palaces such as
seeking hydrotherapy can take the waters the Sasvár Kastély in Parádfürdő, or the
at Parádfürdő or at Miskolctapolca, the Palota in Lillafüred, offer accommodation
fit for royals.

Pedestrianized Széchenyi Street, leading to the Bishop’s Palace and Lyceum, Eger
The castle at Hollókő, a UNESCO-recognized centre for the indigenous Palóc culture

214  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

Exploring the Northern Highlands

While the Mátra and Bükk Mountains, boasting
Hungary’s highest peaks, define the Northern
Highlands, this is, in fact, the most geograph-
ically diverse region. Some of the country’s
most evocative sights are found here. Castles,
such as the legendary fortress at Eger, bear
witness to troubled times, while many thermal
baths have drawn bathers since imperial times.
This is also wine country, with Tokaj and Eger
the foremost towns of international acclaim,
and the home of the Palóc people, who fiercely
guard their traditions.

The traditional Palóc settlement of Hollókő, preserved
as a World Heritage Site

Putnok

IPOLYTARNÓC Ózd

BORSOD-

Ipoly Salgótarján SZILVÁSVÁRAD

Szécsény

BALASSAGY- Bátonyterenye BÜKK
ARMAT HOLLÓKŐ NATIONAL
Nagyoroszi
PARK
Zagyva
Rétság N Ó G R Á D PARÁD PARÁDFÜRDŐ EGER
Pásztó
NS
Bercel O U N TA I
E
Budapest M ÁT R A M H V E S

GYÖNGYÖS Füzesabony
Kál
Lőrinci

Hatvan

Budapest

Szolnok Heves
Kömlő
Jászberény

Eger, with Cannon Hill and the famous castle in the background Key
For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285
Motorway
Secondary road
Minor road
Main railway
Minor railway
International border
Regional border

THE NORTHERN HIGHLANDS  215

Getting Around
The region is reasonably well served by railway, although
the geography may force visitors to travel back on them­
selves in order to reach a new destination by train. There
are trains from Budapest to Gyöngyös, Eger and Miskolc,
with regional onward services from there. To get the
most out of a visit to the region, however, it is best to
hire a car. Roads are good and allow much quicker
access to some of the more remote sights.

AGGTELEKI Füzér Bacchus, in the wine
NATIONAL PARK town of Tokaj
Füzérradvány
20
ZEMPLÉN HILLS
rog

Tisza
Szendrő Boldogkő- SÁTORALJAÚJHELY
Rudabánya váralja SÁROSPATAK

Edelény Hernád Bod
Sajó Monok Nyíregyháza

Kazincbarcika
Sajószentpéter

ABAÚJ-ZEMPLÉN

SZERENCS TOKAJ

MISKOLC Tisza

MISKOLC- Tiszalúc
TAPOLCA

Emőd Tiszaújváros

0 kilometres 20
0 miles
Mezőcsát Debrecen
Mezőkövesd

Debrecen Sights at a Glance

Vineyard in Felsőtárkány, between Eger and the Bükk National Park 1 Balassagyarmat
2 Ipolytarnóc
3 Hollókő pp218–19
4 Gyöngyös
5 Mátra Mountains
6 Parád & Parádfürdő
7 Eger pp220–23
8 Bükk National Park pp224–5
9 Szilvásvárad
0 Aggteleki National Park
q Miskolc pp230–31
w Miskolctapolca
e Szerencs
r Tokaj
t Zemplén Hills
y Sárospatak
u Sátoraljaújhely

For keys to map symbols see back flap

216  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

In the visitors’ centre, the teeth
of 24 species of sharks, croc-
odiles and dolphins, fossilized
trees, the imprints of more than
5,000 subtropical exotic leaves
and the footprints of 2,000
animals can be admired. A
4D cinema and adventure
park make the visit even more
enjoyable for families.

Y Ipolytarnóc Fossils Nature
Protected Area
Ipolytarnóc külterület. Tel (32) 45 41
13. Open Mar–Oct: 9am–4pm Tue–
Sun.& 8

The Palóc Museum in Balassagyarmat, keeping up folk traditions 3 Hollókő

1 Balassagyarmat 2 Ipolytarnóc See pp218–19.

80 km (50 miles) north of Budapest. 43 km (27 miles) northeast of 4 Gyöngyös
Road Map D2. * 18,000. Balassagyarmat. Road Map D2.
£ from Vác. @ from Budapest. * 550. £ from Szécsény, 77 km (48 miles) east of Budapest.
n Tourinform, Köztársaság tér 6, Balassagyarmat. @ from Szécsény. Road Map D3. * 33,000. £ from
(35) 50 06 40. Vámosgyörk. @ from Budapest, Eger.
Around 22 million years ago, n Fő tér 10, (37) 51 03 10. ( daily
Capital of the Palóc region, a volcanic eruption buried the (until noon), Köztársaság tér.
Balassagyarmat stands on the area around what is today
southern bank of the Ipoly the village of Ipolytarnóc in hot At the foot of the Mátra hills,
river, which marks the border ash. Hundreds of animals were Gyöngyös is the home of some
between Hungary and Slovakia. caught at their drinking place of Hungary’s best white wines.
The origin of the Palóc people, and their fossilized remains Visitors can sample many of
famous for retaining their own can be seen today as part of a these at the Mátra House
cultural traditions, remains Geological Study Path that is of Wines, a shop and cellar that
something of a mystery. The unique in Europe. It departs stocks over 200 local vintages.
nearby village of Hollókő from the visitors’ centre of the It is located on Fő tér, Gyöngyös’s
(see pp218–19) is the best- Ipolytarnóc Fossils Nature elegant pedestrianized central
known and best-kept Palóc Protected Area (Ipolytarnóci square. The centrepiece of
settlement in Hungary. Ősmaradványok Természet- the square, however, is the yellow
védelmi Terület) on the village’s Baroque St Bertalan Parish
The townsfolk of Balassa- outskirts. Before setting off, Church, originally built in 1301,
gyarmat no longer wear Palóc watch the short film telling then remodelled in the 18th
costume, but many examples of the story of the eruption and century. The high-ceilinged –
their colourful, elaborate dress explaining the natural history but plain – main hall is the
are on display at the city’s Palóc of the area. A guide is needed largest surviving Gothic church
Museum (Palóc Múzeum). Here, for the Geological Study Tour, but building in Hungary. Opposite
visitors can also admire the rich the Biology and Rock Park Tours the church is the House of the
artistic skills of the Palóc in the can be taken unaccompanied. Holy Crown, so called because
handicrafts on show. There are
superb embroideries, intricate the Hungarian royal
woodcarvings and colourful crown was brought
ceramics as well as a mock-up here for safekeeping
of a classroom and a wedding. early in the 19th
Unfortunately, there is less on century. Today,
display than there once was, the St Bertalan
because as much as 90 per cent Treasury Museum
of the collection was looted (Szent Bertalan
by the German army during Templom Kincstára)
World War II. accommodates a
large treasury of
E Palóc Museum Fossilized rhino footprints in Ipolytarnóc ecclesiastical art.
Palóc liget 1. Tel (35) 30 01 68.
Open 9am–4pm Tue–Sat. Gyöngyös’s other
87 star sight is the Mátra
Museum, housed in

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

THE NORTHERN HIGHLANDS  217

note that all contain at least 6 Parád and
Parádfürdő
one relatively difficult section.
Mátrafüred is also great for 30 km (19 miles) north of Gyöngyös.
mountain biking, and many Road Map E3. * 2,400. £ from
pensions hire out good­quality Budapest. @ from Budapest.
bikes. Non­hikers can pass the

time at the Palóc Ethnograph­

ical Museum (Palóc Néprajzi The waters at Parádfürdő

Magángyűjtemény és Baba­ have been taken as a cure for

kiállítás), where a large and digestive disorders and bathed

colourful collection of dolls in as a cure for gynaecological

shows the traditional costumes ailments since the 17th century.

of the Palóc people. The real treasure of the twin

About 8 km (5 miles) further villages, however, is the so

Interior of St Bertalan Parish Church into the mountains is the smaller called Fancy Stable (Cifra Istálló).
in Gyöngyös
resort of Mátraháza, with more Commissioned by Count György
the former Orczy Mansion, close
to the narrow­gauge railway hiking trails, and Károlyi it was designed
station. The late 18th­century
mansion is a mixture of Neo­ slightly further north is by Miklós Ybl (who
Baroque and Neo­Classical styles.
Mátraszentistván, also designed the
Heves county is known for its
sports, and the Mátra Museum’s Hungary’s leading ski State Opera House in
best exhibition is devoted to
hunting, complete with various resort and also a base Budapest (see pp93-3).
trophies. In the beautiful park
around the mansion, there is a for summer hiking. Completed in 1880,
three­storey pavilion with
exhibitions on natural history. Kékestető, at much of the stable’s
The pride of the collection is
a 40,000–50,000­year­old 1,015 m (3,330 ft) elaborate decoration
mammoth skeleton found
nearby. The Palm House is also the highest peak in is of red marble. Few
home to living animals, reptiles,
fishes and birds. Hungary, lies east horses have finer

E St Bertalan Treasury Museum of Mátraháza. It is homes, and the
Szent Bertalan utca 3. Tel (37) 30 00 served by bus or Footpath marker in the famous Lipizzaner
72. Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat; Sun by takes 45 minutes to
appointment only. & Mátra Mountains horses are still bred

E Mátra Museum and hike up. The mountain here. The rest of the
Microarium
Kossuth Lajos utca 40. Tel (37) 50 55 is topped by a 90­m­ (295­ft­) building is the Parád Coach
30. Open 9am–5pm Tue–Sun. & 7
high TV tower, which offers Museum (Parádi Kocsi­
5 Mátra Mountains
spectacular views from the múzeum), which has a wide
85 km (52 miles) northeast of
Budapest. Road Map D3/E3. £ from viewing platform at the top. selection of elaborate horse­
Mátrafüred. @ from Mátrafüred.
n Tourinform Gyöngyös, Fő tér 10, For more relaxing pursuits, drawn coaches, some of
(37) 51 03 10.
there is good fishing at the which were once used by

picturesque Lake Sástó, which, the Hungarian royal family.

at an altitude of 500 m (1,640 ft), There are also interesting

is one of the highest in Hungary. displays on carriage building,

It is found between Mátrafüred traditional Palóc music, dance,

and Mátraháza. folk costumes and tools.

E Palóc Ethnographical Museum E Parád Coach Museum
Pálosvörösmarti utca 2, Mátrafüred. Kossuth Lajos utca 217. Tel (36) 36 40
Tel (30) 913 49 87. Open May–Oct: 83. Open Apr–Sep: 10am–5pm daily;
9am–5pm daily; Nov–Mar: 10am–3pm Oct–Mar: 10am–4pm Tue–Sun. &
daily. & 8 Hungarian only. 7 87

The most spectacular way A typical thatched Palóc cottage in the village of Parád
to traverse the steep Mátra
Mountains is by narrow­gauge
railway from Gyöngyös to
Mátrafüred, the largest village
in the region. In summer,
Mátrafüred is pure heaven for
lovers of challenging mountain
hikes. There are trails of various
lengths, all well marked, but

218  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

3 Street-by-Street: Hollókő

Set in a narrow valley in the Cserhát hills, Hollókő is . Palóc Village Museum
one of the few entire villages in the world to have The vibrant costumes and lifestyles of
been placed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The the Palóc people, with three generations
Palóc have lived here since the 13th century, when living under one roof, are vividly
the castle on Szárhegy was built. They use colourful represented at the museum.
dialect and costume. Yet, in Hollókő all is not what
it appears: the 58 houses, churches and workshops
protected by UNESCO are little more than a century
old. Once entirely made of wood and thatch, the
village has burned down many times, and was
almost completely rebuilt in 1909 with brick walls
and tiled roofs.

. Hollókő Castle Ruins of
A short walk from the the Castle
village centre are the
ruins of a 13th-century Doll Museum
fortress, destroyed These wonderfully detailed china
during the Turkish dolls are dressed in miniature
retreat. It was partly versions of Palóc dress. The Doll
rebuilt in the 1990s. Museum has more than 200 dolls
in its collection.
Local Dress Hungarian women in traditional
Palóc dress
The Palóc are Slovak in origin,
and their traditional dress, worn
by many of the village’s resi-
dents, is distinctly Slavic, with
intricately embroidered motifs,
often of bright flowers. Married
women wear headscarves; while,
unmarried girls don lace bonnets.
Palóc men wear black hats
with embroidered ribbons. The
finest costumes can be seen on
Sundays, when locals dress up
for the morning church service.

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–85

THE NORTHERN HIGHLANDS  219

. The Village Church VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
This elegant whitewashed
Practical Information
church with wooden belfry, 104 km (65 miles) northeast of
built in 1889, is at the very Budapest, 20 km (12 miles) south
centre of the village and is of Szécsény. Road Map D2/3.
the focal point of Hollókő. n Kossuth Lajos utca 68, (32) 57
90 10. Szécsény Potter’s House, Doll
Museum & Palóc Village Museum:
Open daily; Apr–Oct: 10am–6pm;
Nov–Mar: 10am–4pm. & 7
∑ holloko.hu

Transport
@ from Budapest.

The Potter’s House
A showcase of simple but
elegant Palóc pottery, the
Potter’s House hosts pottery-

making demonstrations
and sells local wares.

Village House
This 19th-century wooden
house with a thatched
roof is one of the few to
have survived the many
fires that ravaged the
village over the centuries.

Main
entrance

Post Museum 0 metres 50
Two rooms in a small cottage 0 yards 50
display telegraph and
communications equipment, Key
as well as documents relating Suggested route
to the history of the postal
service in Nógrád County.

For keys to map symbols see back flap

220  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

7 Eger E Lyceum
Líceum, Eszterházy Károly Főiskola
Situated off the main road, 90 minutes’ drive from Budapest Eszterházy Károly tér 1. Tel 32 52 11.
to the east of Hungary, Eger is a charming town known today Open Library: Mar, Apr & Oct: 9:30am–
for its 1,000-year-old-history and diverse cultural heritage. 1:30pm Tue–Sun; May–Sep: 9:30am–
The town is famous for its thermal waters, baths and wines – 3:30pm Tue–Sun. Tower: Feb–mid-Mar
especially the iconic Cuvée wine, Bull’s Blood wine (see p223), & Nov–mid-Dec: 9:30am–1pm Sat &
which has a ruby red colour and an enticing aroma. During Sun; mid–Mar–Oct: 9:30am–3pm Tue–
the siege of 1552, the brave soldiers of the town protected Sun (to 4:30pm May–Aug). & 8 7
it from the invading Ottoman armies, a force 30 times larger,
making it a legendary town in the history of Hungary. This The Lyceum was founded in 1765
pleasant town also offers a number of programmes for as a Catholic university, but impe-
families, culture lovers and active holiday-makers. rial authorities opposed the idea
of a church university and rele-
R Eger Cathedral and were the work of the Italian gated it to the rank of lyceum. The
Főszékesegyház – Szent János sculptor Marco Casagrande. ceiling of the library boasts Johann
Kracker’s fresco depicting the
apostol és evangélista Szent Inside, the cupola is decorated meeting of the Council of Trent
with frescoes of the Kingdom of (1545–63). The library itself holds
Mihály főangyal Heaven by Viennese artist Johann over 150,000 volumes, including
Kracker. The cathedral also has the first book ever printed in
Pyrker tér 1. Tel (36) 42 09 70. Hungary’s largest organ; from April Hungary, in 1473. In the 53-m
to October there are performances (174-ft)“Magic Tower”is Hungary’s
Open 8:30am–6pm daily. 7 on Monday to Saturday at 11:30am leading centre of astronomy, with
and on Sunday at 12:45pm. a museum, a planetarium and a
Although its garish yellow 19th-century camera obscura.
colour and architectural mixture P Bishop’s Palace
of Neo-Classical and Neo- Római katolikus érseki palota The antique book section and the painted
Romanesque styles may not Széchenyi utca 9. Tel (36) 51 73 56. ceiling of the Lyceum library
be to everyone’s taste, there is Open Apr–Sep: 10am–6pm Tue–Sun;
no doubt that Eger Cathedral – Oct–Mar: 10am–2pm Tue–Sat. & P Kossuth Street
the second-largest church in Kossuth utca.
Hungary – is the most aston- The second element of central Kossuth utca, a wide boulevard,
ishing sight in the city. It was Eger’s ecclesiastical architectural has long been Eger’s best
built from 1831 to 1837 to a triumvirate is the former address. For centuries it was
design by the architect József Bishop’s Palace on Széchenyi where the richest and holiest
Hild, who would later design utca. Like the Lyceum, it was men in the city lived. At No. 4
the even larger and more built in Baroque style to the is the Vice-Provost’s Palace, a
stunning basilica at Esztergom designs of Jakab Kellner, and pastel-shaded Rococo mansion
(see pp148–9). The cathedral at completed in 1766. Inside, the with a façade of hewn stone
Eger is unique in Hungary, palace houses the Ecclesiastical dating from 1758, which today
having a cupola – at 40 m (131 ft) Collection of the Eger Bishopric, is closed to the public.
– that is shorter than the two which includes the coronation
western towers, measuring 44 m cloak of Habsburg Empress On the same side of the
(144 ft). At the other end of the Maria Theresa (r. 1740–80) and street, at No. 14, is the Franciscan
building, three gargantuan sta- other priceless objects. Church and Monastery, a
tues loom over the colonnaded single-nave church built in
Neo-Classical façade. They repre- 1738 on the ruins of a former
sent Faith, Hope and Charity mosque. Opposite (at No. 9)
is the Baroque County Hall,
The sombre interior of Eger Cathedral, brightened by ceiling frescoes completed in 1758. It is famed
for its two grand wrought-iron
gates, crafted by the blacksmith
Henrik Fazola (1730–79), who
moved to Eger from Würzburg to

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

EGER  221

rounded, tiered façade and VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
twin towers are the work of
Bohemian architect Johann Practical Information
Ignaz Dientzenhofer, who Road Map E3. * 56,000.
completed the church in 1773. n Tourinform, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky
Dedicated to St Anthony of utca 9, (36) 51 77 15. ( Dobó
Padova, scenes of the saint’s life István tér; daily.
feature in the ceiling frescoes
painted by Márton Reindl. He is Transport
also depicted alongside the £ Vasút utca; from Budapest. @
Virgin Mary on the altar, in a Pyrker János tér; from Budapest.
painting by the Austrian
Johann Kracker. P Minaret
Knézich Károly utca 4. Tel (70) 202
Kossuth Street, Eger’s smartest address, 43 53. Open Apr–Oct: 10am–6pm
seen from the air daily. &
The most northerly Ottoman
take the city’s waters. He is also relic in Europe, Eger’s minaret
responsible for most of the is a classic of its genre. Sleek
ironwork that typifies many of and perfectly symmetrical, the
the buildings on Kossuth Street, 14-sided sandstone tower rises
as well as the Hungarian National on an incline to its needle-like
Gallery in Budapest (see pp62–3) point 40 m (131 ft) above the
and Festetics Castle in Keszthely street. It is topped with a crescent
(see pp202–3). moon and a cross. Closed for
150 years after the mosque next
R Minorite Church Main façade of the former Minorite Church, to it was demolished in 1841,
Szent Antonius Minorita templom built in the 18th century the 17th-century minaret is
now open to visitors, who are
Dobó István tér rewarded for climbing the 97
steps up to the balcony with
Set against the background of fine views of the city.
the open spaces of Dobó István
tér, the ornate exterior of the + Castle
former Minorite Church is far See pp222–3.
more pleasing on the eye than
that of Eger Cathedral. The

Eger City Centre Serbian
Orthodox
1 Eger Cathedral Church
2 Bishop’s Palace SERVITA UTC A
3 Lyceum KNÉZICH KÁROLY UTCA G. UTCA
4 Kossuth Street
5 Minorite Church KO V
6 Minaret LENKEY UTCA DAYKA
7 Castle pp222–3
Á C S J. UTCA ÁRVA KÖZ TORONY UTCA Castle

Korona Hotel Minaret Under-
Wine Cellar ground
and Museum MARKHOT U. Casements

MACZKY UTCA DOBÓ I S T VÁN
SÁNDOR IMRE U. Turkish
CSIKY UTCA SZÉCHENYI SZENT JÁNOS UTCA Ege UTCA
DOBÓ Bath DÓZSA
rISTVÁN TÉR
ZALAR UTCA TÉR GÓLYA U.
VAROS FAL DR HIBAY K. UTCA UTCA
BARKOCZY UTCA S. UTCA UTCA Minorite KOSSUTH
Church

BRODY UTCA

UTCA County
ÉRS Hall Local History

Museum
EK JÓKAI UTCA
ILINSZKY U.
B A J C S Y- Z S
0 metres 100 Bishop's
0 yards 100 Palace Lyceum H UTCA
KOS
Bus Station Eger S U T
Cathedral

TÖRVÉNY H Á Z UTCA

Train Station
1 km (0.6 miles)

For keys to map symbols see back flap

222  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

Eger Castle . Bishop’s Palace
The names of all those who
Entering Eger Castle through its tiny gate set into walls 3 m defended the castle in 1552
(10 ft) thick, with the walls of the upper fortress menacing are engraved on a marble
in the background, it is not difficult to understand how its tablet in the main hall.
defenders held out for so long against the invading Turks.
For it was here at Eger, in 1552, that the greatest rearguard
action in Hungarian military history was carried out. The
castle, defended by a garrison of just 2,000 soldiers ably
assisted by the women of the town, held out against a
Turkish force five times that size for six weeks. The Turks
retreated, but took the castle 44 years later, only for much
of it to be destroyed in 1702 by the Habsburgs.

Waxworks in
Fold Bastion
A great collection of
lifelike figures, displayed
over three levels of
the bastion, recreates
scenes from the siege.

Art Gallery
The Art Gallery hosts an unrivalled
collection of Baroque Hungarian
paintings and sculptures, including
this bas-relief above the entrance.

KEY Dobó Bastion
The bastions and walls were built or fortified from the
1 Round Tower mid-1500s under István Dobó, who led the defenders
2 Ticket office at the Siege of Eger.
3 Three Crosses Hill
4 Tomb of Gárdonyi
5 Cannon Hill

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

EGER  223

. Ruins of Romanesque . Underground Corridors VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Cathedral Castle Hill is a warren of
The ruins of a 10th-century underground chambers and paths, Practical Information
Baptistry in the inner court- dug by the Turks in order to attack Vár utca, Eger.
yard feature the grave of the castle from below. Some 200 m Road Map E3.
Eger’s first Bishop, Buldus. (656 ft) are open to the public. Tel (36) 31 27 44.
Castle Museums: Open Apr–
Oct: 10am– 6pm daily; Nov–
Mar: 10am–4pm Tue–Sun.
Castle Gates: Open Apr–Oct:
8am–10pm daily; Nov–Mar:
8am–6pm daily. & =
_ Castle Festivities (Jul).
∑ egrivar.hu

Transport
£@

Main
entrance

Bull’s Blood Wine Ippolito Gate and
Bornemissza Bastion
Bull’s Blood of Eger is Hungary’s most celebrated wine. The castle gate is named
Comparable to Bordeaux reds, Bull’s Blood is robust and after an Italian cardinal,
fruity, made of a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot Ippolito d’Este, who became
and Cabernet Franc grapes. Archbishop of Esztergom.

During the Siege of Eger in 1552, copious amounts
of the wine were drunk by the soldiers who defended
the castle against the Turks, and word was put about
that their bravery was based on the blood of bulls that
had been added to the wine. The stories were almost
certainly false, but they impressed the superstitious
Turks, and played a minor role in their defeat and retreat.

Egri Bikavér, Hungary’s Bull’s Blood wine

224  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

8 Bükk National Park

The Bükk Mountain region, most of which has Lipizzaners in Szilvásvárad Nagyvisnyó
been classified as a National Park since 1977, Horse Museum
extends from Eger to Miskolc, not far from The famous white horses
Hungary’s northern border with Slovakia. were first brought here
An area of outstanding natural beauty, it is from Lipica, in Slovenia,
renowned for its more than 1,000 caves, steep in the 16th century.
cliffs and lush beech forests (bükk means“beech”).
There is some skiing in winter at Bánkút, but the
main activities in the park are hiking, mountain-
biking, horse riding and caving. Routes of all
grades and lengths crisscross the park, forming
a broadly triangular area between the main
towns of Miskolc, Eger and Szilvásvárad.

Szilvásvárad

Bálvány
956 m

(3,136 ft)

Szalajka Istállós-kő
959 m (3,146 ft)

Fátyol Waterfall Bélapátfalva Istállós-kői
Staggered limestone steps make this 17-m- Cave
(56-ft-) long waterfall one of the most Tar-kő
attractive in Hungary. The steps enlarge a little Pes-kő 949 m (3,114 ft)
every year as the water deposits more lime. 865 m (2,838 ft)
Mónosbél
Romanesque Bélapátfalva
Abbey, erected by Cistercian 698 m
monks in the 1200s, is the (2,290 ft)
best preserved in Hungary.
Stimecz-ház

The Szalajka Narrow-Gauge Railway Szarvaskő
runs along the entire length of the Ózd
Szalajka Valley in the summer.
512 m Felsőtárkány
For additional keys to symbols see back flap (1,680 ft)

Várhegy
669 m (2,195 ft)

Sikfőkút

Felnémet

Eger

Vineyards in Felsőtárkány
The leafy town of Felsőtárkány, surrounded by
vineyards and parks, is one of the best entrance
points for Bükk National Park.

THE NORTHERN HIGHLANDS  225

Climbing on cliffs VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
of Felső-Hámor
Practical Information
The steep, high cliffs Road Map E2/3. Between Eger
of the Bükk offer and Miskolc; roads 25 and 2505 cut
through the park. n Tourinform
outstanding rock- Eger, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 9, Eger,
climbing challenges (36) 51 77 15; Tourinform Miskolc,
Városház tér 13, Miskolc, (46) 35 04
for even the most 25. Anna Cave (Lillafüred): (46) 33
experienced 41 30. Open Apr–Sep: 10am–4pm;
climbers. Oct: 10am–3pm; Nov–Mar: daily
tour at noon. 8 Suba-Lyuk.Cave:
Mályinka Open year-round. 8 ∑ bnpi.hu

773 m Transport
(2,536 ft) £ @ to Eger, Miskolc, Lillafüred,
Szilvásvárad.

ennsí k
Garadna
K i s - f Újmassa

Ómassa Hámori-tó Hámor

Bánkút István-lápa Tűzkőves
945m (3,100 ft) Cave 895 m (2,936 ft)
Lillaűred

- fe n n s í k Bükkszentlászló Anna Cave
Stará Huta Six interconnected caves
k Rejtek are accessible via a series
B ü k Bükkszentkereszt
Nová Huta Miskolc of naturally formed
limestone staircases.

Répáshuta

Nagybodzás
668 m (2,192 ft)

Magas-tető Bükk Mountains
664 m (2,178 ft) The region is renowned for
its impeccably clean air. The
Hajnoczy
Cave highest point in the Bükk
Mountains is Istállós-kő,
at 959 m (3,146 ft).

Bükkzsérc Key
Cserépfalu

Suba-Lyuk Cave Main road
Other road
Traces of Palaeolithic humans Narrow-gauge railway
Trail
0 kilometres 3 have been found in this cave,
0 miles
3 making it one of the oldest-
known dwellings in Europe.

Grapevines growing in the fertile soil of the Tokaj hills





228  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

0 Aggteleki
National Park

Aggteleki Nemzeti Park

Tengerszem oldal 1, Jósvafő.
Road Map E2. Tel (48) 50 60 00.
£ from Miskolc. @ from Budapest.
n Baradla oldal 1, Aggtelek (048)
50 30 00. ∑ anp.hu

The Fátyol Step-Waterfall in Szilvásvárad is known to have provided First established in 1985, the
shelter for prehistoric people Aggteleki National Park is one of
9 Szilvásvárad as early as 7,000 years ago. Hungary’s World Heritage Sites.
It straddles the Slovak border,
30 km (19 miles) north of Eger. Road G Szilvásvárad Stud Farm and officially also includes a vast
Map E2. * 1,700. £ from Eger. @ Egri út 16. Tel (36) 56 44 00. area of the Slovak Karst National
from Budapest, Eger. _ Bükk Carriage Open 8am–7pm daily. & 7 Park. Large parts of the park are
Driving Trophy (last weekend in Jul). covered with deciduous forest,
E Lipizzaner Horse-Breeding with clearings scattered liberally
Szilvásvárad is a leading centre Exhibition throughout the area. These
of Hungarian equestrianism, and Park utca 8. Tel (36) 56 44 00. rocky outcrops provide a
white Lipizzaner horses – the Open May–Oct: 9am–noon, 1–5pm perfect habitat for rare plants
same breed as those used at Tue–Sun; Nov–Apr: 9am–noon & and insects, including giant
the famous Spanish Riding School 1–5pm Sat & Sun, or by appointment. swallowtail butterflies, as well
in Vienna – are bred at the &7 as 220 species of birds. Imperial
Szilvásvárad Stud Farm (Állami eagles and woodpeckers are a
Ménesgazdaság Szilvásvárad). E Open-Air Forestry Museum common sight. There are
The farm is open for visitors, who Szalajka-völgy. Tel (36) 35 55 05. marked nature trails, including
can also book riding and even Open Apr–Oct: 9am–4pm daily a 7-km (4-mile) trail from
carriage-driving courses here. (Oct: to 3pm); Nov–Mar: 9am–2pm Aggtelek to Jósvafő.
In July an international carriage- daily. 7
driving race takes place here. The park also has some
200 caves to explore, of which
The village itself has more the longest system – both
information on the famous horses in the park and in Hungary –
in its fascinating Lipizzaner is the Baradla Cave (Baradla
Horse-Breeding Exhibition Barlang). At 25 km (16 miles),
(Lipicai Lótenyésztés Történeti it extends into Slovakia.
Kiállítás). Also on display here While archaeological evidence
are a number of coaches and a suggests the cave was used by
complete working smithy.
Spectacular rock formations in the Baradla Cave in Aggteleki National Park
But there is more to Szilvásvárad
than horses – it is also the gateway
to the beautiful Szalajka Valley.
A narrow-gauge steam railway
runs the 5 km (3 miles) from the
village to Szalajka-Fátyol-vizesés,
site of the gentle but wide Fátyol
Step-Waterfall, as well as the
Open-Air Forestry Museum
(Szabadtéri Erdészeti Múzeum).
The exhibits of early people’s tiny
huts, furnaces and elementary
hunting tools are fascinating.
At the head of the valley is the
Istállóskő Cave, which burrows
under Mount Istállóskő – at 959 m
(3,146 ft) the highest peak in the
Bükk Mountain Range. The cave

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

THE NORTHERN HIGHLANDS  229

The Cave Baths in Miskolctapolca, unique in Europe centuries. It was the Rákóczis
who built Szerencs Castle at
early humans thousands of years over centuries, the caves the beginning of the 16th
ago, all knowledge of it was lost, contain water that is high in century, today the most­visited
and its entrance was rediscovered calcium and magnesium, and attraction in the town.
only in 1569. The cave was fully is particularly suited for treating
mapped in 1839, and has been joint and back problems. The Converted to domestic use
open to the public ever since. water is a warm 30° C (86° F) after defeat against the Turks,
There are entrances in both all year round. The cave baths the castle houses the Zempléni
Aggtelek and Jósvafő. Many are surrounded by a large park Museum, which tells the story
caverns have been spectacularly with a rowing lake, and there of Rákóczi Zsigmond and the
lit. Parts of the cave are open is also a cave chapel nearby. castle’s military history, as well
to all­comers, but the best way While the 150­m­ (492­ft­) long as boasting the largest postcard
to view it is on a tour. There cave baths are the primary collection in the world (over
are several to choose from, attraction, the resort also offers 900,000). Exhibits also include
all beginning at the Aggtelek all the attractions of a conven­ period furniture, arms and the
entrance; one tour of 7 hours tional thermal bath complex, artistic works of goldsmiths.
takes in a part of the cave complete with sauna, massage
known as Domica under and other treatments, near­ Szerencs’s main source of
Slovakian territory. Occasionally freezing­cold plunge pools and, wealth and employment was,
the cave, which boasts splendid on the recreational side, water until its closure some years
acoustics, hosts classical and slides and children’s pools. ago, a huge sugar factory –
other music concerts. the third largest in Europe.
In the town’s Sugar Museum
T Baradla Cave e Szerencs one can see fascinating
Baradla oldal 1, Aggtelek. Tel (48) 50 details about the history
30 00. Open (guided tours only) Apr– 32 km (20 miles) east of Miskolc. Road and technology of sugar beet
Sep: 8am–5pm daily; Oct–Mar: 8am– Map F2. * 11,000. £ from Miskolc, cultivation and sugar produc­
3pm daily; Oct: 8am–5pm Sat. & Budapest. @ from Budapest. tion, and displays some 800
sugar packages from around
q Miskolc The little town of Szerencs is the world.
dominated by its historical links
See pp230–31. with the Rákóczi family, who The Gothic Reformed church
owned the town and much on Kossuth tér dates from 1480,
w Miskolctapolca of the surrounding area for and hosted the Hungarian
parliament in 1605. Three
Pazár sétány, Miskolctapolca. generations of the Rákóczi
Road Map E2. Tel (46) 56 00 30. @ family are buried in the crypt.
from Búza tér, Miskolc. Open May– Szerencs also has an elaborate
Aug: 9am–7pm daily; Sep–Dec, Feb– though badly weathered
Apr: 9am–6pm daily. & 7 0 - Baroque Greek Orthodox
= ∑ barlangfurdo.hu church, built in 1799, on Ondi
utca in the north of the town.

E Zempléni Museum
Rákóczi­vár. Tel (47) 77 77 70.
Open 10am–4pm Tue–Sun. 8 7

E Sugar Museum
Gyár út 1. Tel (47) 77 77 72.
Open 8am–4pm daily.

The cave baths of Miskolctapolca, Szerencs Castle, housing the Zempléni Museum
set amid the backdrop of the
Bükk Hills, are the most spec­
tacular in Hungary. A vast resort
has grown around the caves,
which, discovered in the 16th
century, have been attracting
bathers ever since. Carved out

230  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

q Miskolc completed in 1806, and was
originally intended to be
Home of Hungary’s largest university, Miskolc is the fourth- topped with a classic Orthodox
largest city in the country. An industrial town first and onion dome, but local Protestant
foremost, much of the outskirts, and even parts of the city authorities forbade this. Next
centre, are less than attractive, having been built in the door in the museum is the
aftermath of heavy bombing during World War II. Amid richest Orthodox liturgical
the concrete, however, a wealth of historical buildings can collection in Hungary, opened
be explored, including Hungary’s oldest theatre, wooden in a former school in 1988. Its
churches of every Christian denomination, fine public squares permanent exhibition includes
and a fascinating museum. Miskolc is also the site of Diósgyőr ceremonial robes, sepulchres
Castle, renovated and restored to its full medieval glory. and more than 200 icons.

E Theatre Museum
Színháztörténeti és
Színészmúzeum
Déryné utca 3. Tel (30) 660 92 99.
Open 9am–5pm Tue–Sun. & 8 7

In this museum, visitors can

discover the secrets behind the

fire that destroyed the original

Miskolc Theatre in 1843, as well

as the fact that an earlier theatre Entrances to the many wine cellars on the
slopes of Avas Hill
in Kolozsvár (today the town of
P Avas Hill and Ottó
Façade of the National Theatre, which hosts Cluj-Napoca in Romania) in fact Herman Museum
Avas hegy.
an opera festival in summer has a previous claim on the title More than 800 cinder caves
have been dug out here and
of first Hungarian theatre. There used as wine cellars since the
16th century; some are open
F National Theatre are also countless costumes, during the summer for tastings.
The cellars line cobbled streets
Miskolci Nemzeti Színház bill posters and theatrical that wind their way up to the
Lookout Tower on Avas Hill,
Déryné utca 1. Tel (46) 51 67 35. memorabilia on display, as well from where splendid views
of the city are to be had.
& 7 ∑ mnsz.hu as a photographic exhibition
At the foot of the hill is the
Hungary’s oldest permanent, about the theatre’s role in the Ottó Herman Museum, named
after Ottó Herman (1835–
Hungarian-language theatre city’s development. A sketch 1914), a local archaeologist.
The museum is housed in a
stood here between 1823 shows the late 18th-century charming 19th-century house,
with wooden, external balconies.
and 1843. Its Neo-Classical wooden theatre that once It contains good collections of
archaeological finds, stones and
replacement was opened in stood on the site. minerals, as well as displays on
industrial history and coins.
1857, with a play by Mihály The fine art collection comprises
masterworks by all famous
Vörösmarty, and despite much R Greek Orthodox Church Hungarian painters. The
museum’s library (on Görgey
renovation over the years it and Museum Artúr utca) holds more than
200,000 volumes and is
is that structure which mostly Görögkeleti, Ortodox templom; renowned throughout the
Magyar Ortodox Egyházi Múzeum world for its collection of
survives today. With its scientific works.
Deák Ferenc tér 7. Tel (46) 41 54 41.
protruding three-arched loggia Open May–Sep: 10am–6pm Tue–Sun; E Ottó Herman Museum
over the entrance it resembles Oct–Apr: 10am–4pm Tue–Sun.
Hungary’s State Opera Görgey Artúr utca 28. Tel (46) 56 01
House in Budapest (see &7
70. Open 10am–4pm Tue–Sun. & 7
pp92–3). The tower, At 16 m (52 ft) in height,

added in 1880, was and boasting 88

originally used as a images of the life of

fire lookout point. Jesus, the iconostasis

The restored in the Greek Orthodox

Baroque interior has Church is the most

intricate statuary important sight in

decorating the two Miskolc. Dating from

rows of private boxes. 1793, it was carved in

The theatre is the the workshop of Miklós

main venue of Icon from the Greek Jankovits of Eger; the

the Miskolc Opera Orthodox Church pictures were painted

Festival, which takes by Anton Kuchelmeister.

place here every June, To its left is a painting of the

and features the work of Black Mary of Kazan, a gift

the Hungarian composer from Empress Catherine II of

Béla Bartók and others. Russia. The church itself was

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

THE NORTHERN HIGHLANDS  231

R Calvinist Church VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Avasi református templom
Papszer utca 14. Tel (46) 35 86 77. Diósgyőr Castle, rebuilt in the 13th century Practical Information
Road Map E2. * 161,000.
The Calvinist Church below castle here was probably built Deák Ferenc tér. n Tourinform,
the Avas Hill, with its steep, in the 12th century, and is Széchenyi utca 16, (46) 35 04 25.
detached belfry, is the oldest thought to have been an _ Jelly Festival (Feb); Miskolc
building in Miskolc. Originally earthwork castle. It guarded Opera Festival (Jun); Castle
Romanesque in style, the the route from Venice to Theatre evenings (Jul–Aug);
13th-century building was KraKow for a long time and was Cinefest Film Festival (Sep).
destroyed by Turks in 1544. It destroyed during the Mongol
was rebuilt – with the tower – invasion of 1241–2. The castle Transport
in 1557. The clock on the belfry that stands here today was £ Kandó Kálmán tér; from Buda-
is one of the symbols of the built during the reign of pest, Debrecen. @ Búza tér; from
city, and can be heard chiming Béla IV, who, after the Mongols Budapest, Debrecen.
every 15 minutes. The large and left the country, decreed that a
immaculately kept cemetery castle be built “on every hilltop”. decades from 1953 to 1971,
that surrounds the church is The castle was subsequently the castle today hosts an
the resting place of a number used as a residence by several exhibition of its history (in
of local dignitaries, including monarchs, although it lost the northeastern tower),
the poet Mihály Tompa, author its military status after the alongside a display of medieval
of the romantic collection withdrawal of the Turks in weaponry. Life-size waxworks
Virágregék (Legends of Flowers). 1687, and fell into neglect. recreate the signing of the
Completely restored over two Treaty of Turin in 1381, while
+ Diósgyőr Castle others, in the outer battle-
Diósgyőri vár ments, feature scenes of
Miskolc-Diósgyőr, Vár utca 24. Tel (46) everyday life in medieval
53 33 55. Open Apr–Oct: 9am–6pm Diósgyőr. Twice a year, in May
daily; Nov–Mar: 10am–5pm daily. & and August, plays and a
medieval fair are held in the
87 castle grounds, with jousting,
archery and dance.
Diósgyőr’s medieval castle is
located 8 km (5 miles) from
the centre of Miskolc. The first

Miskolc City Centre PETŐFI SZELES
TÉR
1 National Theatre
2 Theatre Museum JÓKAI MOR UTCA KAZINCZY UTCA UTCA
3 Greek Orthodox Church Orthodox
FAZEKAS UTCGAreek Museum Shopping Intercity
and Museum Orthodox Centre Bus Station
4 Avas Hill and Ottó Church UCTA
BATTHYANY L. UTCA MADARÁSZ VIKTOR
Herman Museum BÚZA TÉR
5 Calvinist Church ADY
6 Diósgyőr Castle HORVÁTH LAJOS UTCA
DEÁK Local Bus
TÉR Station
PA LÓ C Z Y L Á S Z LÓ U T C A
HŐSÖK S Z E N T PÁ L I SZÜCS S. UTCA ENDRE UTCA
Diósgyőr UTCA TERE
Castle

PATAK LAJOS RÉGIPOSTA UTCA Gömöri
Train Station
Town U T C A Theatre DÉRYNÉ UTCA KAZINCZY UTCA UTCA
Hall Museum 700 m
KOSSUTH ÚT (770 yards)
VÁROSHÁZ ISTVÁN KI RÁLY U TC AShopping
TÉR National SZÉCHENYI Centre
Theatre
ISTVÁN ÚT
SZÉCHENYI

ERSZEBET RÁKÓCZI ARANY J. UTCA
TÉR
KANDIA UTCA ARANY J. UTCA

Bell KÁLVIN JÁNOS UTCA UTCA
UTC
Tower FERENC UITZ BÉLA Tiszai Train Station
1 km (1100 yards)
Calvinist SZEMERE B. UTCA
VÖRÖSMARTY UTCA
Church PA P S Z E A
R
C SÁT I UTCA
PETŐFI SOR MADÁI L. UTCA
SOR UTCA

FÖLDES F. UTCA GÖRGEY ARTÚR UTCA CORVIN

AI SOR K IS AVAKSIS AVAS 2. S S 1. SOKIS
SOLC ARNÓTI SOR
0 metres 200 AVA
0 yards 200
3. DANKÓ PISTA UTCA

Z OR R
SOR

Avas Hill

Ottó Herman BUDAPEST
Museum

For keys to map symbols see back flap

232  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

r Tokaj Ural owls, spoonbill ducks and
a large number of butterflies,
40 km (25 miles) northwest of many of which, such as the
Nyíregyháza. Road Map F2. twin-spotted fritillary, are
* 4,600. £ from Miskolc. @ from thought to be unique to the
Debrecen, Budapest. n Tourinform, Zemplén mountain range.
Serház utca 1, (47) 35 21 25.
Further north, in the tiny
At the confluence of the The Louis XI-style Lajos Kossuth Memorial village of Füzér, is the Füzér
rivers Bodrog and Tisza, Museum in Monok Village Museum, consisting
rich, fertile soil facilitates of just one painted house,
the cultivation of Hungary’s t Zemplén Hills furnished as it would have been
best grapevines. These in the 1870s. High above the
produce the country’s finest 50 km (31 miles) north of Nyíregyháza. village on a crag sit the ruins
wines. Smooth and delicately Road Map F2. £ to Sátoraljaújhely. of Füzér Castle (1310).
sweet, Tokaji dessert wine @ to Sátoraljaújhely, Pálháza, Füzér.
is made exclusively in and n Tourinform Sátoraljaújhely, Monok, 10 km (6 miles)
around Tokaj. In 2002 UNESCO Kossuth Lajos tér 5, (47) 32 14 58. northwest of Szerencs, is the
placed the region on its birthplace of the Hungarian
World Heritage List. More than 2,000 km (1,243 miles) lawyer and politician Lajos
of marked hiking trails cover Kossuth, who was elected
The best place to learn both the eastern and western Regent of Hungary during
about Tokaji wine is in one flanks of the Zemplén range. the revolution of 1848–9.
of the many cellars. The most Volcanic in origin, the highest of The Lajos Kossuth Memorial
famous are the 16th-century the hills is the 896-m- (2,940-ft-) Museum, in the family’s
Rákóczi Cellars. Here, visitors high Nagy-Milic, which marks 18th-century home, exhibits
can taste Aszú, which is Hungary’s border with Slovakia. portraits and memorabilia
matured on the premises. from flags to documents. The
The village of Pálháza, museum opened on 15 March
The wine industry dominates 19 km (12 miles) north of 1948, the 100th anniversary
the town, but the Tokaj Sátoraljaújhely, is a good base of the revolution.
Museum (Tokaji Múzeum) is to explore the Zemplén. It is
mainly devoted to revealing also the starting point of a E Lajos Kossuth Memorial
life on the Bodrog and Tisza narrow-gauge railway that runs Museum
rivers long before wine was up to Rostalló, from where the Kossuth Lajos utca 18, Monok.
made in these parts. There vast majority of the Zempléns’ Tel (47) 35 60 39. Open Mar–Oct:
is also a large collection of hiking trails depart. Wildlife 10am–5pm Tue–Sun (Jun–Aug: to
ecclesiastical art on display. to look out for include snakes, 6pm). & 7
birds of prey, woodpeckers,
P Rákóczi Cellars y Sárospatak
Kossuth Lajos tér 15. Tel (47) 35 24 08.
Open 10am–8pm daily. & 8 7 70 km (43 miles) northeast of Miskolc.
Road Map F2. * 15,000. £ from
E Tokaj Museum Budapest, Miskolc. @ from Debrecen,
Bethlen Gábor út 7. Tel (47) 35 26 36. Miskolc. n Tourinform, Eötvös utca 6,
Open 10am–4pm Tue–Sun. & 8 7 (47) 31 53 16.

Tokaj’s Golden Wine Try as it might to promote its
other sights, it is the castle that
Tokaji, also known as Aszú, is one of the world’s great dessert wines. is the first port of call for all
visitors to the leafy, riverside
It was once thought to actually contain gold dust. Famous as far town of Sárospatak. The reason
is the inner keep, which bears
back as the time of Mátyás I, a chronicler wrote in 1458 that “the an uncanny resemblance to
the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
men of Tokaj are obtaining gold from their volcanic land. Even It was the first part of the castle
to be built, in the 1530s when
the vines bear golden fruit.” A century later the Swiss philosopher the keeper of the Hungarian
crown, Peter Perényi, was
Paracelsus tested the local grapes for traces of gold. He found awarded the estate after the
Battle of Mohács (see p187).
none but concluded that
The castle was extended in the
“in the grapes of Tokaj the 17th century by Prince György I
(Rákóczi), who added four wings,
natural and the mineral all built in extravagant Neo-
Renaissance style. The balconies,
combine”. The secret of the

wine’s flavour and golden

appearance is less exotic: the

grapes for Aszú are harvested

late (in early November), after

they have begun to rot and a

Wine maturing in barrels in the Rákóczi mould has formed. This “noble

Cellars, Tokaj rot” naturally increases sugar

content by up to 70 per cent.

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

THE NORTHERN HIGHLANDS  233

The Neo-Renaissance Castle in Sárospatak, home to the Rákóczi Museum Lajos Kossuth stands in the
middle of the square that is
loggias and entrances are all u Sátoraljaújhely named after him.
fabulously expressive. Much
of this part of the castle is today 13 km (8 miles) northeast of Sáros­ Just north of the town hall
given over to the Rákóczi patak. Road Map F2. * 18,000. stands a Neo­Classical building
£ from Miskolc. @ from Sárospatak. that houses the Ferenc
Museum, which has exhibitions n Tourinform, Kossuth Lajos tér 5, Kazinczy Museum, named
on the building of the castle and (47) 32 14 58. after the language reformer
the history of the Rákóczi family, Ferenc Kazinczy, a tireless
as well as Renaissance­era food At the foot of the Zemplén campaigner for replacing German
and winemaking. Hills, Sátoraljaújhely, the most with Hungarian as the nation’s
northerly town in Hungary, official language and a reformer
At the opposite end of the is known for its atmospheric of the Hungarian language
town centre is the Calvinist Baroque centre. Most of the itself. The museum contains
Sárospatak Reformed College, town’s sights are based on exhibits about Kazinczy’s work,
founded in 1531 but dating in Kossuth Lajos tér, and of all as well as regional history.
its present form from 1806–22. the squares named for that
There are guided tours of the revolutionary in Hungary, this Kazinczy died in a cholera
library in the south wing, a is perhaps the most deserving. epidemic in 1831 and is buried
masterpiece of Neo­Classical In 1830, Lajos allegedly made in the elaborate Kazinczy
architecture that was designed his first political speech from Mausoleum (and memorial
by Mihály Pollack. Its enormous the balcony of the Baroque museum) at Széphalom, 3 km
roof is supported by 16 marble town hall (built in 1762–8) that (2 miles) north of the town
columns. In the extensive gardens stands at No. 5. The building centre. Visited by tens of
are statues of former pupils, itself is a unique example of thousands of literary pilgrims
including the Czech humanist experimental architecture with each year, the Neo­Classical
Johann Amos Comenius. its short, squat ground floor mausoleum was designed by
topped by an oversized upper Miklós Ybl (see p93) and built on
The modernist shopping level. An imposing statue of the site of the Kazinczy mansion.
centre and apartment buildings
in the centre of the city, the Near Kazinczy Ferenc utca,
work of local architect Imre a derelict synagogue and its
Makovecz, are also worth cemetery are sad reminders
seeing. Built in 1972, the four­ of the Jewish community that
storey buildings form a series once lived here. Only a handful
of interlinking white towers, all of the town’s Jews survived
leaning slightly forwards and the Holocaust.
topped with steep brown roofs
– a modern interpretation of E Ferenc Kazinczy Museum
Árpád tents. Dózsa György utca 11. Tel (47) 32 23
51. Open 9am–5pm Tue–Sun. & 8
Hungarian only. 7

E Kazinczy Mausoleum
Kazinczy park, Széphalom. Tel (47) 52
12 36. Open Apr–Oct: 9am–5pm Tue–
Sun; Nov–Mar: 8am–4pm Tue–Sun.
&87

E Rákóczi Museum Original furniture at the Ferenc Kazinczy Museum in Sátoraljaújhely
Szent Erzsébet utca 19. Tel (47) 31 10
83. Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. &
87

P Sárospatak Reformed College
Rákóczi út 1. Tel (47) 31 10 57.
Library: Open Mar–Oct: 9am–5pm
Mon–Sat, 9am–1pm Sun; Nov–Feb:
by appointment only. & 8 7



HUNGARY REGION BY REGION  235

THE GREAT
PLAIN

If Budapest is Hungary’s heart, then her soul is the
Great Plain, where her character has been forged over
the centuries, and preserved ever since in the work of the
nation’s writers, poets and musicians. Nomadic horsemen and their cattle,
shepherds and their unique sheep, fields of ripening paprika and fish soup in
huge kettles over open fires are evocative images that every visitor should see.

Mainly barren and dry, the Great Plain is a livestock. The population fled to the
vast area, covering more than half of the cities of Debrecen, Nyíregyháza, Szeged,
country (about 56 per cent). Here, long, Kecskemét and even Budapest for
hot summers give way to bleak, freezing protection, food and livelihoods, and the
winters, with little in between. However, term Puszta was coined to describe the
there is a wide variety of terrain on the emptiness left in the Ottoman wake.
Great Plain, as well as some outstanding
cities and a diverse flora and fauna. A few hearty souls stayed on. The
csikósok horsemen (see p239) thrived,
As recently as medieval times, the as severe flooding in the 19th century
Great Plain was, in fact, not a steppe, but allowed the grass to regrow, making
forested and lush, rich in agriculture and the Plain prime grazing territory.
dotted with thousands of farmsteads that Fortunes were made by cattle owners,
were set up by the Magyars as they and romantic poets wrote of the
populated these fertile lands on both heroes and villains.
banks of the Tisza. And this is where the
legends begin: the Turks invaded Hungary, The csikósok survive, but today their
and almost two centuries of constant war, traditions only entertain visitors. At the
from 1526 to 1699, devastated the region. Hortobágy National Park and in other
In many parts they chopped down the protected areas of the Plain, these historic
forests and burned vegetation and grasslands are sheltered from the
advances of industrial agriculture.

Zsolnay ceramic tiles on Kiskunfélegyháza’s Secession-era Town Hall
A flock of characteristic longhaired sheep, or racka, grazing on lush grass

236  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

Exploring the Great Plain The artificial Mediterranean beach at the
Hajdúszoboszló spa
Covering more than half the country, the Great Plain
defines Hungary and the Hungarians more than
any other region. It was here that great battles were
fought and that many of the country’s traditions
were preserved during foreign domination.
Sparsely populated, there are few cities and only a
couple of large towns, but there is much to see and
do – whether watching the stunning displays of
the Puszta horsemen or luxuriating in one of the
thermal spas, exploring Hortobágy National Park or
admiring Secessionist architecture in Szeged and
ambling around Debrecen.

Hatvan Eger

Budapest JÁSZBERÉNY

Nagykáta agyvaZ

Budapest PEST JÁSZ-
Budapest Albertirsa
Abony
Cegléd SZOLNOK

The breathtaking“Puszta Fiver”, at Bugac Lajosmizse Tiszaföldvár rös
Fülöpháza
Getting Around KECSKEMÉT
The Great Plain is not easily Danube(D
accessible by public transport, and )
to get the best out of this region
visitors are advised to travel by car. Tisza
The major cities are, of course, well Kö
served by train from Budapest, Kaposvár BÁCS-KISKUN
especially Debrecen (the journey
takes around 2 hours). Debrecen KISKUNSÁGI KISKUNFÉLEGYHÁZA
also makes an excellent base for NATIONAL Csongrád
exploring much of the northern part una PARK
of the plain, including Hortobágy Bugac
National Park and Tisza Lake. Kiskőrös

KALOCSA CSON-
ÓPUSZTASZER G R Á D

HAJÓS Kiskunhalas HÓDMEZŐ-
VÁSÁRHELY

Szekszárd SZEGED Maros
Jánoshalma

BAJA Mórahalom

Key 0 kilometres 30
0 miles
Motorway 30
Major road
Secondary road
Minor road
Main railway
Minor railway
International border
Regional border

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

THE GREAT PLAIN  237

Kisvárda

CSARODA
Tisza
Tokaj SZABOLCS SZATMÁRCSEKE
Tiszavasvári
Miskolc -SZATMÁR-BEREG

NYÍREGYHÁZA Mátészalka Túristvándi
Szamos
MÁRIAPÓCS
NYÍRBÁTOR
Hajdúnánás

TISZA Hajdúböszörmény
LAKE
HORTOBÁGY
DEBRECEN
KSaisrkuödreTISZAFÜREDHNOARTTIOOBNÁAGLY
PARK
Abadszalók HAJDÚSZOBOSZLÓ

NAGYKUN HAJDÚ-BIHAR
-SZOLNOK
Püspökladány

Kisújszállás Berettyóújfalu

Túrkeve ótty
Bere
The dome in the New Synagogue in Szeged,
Mezőtúr Szeghalom a stunning Secessionist building

Gyomaendrőd

Szarvas BÉKÉS

Békés Sarkad Sights at a Glance
Békéscsaba GYULA
1 Baja
Orosháza 2 Hajós
3 Kalocsa
Makó 4 Kiskunsági National Park
5 Kecskemét pp240–43
6 Kiskunfélegyháza
7 Szeged pp246–7
8 Ópusztaszer National Historical

Memorial Park
9 Hódmezővásárhely
0 Gyula
q Szolnok
w Jászberény
e Tiszafüred
t Debrecen pp254–5
y Hajdúszoboszló
u Hortobágy & Hortobágy

National Park
i Nyíregyháza pp258–9
o Máriapócs
p Nyírbátor
a Csaroda
s Szatmárcseke

Puszta buffaloes enjoying a mud bath at Hortobágy National Park Tour
r Lake Tisza pp252–3

For keys to map symbols see back flap

238  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

almost all the houses remain
occupied today. However, many
are used only as summer or
holiday homes. Others offer wine
tasting and accommodation.

The St Orbán Wine Festival
in May, celebrated to honour
the guardian saint of grape
growers and winemakers, is
the village’s annual highlight.
As many as 20,000 visitors
attend the wine tastings, horse
shows, craft markets and folk
dancing displays.

The Fish Soup Festival in Baja, a record-breaking soup-cooking contest 3 Kalocsa

1 Baja The beaches on Petőfisziget, 120 km (74 miles) south of Budapest.
the island in the middle of the Road Map C5. * 19,000. £ from
100 km (62 miles) west of Szeged. Danube, serve as Baja’s summer Kiskőrös. @ from Budapest, Kiskőrös.
Road Map C5. * 36,000. £ from playground, offering sailing, 4 Danube cruisers. ( daily.
Budapest. @ from Budapest, Kalocsa. water-skiing, fishing and other _ Kalocsa Paprika Festival (mid-Sep).
n Tourinform, Szentháromság tér 5, leisure activities. The island is
(79) 42 07 92. ( fish market Tue–Sun. reached via a footbridge from A popular stop for Danube
_ Fish Soup Festival (Bajai Halfőző Szentháromság tér. cruise ships, Kalocsa is at the
Fesztivál, 2nd weekend in Jul). centre of Hungary’s paprika-
E Türr István Museum growing region. There is a
This wealthy town, long Deák Ferenc utca 1. Tel (79) 32 41 paprika harvest festival here
populated by a large Serb 73. Open 10am–4pm Tue–Sat. & every September and what
minority, is dominated by 8 7 ∑ bajaimuzeum.hu is perhaps the world’s only
its large public square, Paprika Museum (Fűszerpaprika
Szentháromság tér, one side 2 Hajós Múzeum). On display are jars
of which opens onto the of the spice, in an astonishing
Danube. Baroque 18th-century 21 km (13 miles) southeast of Kalocsa. number of different varieties.
town houses, one of which Road Map D5. * 3,600. @ from
is now the town hall, line the Kalocsa. ( craft market during the One of the most important
other three sides. The square St Orbán Wine Festival. _ St Orbán buildings in Kalocsa is the
plays host every July to the Wine Festival (last weekend in May). cathedral, a twin-towered
unique Baja Fish Soup Festival, Baroque construction from
when hundreds of cauldrons In the small village of Hajós, 1772, restored slightly after a
are set up to cook the local fish 1,200 tiny 18th-century houses, small fire in 1816. Ferenc (Franz)
stew, consisting of freshwater almost identical in size and Liszt adored the cathedral’s
fish and a very hot paprika. design, sit above 1,200 identical organ and often played here.
wine cellars dug into the soft The town owes its existence
The Türr István Museum just clay below. Built by Swabians, to St István, who created an
north of the square contains a Germanic people who settled archbishopric here in 1006.
a lively collection of exhibits here in the Middle Ages in order The Archbishop’s Palace (built
celebrating the role of the to make use of the fertile soil, in 1776 on the site of a medieval
Danube in Baja’s history. Just castle) today houses an amazing
opposite stands a magnificent collection of 100,000
Baroque Franciscan church,
complete with a superb bell The many small houses with wine cellars in Hajós
tower, built in 1756.

North of the city centre is the
late 19th-century Neo-Classical
Synagogue. Now a public
library, the Hebrew script above
the portico is one of few clues
to its past. On Miklós utca stands
the Serb Orthodox church,
built at the end of the 18th
century and housing probably
Hungary’s finest Orthodox
iconostasis. Some 10 m (33 ft)
tall, it depicts countless saints.

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

THE GREAT PLAIN  239

manuscripts, codices and books, way into the park is via One of many birdwatching towers
the earliest dating from 1040. Nagybugac. This village is a in Kiskunság National Park
worthy attraction in itself,
At the House of Folk Arts with its fascinating horse­riding great bustards, herons and
(Népművészeti Tájház), the local displays. The Bugac Stud Farm spoonbills can be seen. The
craft society displays and sells (Bugaci Ménes) just outside unparalleled flora and fauna in
its colourful wares in a the village puts on daily shows. the reeds and marshes around
traditional Puszta cottage. These may, however, be the lake include rare species of
cancelled if there are too few orchid, as well as otters, weasels,
E Paprika Museum spectators; it is best to book water snakes, turtles and lizards.
Szent István király út 6. Tel (78) 46 18 an organized tour (www.
60. Open Apr–Oct: 9am–5pm Tue– bugacpuszta.hu). Not to be The Fülöpháza with its
Sun. & 8 Hungarian only. 7 missed are the performances shifting sand dunes is a unique
E House of Folk Arts of the legendary Puszta Fiver, environment in the park and
Tompa Mihály utca 5–7. Tel (78) 46 where one man – usually with is the habitat of hoopoes,
15 60. Open mid­Apr–mid­Oct: a moustache as long as his whip golden orioles and bee­eaters.
10am–5pm Tue–Sun. & – rides five horses simultaneously Trails around the dunes begin at
8 Hungarian only. 7 (see box below). Visitors can ride the village of Fülöpháza, 30 km
one of the many thoroughbreds (19 miles) west of Kecskemét.
Early machinery at the Paprika Museum at the stables themselves, and
in Kalocsa join a day­long horseback­tour G Bugac Stud Farm
of the surrounding area. Nagybugac Ménes. Tel (76) 57 50 28.
4 Kiskunság Open daily. & 7 for horse shows, it
National Park Nagybugac’s tiny Herdsmen’s is advisable to book in advance with
Museum (Bugaci Pásztor­ Herdsmen’s Museum.
Kiskunsági Nemzeti Park múzeum) exhibits a small
25 km (16 miles) west of Kecskemét. collection of folk art, costumes E Herdsmen’s Museum
Road Map D4. National Park Head­ and tools but most visitors to Nagybugac, Tel (76) 57 51 12.
quarters, House of Nature, Liszt Ferenc Nagybugac are merely passing Open May–Oct: 10am–6pm daily. &
utca 19, Kecskemét, (76) 48 226 11. through on their way to the
Open 10am–4pm Tue–Sat. £ from park. The village is the gateway
Kiskunfélegyháza to Bugac­felső; from to the largest area of the park,
Kecskemét to Izsák for Lake Kolon. the Bugac – a vast 100­sq­km
@ from Kiskunfélegyháza to Bugac (39­sq­mile) expanse of grass­
park entrance; from Kecskemét to land, marshes, freshwater lakes
Fülöpháza. n Tourinform Kecskemét, and reeds. A number of well­
Kossuth tér 1, Kecskemét, (76) 48 10 65. marked nature trails start at
& 7 0 - = ∑ knp.hu the park entrance.

Kiskunság is Hungary’s Birdwatchers should head
second­largest national park for Lake Kolon, northwest of
after Hortobágy (see 256). Spread the Bugac and accessible
over 759 sq km (293 sq miles), via the village of Izsák, where
the park is divided into a
number of unique natural Csikós Horse Shows
habitats, which are not all
interlinked. A visit to the park’s The equine skill of the Hungarian cowboys (or csikósok; also csikós
administration office, in the
Kecskemét (see pp240–43) meaning “wrangler”), goes back as far as the first Magyar migrations
House of Nature enables visitors
to get their bearings. A popular and was originally military in nature. The Hungarian mounted soldier

typically carried light weapons and rode light horses without a saddle.

Today’s csikós shows contain much

pseudo­military posturing, usually

beginning with a horse parade and

salute, followed by displays of eques­

trian skill, control and dressage. What

is unusual is the way the csikósok

can make their horses walk at

almost a crawl: a legacy of fighting

battles in the open plains. The

highlight of these horse shows is

the Puszta Fiver (pusztaötös): one

man riding five horses simultan­

eously. The Fiver’s origins are

unknown – perhaps the rider was

bringing back the horses of his A horseman practising for the

dead comrades after a battle. impressive Puszta Fiver

240  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

5 Kecskemét R Old Catholic Church
Nagytemplom
The town of Kecskemét dates back to 1368, though little Kossuth tér 2. Tel (76) 48 75 01.
of that era remains today. Kecskemét benefited from Open noon–7pm Mon, 6am–7pm
self-government during Turkish rule, and the Habsburgs Tue–Sun. & 7
encouraged the development of agriculture in the region,
often termed the “Garden of Hungary”. One local product The Old Catholic Church was
is the apricot, which is the source of a delicious brandy. built in 1774–99. Its spire rises
An earthquake in June 1911 shook the city, but the to 73 m (240 ft); its clockface is
outstanding Baroque and Secessionist city centre was the largest in Hungary, and the
mercifully spared. Home to some great museums, clock’s works among the oldest.
Kecskemét is a superb place to explore. The Baroque exterior features
statues and reliefs of figures
from Hungarian history. Inside,
grand steps lead up to the pulpit.

R Piarist Church & School outstanding. An art gallery Room in the Museum of Medicinal and
Piarista Templom & Rendház since World War II, the palace Pharmaceutical History
Jókai utca 1. Tel (76) 48 16 03. holds over 10,000 works, and
Open Church: by appointment. exhibitions on the Secessionist E Museum of Medicinal and
The Piarists are a relatively architects Tóth and Glücks. Pharmaceutical History
progressive, scientific Catholic Orvos- és Gyógyszertörténeti
order founded in Rome in 1617 E Hungarian Photography Gyűjtemény
by St Joseph Calasanctius. They Museum Kölcsey utca 3. Tel (76) 32 99 64.
arrived in Kecskemét in 1715 and Magyar Fotográfiai Múzeum Open May–Oct: 10am–2pm Tue–Sun;
founded the school on Jókai utca, Katona József tér 12. Tel (76) 48 Nov–Apr: by appointment. & 7
which still operates to this present 32 21. Open noon–5pm Tue–Sat.
day. (The present, bland school Closed public holidays. & 7 Although this museum has
building, however, was built in ∑ fotomuzeum.hu a small collection, consisting
the late 1940s.) The Baroque mainly of some colourful
church opposite was erected This outstanding museum, medicine bottles, old surgical
between 1729 and 1765, to housed in a splendid instruments and various
designs by Andreas Mayerhoffer. 18th-century mansion, formerly reference works, it is housed
St Joseph Calasanctius is repre- the horse-changing station inside a superb building, itself
sented by one of four statues of the Pest–Szeged mail-coach once a pharmacy, and seeing
on the front of the building, route and a synagogue, that alone is well worth the
alongside the Virgin Mary and displays the work of every small entrance fee.
Saints István and László. great Hungarian photographer,
including André Kertész and E Museum of Hungarian
P Cifra Palace László Moholy-Nagy. There Naïve Art
Cifrapalota are regular exhibitions by Magyar Naiv Művészek Múzeuma
Rákóczi út 1. Tel (76) 48 07 76. international artists, and Gáspár András utca 11. Tel (76) 32 47
Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sun. & 7 the attached photography 67. Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat. & 8
This Secessionist masterpiece, bookshop is one of the best.
completed in 1902, is the work This charming museum is
of architect Géza Márkus. The P József Katona Theatre devoted to contemporary and
green and orange tiled roof is and Holy Trinity Monument earlier local Naïve artists who
Katona József tér 5. produced some stunning work.
The Secessionist Cifra Palace Tel (76) 50 11 70. Open for Unique in Hungary, the museum
performances only. 7 ^ provides a thorough survey of
the genre: there are more than
This Neo-Baroque theatre was 2,500 exhibits on display, with
the creation of Austrian archi- the collection of small animal
tects Ferdinand Fellner and sculptures a special highlight.
Hermann Helmer. Completed
in 1896, it was named after
Kecskemét’s playwright son,
József Katona. It is as impres-
sive inside as out; the ceiling
in particular is worth attending
a performance for. The Holy
Trinity Monument in front of
the theatre was erected to offer
thanks after the passing of the
most recent outbreak of plague,
in 1742.

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

KECSKEMÉT  241

Display of mechanical toys in the Toy E Zwack Pálinka VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Museum and Workshop Manufactory (Fruit
Brandy Distillery and Practical Information
E Szórakaténusz Toy Exhibition) Road Map D4. * 105,000.
Museum and Workshop Matkói utca 2. Tel (76) 48 77 11, or n Tourinform, Kossuth tér 1, (76)
Szórakaténusz Játékmúzeum (20) 519 22 79. Open 10am–6pm 48 10 65. ( Mon–Fri; Sat am
és Műhely Mon–Fri, by appointment only. & in summer only. _ Hirös Hét
Gáspár András utca 11. Tel (76) 48 14 8 compulsory. Festival (Jun); Zoltan Kodály
69. Open 10am–12:30pm & 1–5pm Classical Music Festival (Jul–Aug);
Tue–Sat. & = The Hungarian market leader World Pairs Driving Championship
in pálinka (fruit brandy), the (Aug). ∑ kecskemet.hu
Next to the Museum of Hungarian factory of the Zwack Unicum
Naïve Art is this children’s paradise, Company offers a fascinating Transport
housed in a wooden building. insight into the world of alcohol £ @ Kodály Zoltán tér; regular
There are displays of Hungarian distillation. Visitors can see services throughout the day from
toys from the 18th century to the how the pálinka is made – Budapest. £ Narrow Gauge,
present, with dolls and wooden before tasting it – as well Széchenyi tér.
toys taking pride of place. Older as learning about the life of
children will enjoy the mechanical the Zwack family. The plant is 200 years. Opened to the public
toys that were considered state of open only for groups; Tourinform in 1984 as the Museum of
the art in the 1950s. There are also will provide information on Popular Folk Art, the permanent
interactive toy workshops for where and when to join one. collection expanded rapidly
children during the summer. and now covers woodcarving,
E Collection of Applied pottery, embroidery and
Folk Art weaving. There are workshops
Népi Iparművészeti Múzeum on site where visitors can watch
Serfőző utca 19. Tel (76) 32 72 03. and then try embroidering
Open 10am–4pm Tue–Sat or by a waistcoat or tablecloth
appointment. & 8 Hungarian themselves, before tasting
only. 7 local specialities fresh from the
traditional ovens. The workshops
This vast and enchanting and kitchen are open only on
building and garden was selected days in the summer.
formerly a brewery for nearly

Kecskemét City Centre

1 Piarist Church and School JÓKAI Piarist Church Train Station
2 Cifra Palace UTCA and School 300 m (330 yards)
3 Hungarian Photography NAUGTYCKAŐRŐSI Bus Station
F RÁTE R PIARISTÁK 250 m (270 yards)
Museum ÁP OLNA TERE
4 József Katona Theatre and K GYÖ RGY UTCA KOHÁRY Synagogue ÓCZI ÚT
TCA J. KR T LUTH
Holy Trinity Monument ARANY E R K ÖZ KÖRÚT KLAP KA
5 Old Catholic Church Local Bus J. U C Lutheran KÖR
6 Museum of Medicinal and U HORNYIKStation R Á K
SZÉCHENYI
Pharmaceutical History SIMONYI UTCA Church Cifra
7 Museum of Hungarian Naïve Art PalaceC
8 Szórakaténusz Toy Museum KÖRÚT T A ÁG S Á U TC A
Ú T
and Workshop S Z A BAD S N Y I
9 Zwack Fruit Brandy Distillery TÉR
J.

ANDRÁS Calvinist
New College
TÉR
CSÁNYI Calvinist
GÁ SPÁ R Old Church
Catholic
U T C AChurch KOSSUTH KALVIN
TÉR TÉR

and Exhibition Museum of Medicinal LECHNER KETTEMPLOM
0 Collection of Applied and Pharmaceutical ÖDÖN St Michael’s
History Town KOZ
Folk Art Hall BA J C S Y- Z S I L I N S ZKY UTCA
KÖ UTCA
Museum LCS E Y Church
of
Hungarian UTCA FI SANDOR FESTŐ UTCA KATONA JÓZSEF Hungarian
UTCA Photography
Naïve Art József Katona TÉR Museum

PETŐ Theatre and Holy
Trinity Monument

Szórakaténusz Toy DOBO UTCA UTCA
Museum
0 metres 100 ISTVÁN TROMBITA
0 yards 100 and Workshop UTCA

Zwack Fruit KISFALUDY B AT T H YA N Y Narrow Gauge
Brandy Distillery Train Station
and Exhibition
KÖRÚT
Collection DA MJ A N I C UTCA
of
Key Applied Folk Art H
Street by Street pp242–3

For keys to map symbols see back flap

242  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

Street-by-Street: Around Kossuth tér Lutheran Church
Now hemmed in on three sides
At the heart of Kecskemét there are edifices of different
eras, designs, religions and cultures. Few public squares by surrounding buildings,
in Europe are surrounded by all of these: Roman this church was designed
Catholic, Franciscan, Calvinist and Jewish places of by Miklós Ybl (see p93), but
worship; fewer still are those with Art Nouveau
masterpieces on all sides. Even the modern built to a simplified
Aranyhomok Hotel – which would be little plan in 1862–3.
more than a dreary box in most city squares – Inside stands a
adds something to the eclectic Kecskemét Romantic altar by
mix. Large enough to take the summer visitor József Gaál.
crowds with ease, the twin Kossuth and
Szabadság squares bustle with life from Mátyás
morning until late. Pharmacy

Great Catholic Church
Kecskemét’s pride, the Neo-Baroque tower
– topped with a small golden dome – can
be climbed for superb views of the city.

Aranyhomok ARANY
Hotel J. UTCA

KÁPOLNA
UTCA

KOSSUTH
TÉR

. Town Hall 0 metres 40
Bold in pink and yellow, this 0 yards 40
masterpiece was erected in 1891,
when the Secessionist movement Calvinist Church
was in full swing. The Turks allowed this stone church

Key to be built in 1684, after a Catholic
Suggested route mob had burned down a wooden
church during the Counter-
For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285 Reformation in 1678.

KECSKEMÉT  243

NAGYKŐRŐSI . Synagogue
Abandoned in 1945
when Kecskemét’s remaining
Jews were forced to flee the city,
this glorious Baroque building is
today known as the House of
Science and Technology. It
has been converted into a

conference centre
exhibiting replicas of

Michelangelo
sculptures.

KOHÁRY RAKOCZI ÚT . Ornamental Palace
KÖRÚT KLAPKA Built as a private home
UTCA in 1902, and covered in
SZABADSÁG TÉR
CKSÖÁRNÚYTI J . brightly coloured
arabesques, the Cifra
Palota hosts exhibitions
of the City Art Gallery.

K A LV I N
TÉR

KETTEMPLOM KOZ Calvinist
New College
This imposing
building from 1912 is
still a college today, but a
part is given over to an
exhibition of Calvinist
ecclesiastical art and history.

Zoltán Kodály
Institute of Music
Education

Franciscan Church
While this is the oldest church

in the city, dating from the
14th century, the Baroque
tower and interior frescoes

date from the 1790s.

244  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

Decorative detail of the Town Hall roof 8 Ópusztaszer Ethnographic Museum
in Kiskunfélegyháza National Historical comprising some 19th-century
Memorial Park houses, windmills, farmhouses
6 Kiskunfélegyháza and workshops from the local
Ópusztaszeri Nemzeti Történeti area. In summer the workshops
28 km (18 miles) south of Kecskemét. demonstrate various folk crafts,
Road Map D4. * 30,000. £ from Emlékpark and much of what is produced
Kecskemét, Budapest. @ from is sold. To the left of the
Kecskemét, Budapest. 31 km (19 miles) north of Szeged. museum stand tents known
Road Map E5. £ to Kistelek, then as yurts.
Kiskunfélegyháza has a Roman coach. @ from Kistelek, local bus
Catholic church and a regional from Ópusztaszer. n Tourinform, The Feszty Panorama, an
museum, but the Secessionist Szoborkert 68, Ópusztaszer, (62) 27 51 astonishingly detailed
Town Hall is really the only 33. Open Apr–Oct: 10am–6pm Tue– depiction of the Magyar
sight worth seeing in this Sun; Nov–Mar: 10am–4pm Tue–Sun. migration onto the Great Plain,
southern town. It is truly Feszty Panorama: Open guided tours can be seen here. The 120-m-
outstanding. Completed in only. Tel (62) 27 52 57. & 7 - = (394-ft-) long painting, created
1912, it is something of a high- ∑ opusztaszer.hu by 24 artists in 1892–4, was
water mark for Secessionist badly damaged in World War II
architecture. Designed by According to legend it was on but has been restored and can
József Vass and Nándor this site in 896 that the Magyar be viewed by appointment.
Morbitzer, its façade is a riot clan chiefs made their blood
of colour, floral patterns and pact and chose Árpád as their 9 Hódmezővásár­
interwoven motifs. Many of single leader. The enormous hely
the patterns are, in fact, copied Neo-Classical Árpád Memorial,
from the folk art of the Kiskun erected in 1896 for Hungary’s 25 km (15 miles) northeast of Szeged.
region: they can also be seen Millennium Celebrations (see Road Map E5. * 45,000. £ from
on traditional lace tablecloths. p108), commemorates the event. Szeged. @ from Szeged. Andrassy
The roof is covered entirely Before that, a monastery stood út, Kossuth tér. n Tourinform,
in tiles made at the Zsolnay here, from perhaps the 12th Szőnyi utca 1, (62) 24 93 50.
factory in Pécs (see pp190–93). century (its ruins can still be seen), _ Agricultural Festival (end Apr);
On a gable, the city crest and it may have been a pagan St István’s Day (20 Aug).
can be seen, surrounded by burial ground earlier still. In 1945,
tulip motifs. this historic site was chosen by One of the oldest settlements
the Communists to announce in Hungary, the small city of
Although the town hall is an their agricultural collectivization Hódmezővásárhely is famous
official building and still used policy. North of the memorial for its Agricultural Festival. Much
for administrative purposes stands a well-presented
today, nobody seems to mind
visitors wandering in every
day to admire the main hall,
which is as richly decorated
as the exterior.

E Town Hall
Kossuth Lajos utca 1.
Tel (76) 46 12 55. Open 7:30am–
4pm Mon–Fri. 7

7 Szeged The Neo-Classical Árpád Memorial at the Ópusztaszer Memorial Park

See pp246–7.

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

THE GREAT PLAIN  245

Gyula Castle, almost intact after many years of Turkish rule Budapest. The city’s substantial
castle was built by St István
of the event is based on Kossuth of Hungary’s best thermal bath in 1075 but sacked first by the
tér, a large pedestrianized complexes. The mansion also Mongols, then by the Turks, so
square. Here stands the large features an exhibition on every- that nothing remains of it today.
Secessionist Town Hall, whose day life – and life as a servant – in
tower can be climbed. The a Hungarian mansion. The most important historical
building next door (formerly a monument in the city now, a
school) now houses the Alföld Another attraction is the short walk west of the centre, is
Gallery, which exhibits the charming Százéves, Hungary’s the Baroque Franciscan church,
work of Great Plain artists, for second-oldest café, which built in 1727–54. On the way
example, József Koszta, Gyula opened in 1840. Ferenc Erkel, is the former synagogue at
Rudnay and Vilmos Aba-Novák. who composed grand operas Templom utca 2, a Secessionist
and the Hungarian national building, restored in the 1950s.
The enormous New Calvinist anthem, was born in the house Also worth a visit is the János
church is impressive but a fair at Apor Vilmos tér 7. It now has Damjanich Museum, north of
walk east along Andrássy utca. a small museum dedicated to the centre. Named after the
Opposite is a superb Secession- his life and work. general who led the Hungarians
ist synagogue (1903), with an to victory over the Habsburgs in
exhibition dedicated to those q Szolnok the Battle of Szolnok in 1849, it
killed in the Holocaust. It often exhibits folk art, archaeological
hosts official commemorative 100 km (59 miles) east of Budapest. items, and work by the Szolnok
events on Holocaust Day. Road Map E4. * 73,000. £ @ n Artists Colony.
Tourinform, Hild J. tér 1, (56) 42 07 04.

0 Gyula Located where the river Zagyva The Baroque Franciscan Church, the oldest
flows into the Tisza, Szolnok building in Szolnok
15 km (9 miles) east of Békéscaba. has long been the last obstacle
Road Map F4. * 31,000. £ from for invaders on the road to
Békéscsaba, Budapest. @ from Békés-
csaba. n Tourinform, Kossuth Lajos Hungarian Calvinism
utca 7, (66) 56 16 80. _ Gyula Castle
Open-Air Theatre Festival (Jul, Aug). Calvinism flourished in eastern Hungary and in Transylvania from

At one time Scythians, Huns and the second half of the 16th century to around 1700. Preaching to
Avars all passed through the
area around the present town a public that considered Catholicism the religion of the Habsburgs,
of Gyula, but a settlement called
Gyulamonostora was first ment- and therefore foreign, a great number of reformers were active in
ioned in 1313. The impressive
castle, which miraculously Hungary before the Reformation movements of Martin Luther and
survives almost intact, was built
in the 14th–15th centuries. Taken John Calvin. The Turks actively encouraged the Reformation as a
by the Turks in 1566, it stayed
under their control for 130 years. bulwark against Catholicism, and the Hungarian Reformed Church

The castle is the city’s leading quickly became the largest in central Europe. Calvinism rejected
sight, and it dominates the
sprawling park that makes central consubstantiation, and had a theocratic view of the state, popular
Gyula so pleasant a place. Visitors
can clamber over its walls and with Hungarians under
climb the lookout tower, or in
summer enjoy a concert in the Turkish rule. When the
courtyard. Also in the park is the
beautifully restored 18th-century Turks were finally expelled
Almásy Mansion, which has one
in 1699, the Habsburgs

confiscated Calvinist

property. This Counter-

Reformation bred resent-

ment, and was a major

factor in the creation in the

18th century of a national

independence movement,
both in eastern Hungary The Calvinist College in Debrecen, founded

and in Transylvania. in 1538

246  HUNGARY REGION BY REGION

7 Szeged P Reök Palace
Reök palota
The fourth-largest city in the country, Szeged straddles the Tisza Lajos körút 56.
River Tisza less than 20 km (12 miles) from the point where Built for István Reök, a wealthy
Hungary, Serbia and Romania meet. Almost completely local merchant, in 1907,
destroyed by spring floods in 1879, Szeged was entirely this extraordinary, fairy-tale
remodelled before being rebuilt, and its wide avenues, building is a Secessionist
numerous public squares and vast array of architectural masterpiece. Designed by
styles, from the Neo-Romanesque cathedral to the Ede Magyar Oszadszki, it looks
Secessionist Reök Palace, are testimony to enlightened town like a giant cake topped with
planning. Famous for its free-thinking university, which was striped marzipan. The rotund
at the vanguard of the 1956 uprising, the city is today the balcony on the corner, as well
most important on the southern Great Plain, and a centre as the intricate ironwork –
of the salami and paprika trade. including the blue flowers that
surround the building like a
The brown-brick twin-towered in 1925, when a damaged cummerbund – are the work
Neo-Romanesque Votive Church former Baroque cathedral of Fekete Pál, working to
was cleared to make way for designs by Magyar Oszadszki.
R Votive Church the Votive Church. It was fully Today the building is used by
Szegedi Dóm restored and converted into a Hungarian bank.
Dóm tér. Tel (62) 42 01 57. Open 9am– a baptistry by Béla Rerrich.
5pm Tue–Sun. & 7 Secessionist elements on the façade of
On the south side of the square, Reök Palace
Neo-Romanesque in design, the a pantheon celebrates famous
Votive Church was constructed Hungarians. The Ecclesiastical P Széchenyi tér and
in 1913–30. Everything about it Museum and Treasury on the Town Hall
is grand in scale. Designed by square’s western side holds a Városháza
Frigyes Schulek and Ernő Foerk, collection of Catholic memor- Széchenyi tér. 7
it is dominated by two towers abilia. Behind Dóm tér is Aradi The pond in this large square
that reach just short of 100 m Vértanuk tere, with a monument commemorates the devastating
(328 ft). The eastern tower can to the Martyrs of Arad, and the flood. In front of it stands a
be climbed in summer. Above Gate of Heroes (1937) honouring statue of Count Széchenyi
the 10-m- (33-ft-) tall entrance the heroes of World War I, the (see p46). The balcony and
is an enormous Madonna with 12,000 fallen soldiers who came colourful ceramic tiles of the
Child, while inside the church from Szeged. Neo-Baroque Town Hall, built
several frescoes by Schulek can in 1883 by Ödön Lechner, pre-
be found, as well as the third- R Serb Orthodox Church empt the Secession (which
largest organ in Europe. Görögkeleti Szerb Templom Lechner founded). A “Bridge
Révai utca. Tel (62) 42 42 46. of Sighs” replica links the town
hall to the building next door.
This single-towered church, The Neo-Classical house (1844)
founded by Serb immigrants in at No. 9 survived the flood.
the 18th century, was remodelled
in the Neo-Classical style in 1830. E Ferenc Móra Museum
Its beautiful original iconostasis Közművelődési Palota
by Jovan Popovic contains 80 Roosevelt tér 1–3. Tel (62) 54 90 40.
icons engraved in pear wood. Open 10am–6pm daily.

P Demetrius Tower and The superbly intricate iconostasis of the &8
Dóm tér Serb Orthodox Church
Looking very much like a
Dóm tér. 7 Neo-Classical mansion built for
a wealthy merchant, the Palace
The oldest structure in Szeged
is the 12th- and 13th-century
Demetrius Tower (Dömötör-
torony) in Dóm tér. Part of a
once much larger church, and
the traditional centre of town,
the tower was only rediscovered

For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285

THE GREAT PLAIN  247

of Popular Culture (Közművelődési F National Theatre VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Practical Information
Palota) has in fact been a Nemzeti Színház Road Map E5. * 97,000.
museum since its completion Déak Ferenc utca 12. Tel (62) 47 92 79. Roosevelt tér. n Tourinform,
in 1899. There are excellent Dugonics tér 2, (62) 48 86 90.
Opened in 1883, the theatre ( daily, Mars tér. _ Szeged
Open Air Theatre Festival (mid-
exhibitions on archaeology, burned down two years later. Jul–Aug). n szegedtourism.hu
Transport
ethnography and the history It was restored to its original £ Indóház tér, from Budapest.
@ Márs tér, from Kiskunfélegy-
of the Csongrád region. One of Neo-Baroque design by the háza.

the highlights is the enormous Austrian architects Fellner and the Old Synagogue has a
high-water mark on its outer
painting by Pál Vágó showing Helmer. The lush interior, with wall showing the level of the
Szeged after the flood of 1879. three levels of boxes and an floods in 1879.
The art gallery displays works intricately decorated ceiling, can
New Synagogue, built and decorated in
by Hungarian master József be seen during performances Secessionist style
Rippl-Rónai, though the main of the philharmonic orchestra,
attraction is Mihály Munkácsy’s opera or ballet.

Hungarian Conquest.

u Jewish Quarter

Zsidó Negyed

E Castle Museum South of Nagy Jenő utca. New
Vármúzeum – Kőtár Synagogue: Jósika utca 10, (62) 42
Stefánia sétány 2. Tel (62) 54 90 40. 38 49. Open call for opening times.
Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sun. & Closed Sat & Jewish holidays.

The castle was built when Béla IV The enormous New

fortified Szeged in 1247 and Synagogue was built in

extended by János in 1547. 1900–3 in Secessionist style,
The scene of one of the with a grand 48-m (157-ft)

Turks’ last stands in dome. Its marble

Hungary, in 1688, it was tabernacle is covered
all but destroyed in the with gold leaf,
floods of 1879. All that
while the dome,

remains today is a representing
tiny part of a bastion. the night sky, is
The small museum topped by deep

tells the castle’s blue glass and
history (open only Detail on main entrance to dotted with stars.
in midsummer).
the Castle Museum At Hajnóczy utca 12,

Szeged City Centre BUDAPEST
KOSSUTH SGT
1 Votive Church RÁKÓCZI UTCA KALVIN TISZA LAJ OS K ÖR Ú
TÉR TÉR Baths ANY KA IN CZY

Bus Station UTCA AR Z T
100 m (110 yards)
2 Demetrius Tower and Dóm tér MIK SZÁTH M É R Thermal UTCA
RÖSMARTY
E Y V Ö

3 Serb Orthodox Church KÁLMÁN PÜSPÖK J. UTCA UTCA UTCA

4 Reök Palace FEKETE SAS UTCA UTCA STEFÁN I A

5 Széchenyi tér and UTCA DÓZSA
Town Hall
Great Old Town Hall
Synagogue
Synagogue KÖRÚT SZECHENYI STEFÁNIA DEÁK FERENC
6 Ferenc Móra Museum TÉR National Theatre
JOSIKA UTCA JEWISH
7 Castle Museum OUARTER LAJOS KIGYO UTCA H I D VAR UTCA Castle
8 National Theatre Museum

9 Jewish Quarter TISZA UTCA KLAUZÁL UTCA Ferenc Móra Open-Air
TÉR Museum Thermal
KÁ LVARIA Reök Palace KOLCSEY
SUGARUT UTCA Baths

KÁRÁSZ UTCA ROOSEVELT Open-Air
OROSZLAN TÉR Pools
SOM
BÉKE UTCA DUGONICS O G Y I Belvárosi
PETŐFI bridge
SUGARUT TÉR UTCAZRINYI UTCA UTCA
Szeged
University
OSKOLA
Serb Orthodox
Church

HONVÉD Demetrius Votive Tisza
TÉR Tower and Church

VITÉZ Dóm Tér

0 metres 200 UTCA HÁROMSÁHG eÚTGroaetseV'EARTRTEAARTNDEISUI ZKA DÓM TÉR
0 yards 200 Train Station LAJOS KÖRÚT
SZENT
300 m (330 yards)

For keys to map symbols see back flap Freshwater fishing in the Hortobágy National Park