In the footsteps of the cobblestone from Somoskő to Ajnácskő

Itinerary:

• From the bus stop, we start on Vároldal Street towards the towering Somoskő Castle above the village on the Z trail
• From the castle, we continue on the Z trail to the Somoskő basalt flow and the stone sea
• Crossing the creek, we turn onto the S trail towards the famous Macskalyuki quarry
• Just before the quarries, our path continues right on the P trail, but first be sure to check out the quarry
• Following the P trail for a long stretch, we pass through the settlement of Abroncsos (Obručná) and then climb up to Pogányvár (Pohanský Hrad)
• Leaving the cliffs with wonderful views, we turn right onto the Z trail at the mountain top
• Passing the must-see viewpoint Tilic, we arrive at Ajnácskő (Hajnáčka)
• In the village, we switch to the S trail, then climb up to the castle via an unmarked footpath

Detailed description of the tour

A symbolic location: Somoskő Castle

It could not be a better place to start a tour exploring the border areas of the Nógrád-Gömör basalt region than Somoskő Castle.

Firstly, Nógrád County's perhaps most beautiful castle is built on a volcanic chimney exposed by erosion, and it is truly special how the lava that once intruded into the rock and was trapped in the chimney became visible after the surrounding softer rocks weathered away. Starting from the village center (on the Z trail), be sure to climb up to the castle, if only to get a picture of the unique landscape around us. It is well known that the main landscape feature here is basalt, the raw material for cobblestones, the wrecks of the special volcanoes that „produce” it (the "stones"), and the fairy-tale castle ruins sitting on individual volcanic cones. From the castle, there is a nice view of the 8 km² "Medves plateau", which extends across Hungary and Slovakia and is Europe's largest basalt plateau. But it is also clear from the castle that the spectacular Medves plateau is just one of many beautiful, often geologically sensational volcanic cones and other surface formations in the Nógrád-Gömör basalt region, scarcely known to the wider world.

Secondly, Somoskő is also symbolically important from a historical perspective, as while the village is in Hungary, the castle is located in Slovakia, and it is indeed a modern achievement that one can now walk from the village to the impressive ruins. The return of Somoskőújfalu and Somoskő to Hungary after the Treaty of Trianon is naturally linked to local quarrying. Dr. Géza Krepuska, a renowned otolaryngologist of the era, owned properties here, and during the detailed demarcation of the Czechoslovak-Hungarian border, one important English commission member was seriously ill with an ear disease. The doctor persuaded the members of the Entente commission to visit the location and see the two intensely Hungarian villages with their own eyes. Thus, the rights to the basalt and coal mines nearby – including the adjacent Macskalyuki quarry – were retained by their Hungarian owners, who could operate and develop them until World War II, and import the dark grey cobblestones duty- and tax-free to Budapest.

On the far side of the castle, five minutes from the entrance, is the famous (world-renowned among geologists) basalt flow included in high school geography textbooks. Here we can admire the slender basalt columns with pentagonal and hexagonal shapes, which sometimes reach 9 meters in height and cascade down the castle hill like a "basalt waterfall." Basalt is an extrusive volcanic rock formed during the relatively rapid cooling of fluid, low-silica lava. These special columns were formed in the crater of a volcanic cone some 4 million years ago by the slow cooling of the lava below the surface (which also caused the basalt to shrink into such regular shapes). This rare geological formation is exposed thanks to quarrying of the raw materials used to build the castle.

In the footsteps of cobblestones at the Macskalyuki quarry

A few steps from here we find an extensive stone sea: almost every basalt outcrop, lava flow, and lava cover is surrounded by thin to thick layers of clayey-stony slope debris, but where the water washed away the clay and soil layers from between the stones, spectacular stone seas and stone flows were created, like the one under Somoskő. Descending further on the Z trail, we travel through a real beech primeval forest, then crossing the stream and following the S trail, we approach perhaps the most famous quarry in the area. From the trail’s design, it is easy to deduce that an 8.8 km long narrow-gauge railway once transported stone from the Macskalyuki quarry to the Somoskő processing plant, and there was even a customs post here at the border. Before reaching the quarry, we encounter the P trail, where we will turn right. But before that, it is definitely worth climbing up 50 meters to the left to a viewpoint offering perhaps the best panorama of the famous castles, Somoskő and Salgó, then continuing straight a few meters and turning right into the quarry yard.

While fewer have heard about basalt, cobblestones are probably familiar to everyone. They are the romantic stones of old towns, the "foundation stone" of black-and-white urban scenes and photographs documenting revolutions. We bumped along on them for decades on Thököly Street in Budapest. Last but not least, this stone was the "gold" of the Nógrád-Gömör basalt region, with the Macskalyuki quarry being one of the largest in the Medves mining area. Basalt came to prominence in the early 1800s during the great railway and road construction era as an excellently splittable, uniformly wearing, yet very hard rock that literally broke into the construction industry of the time. The importance of Medves basalt mining is well illustrated by the fact that streets in cities throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire were paved with basalt from here: the stone even reached Paris and London.

During its "golden age" in the 1920s and 1930s, the Macskalyuki quarry employed 1,500 people. Due to continuous shifts, a whole mining settlement developed near the quarry, with its own shop and school - the remains of some buildings are still visible today among overgrown vegetation. It is worth sitting down for a moment in the now quiet quarry yard, recalling the memories of past times. However, the cobblestone did not get its name from the Macskalyuki quarry, as one might think at first, but allegedly from the fact that in foreign languages the prefix "cat" is often used somewhat mockingly and diminutively, thus becoming a loan translation from German.

On the basalt cover of Pogányvár

Leaving the quarry on the P trail, the number of sights decreases for a while. First, we ascend a grove area, then cross a meadow and continue on a forest dirt road that eventually descends among the houses of Abroncsos (Obručná). Leaving the small resort village - where time seems to stand still - we walk briefly on the highway, then turn right and begin ascending again. At the mountain top, the S trail appears, leading to another significant lava cover, Monosa, but we continue on the P trail on a level path for some time before the trail starts to rise steadily. A sign soon indicates that we have entered the 223.35-hectare sanctuary of the highest protection category, the Pogányvár National Nature Reserve. Pogányvár (578 m) is one of the oldest volcanoes in the area, aged about 4.7 million years. Lava poured out from the former chimney over an area approximately 600 by 800 meters, reaching up to 30 meters thick in some places. There are no quarries on the basalt plateau; its shapes have preserved the process of volcanism and subsequent erosion in their most original form.

The climb to the top of Tábla Hill is not so terrible, and walking along its edge the spectacular panorama soon becomes evident. We soon reach the spectacular basalt rocks, from where there is indeed a beautiful view of the Medves plateau, as well as the mostly Hungarian-inhabited villages of Medvesalja below: Óbást, Újbást, Vecseklő, Tajti, Hidegkút, Bakóháza, and Cered in Hungary. In the distance, the Szilvás-kő block belonging to the geopark stands out clearly, while the horizon is closed off by the Mátra and Bükk mountains.

However, one of Pogányvár's greatest geological curiosities lies beneath us, hidden among the rocks. Lava flows that once filled valleys were later uplifted by tectonic movements. From the edges of the created mountains, erosion gradually washed away the softer sedimentary rocks, and cracks formed in the volcanic rock at the edge of the plateau, along which the outer blocks slid down the steep slope. Huge stone seas have remained beneath the spectacular edge rock formations, and among the sliding columns, fissure caves have formed. Not just any caves! There are 31 surveyed non-karstic caves here at Pogányvár, including Slovakia’s second longest non-karstic cave, the 182-meter-long Oszlopos Cave. (None of the caves are open to visitors.)

After enjoying the view, we continue on the P trail, which soon leaves the edge and crosses a large field to join the Z trail. Turning right here, we quickly start descending towards Ajnácskő. The tourist map doesn’t show it, but a short detour to the top of Tilics (Tilič) is marked by a sign, and should definitely not be missed due to its fantastic panorama. Geologically, this small side cone is also interesting: when the lava ducts of the magma chamber below Pogányvár clogged up, a smaller volcano began to operate on the Ajnácskő side. This was today's Tilics, whose power, however, was no longer sufficient to extrude lava to the surface, as it solidified in the chimney before the eruption. Descending from Pogányvár, we reach the "newest" houses of Ajnácskő via a beautiful, grove-lined path, soon walking on asphalt through genuine Slovak village atmosphere among storey-panel blocks towards the basalt cone at the village center, our goal, which we later reach following the S trail in the village and then by an unmarked footpath to the castle.

Encounter of legend and geology in Ajnácskő

The almost surreal rock promontory rising in the center of Ajnácskő is also an erosion-prepared volcanic chimney fill, known technically as a diatreme, probably the most beautiful in the area. The crater, formed from volcanic breccia much looser than the lava trapped in the chimney, has completely eroded over time. We need to conquer 75 meters of elevation from the village center to the mountain top (the summit itself is not accessible), where we can fully agree with Hunfalvy that this enchanting mountain could be a symbol of the entire geopark, as Ajnácskő, surrounded by houses encircling the spectacular rock needle, is surely one of the most picturesque villages in the Carpathian Basin.

For the telling of the legend, we call upon Kálmán Mikszáth, who was strongly connected to the area by birth. According to this, Prince Árpád sent leader Huba here to divide the land among the chieftains and soldiers.

"– Oh, how beautiful, how beautiful! Father, give me this castle if we conquer it.

– It can’t be, – Huba said, – the castle will belong to Gedő; I promised it to him.

Then Gedő began to beg that the other castle was enough for him, just give this one to his daughter if it pleases her so much.

– I can’t break my word, – said the leader, – but very well, let the castle be my daughter Hajnácska’s, but then let my daughter be yours." Thus Gedő and Hajnácska married and lived happily for a long time in the two neighboring castles, known in the chronicles for a long time as "Gedő" and "Hajnácskő" castles."

Today, only small wall remains are visible of the castle, which had quite an adventurous fate and was inhabited for a long time. It is worth staying in the village or one of the neighboring villages after the whole-day tour to make further discoveries in the area.