By bicycle and thirst for knowledge from the Bábolna stud farm to the carriage carriage

Itinerary

• From Ács railway station, we cycle along Gyár street to reach Fő street, where we turn right.
• Following Fő street, we leave the village and cycle to Bábolna, where we stop at the stud courtyard located next to the road in the village center.
• After the visit, we continue on Mészáros street and its extension, main road 8136, which crosses Nagyigmánd and leads to Kocs.
• In the village center, we turn left towards Komárom and, after 200 meters, stop at the museum visible on the right-hand side.
• We proceed along Museum street, Táncsics Mihály street, then turn right onto Dózsa György street. This leads to the main road 8136 of Tata, where we turn left.
• Upon arrival in Tata, we follow the cyclist signs: we turn left from the car main road to Dózsa György street.
• At the end of the street, we turn right onto József Attila street, crossing Komáromi street.
• We continue on what is now called Új út (New Road), going up to the roundabout.
• We turn left onto Fényes fasor, then cross the historical bridge over Által-ér and cycle along Gesztenye fasor to the station.

Detailed description of the tour

Country history infused with stud history

We don’t linger long in Ács, quickly heading towards Bábolna. Crossing the highway, the characteristic Kisalföld landscape unfolds with wind turbines and the rather bleak view of industrial agriculture. Soon we reach the nationally known center of Bábolna, where we stop at the Stud Courtyard. It is worth locking up our bicycles here and buying an entry ticket. At the Bábolna National Stud Farm complex, there are many interesting things to visit, and due to the uniqueness and beauty of the place, it’s worth seeing everything possible. The visit starts with viewing the stud history exhibition to get familiar, then continues with the historical stud courtyard, the stables and the riding hall, and finally finishes with the carriage collection. We should plan for at least 3 hours, and if possible, request a guided tour!

The exhibition presenting over two hundred years of stud history is housed within the walls of the former Officers' Casino. Why did the country need its own stud farm back then? Horses were militarily important at the time. It was believed that horses’ performance depended on the climate, so proven war horses’ studs were crossed with local mares. József Csekonics, the founder and first leader of domestic stud farms, overturned this tradition based on the scientific developments of the time, and advised Joseph II to breed a good stock of mares with good studs, since the former form the base of the stud. The state studs’ plan was brought to the king to supply horses directly to the soldiers. The Mezőhegyes stud was established in 1785 and Bábolna in 1789 as a 'branch' of Mezőhegyes, since Bábolna was halfway to Vienna where somewhat weakened horses could be fed on the way.

In 1806, the Bábolna stud farm became independent, and in 1836 the first Arabian expedition was organized. Afterward, the Shagya, bred as military horses, arrived in the settlement; they strongly resemble Arabian thoroughbreds but are slightly taller with different head shapes and greater endurance. In Bábolna, English thoroughbreds are also kept alongside Arabian thoroughbreds.

Documents, maps, statues, and paintings kept in the rooms, as well as utility items related to the horses, tell many interesting stories about the stud and the professionals who worked there. Among them, probably the story of Mihály Fadlallah el Hedad is the most special. During the Arabian expedition in 1857, a 16-year-old boy sneaked onto the ship after his favorite horse unnoticed. Emperor Franz Joseph, a horse enthusiast, was also present at the European port event, and when they found the boy next to his horse, the ruler fatherly placed his hand on the boy’s sword, to which the boy struck back the ruler’s hand. That boy later became the famous stud master who led six out of twenty expeditions.

But Bábolna is known nationwide for more than just horses. With its poultry farming and corn production modeled after American agriculture, Bábolna became a capitalist model farm in a communist country, shown off to Western politicians. Pest control was introduced due to poultry farming, but there was sheep husbandry (as horses are picky eaters, the sheep renewed the pasture); cattle were bred for draft work (to bring in large amounts of hay) and a number of other activities. This successful model ceased after the regime change, and in 2001 the stud became independent.

The imposing ensemble of the Stud Courtyard across the road was built in the early 1700s around the castle. Our next stop is the right wing of the castle, home to the most beautiful part of the entire stud farm, the main stud stables. Here can be seen the most beautiful specimens of noble Arabian thoroughbreds and Shagya-Arab breeds. The stable radiates luxury, and the horse feeders are made of red limestone – it was rightly written by old specialist magazines that the “horse aristocrats” live in Bábolna.

Here stands the Gate of Heroes, and on the opposite side of the court decorated with flowers and a fountain, we find the stables of the riding and coach horses, as well as the stud. The courtyard was once an open riding hall, a site for parades and reviews. In its center stands a horse statue commemorating the 1809 Battle of Győr against Napoleon. Legend has it that a horse returning from the battlefield warned the riding hall of the impending danger. Another ornament of the yard is the acacia tree planted in 1710, which with its 203 cm trunk diameter and 1275 cm trunk circumference is the oldest acacia tree in Central Europe.

Behind the riding hall, in the old carriage house, is the carriage collection that guides visitors through the history of carriage driving and the sport of carriage driving.

The carriage carriage

Through Nagyigmánd, we cycle along a somewhat monotonous road to Kocs. It is highly recommended to request a guided tour at the Carriage Museum in Kocs, because it reveals many origins of expressions related to horses and horse-drawn vehicles, which are still alive in common language.

In the first rooms, we see a workshop showcasing the crafts and toolsets necessary for making carriages. We can examine the wheelwright (wheel maker), blacksmith, and leather worker’s hand tools and equipment, then a replica of the world-famous carriage, and at the back, a collection of twenty-piece carriages. During the guided tour in the actual workshop, we learn for example that 'fajankó' originally referred to the carving ax.

Wheelwrights in Kocs, located roughly halfway between Vienna and Budapest, developed the carriage, originally designed primarily for passenger transport, which was lighter and therefore faster than traditional carts due to its construction (e.g., wicker elements woven instead of boards, less iron use), drawn by three horses instead of two. It offered safety and comfort even though it had no suspension, because the large wheels rolled more easily on bumpy roads.

The word 'kocsi' first appeared in 1493 in one of King Vladislaus II’s accounting books: it mentioned the high costs of transporting state officials by carriage. The fast carriage, running at about 30 km/h, was only surpassed by its success, as it soon spread throughout Europe. A great historical milestone was when King Matthias sent eight carriages to the Venetian court. Another important development was in 1505 when the Habsburg emperor authorized Francisco de Tassis (often known as Ferenc Taxis in the Hungarian version), to establish Europe’s first postal carriage network. Unfortunately, due to Turkish rule, this network only reached us in the 18th century.

From fajankó to lőcs and szélhámos

An expert eye can spot many interesting details even on the carriage itself. The so-called 'lőcs' visible on it evolved from the 'rakonca': a rod mounted on the ends of the axles and crossbeams, which supported the sides of the cart. However, the rakonca soon broke and constantly loosened – hence our word 'rakoncátlankodik' (to be unruly). The carriage introduced the higher load-bearing lőcs: a slightly curved vertical rod that holds up the upper edge of the cart side, resting with its lower end on the outer part of the axle. A special wood branch was needed for this, so back then every wheelwright had a person who searched the forest for suitable lőcs wood.

Next to the carriage is also noticeable a rod to which the third horse was tied. The left horse was the leader (originally pulling the carriage), the middle was the rod horse, and the outermost horse tied to the side rod was the so-called 'szélhámos'. Usually, the unruly, mischievous horse was tied to the side bridle, which often kicked out. The innovation was that the pulling rod was fastened to the rear axle so that the third horse’s pull could help the other two climb hills or through mud without twisting the carriage.

We can relax from this abundance of information at the lakeside buffet next to the museum or at our final stop in nearby Tata. To get there, we cycle on asphalt towards the increasingly visible landscape of the opposite Gerecse.