Experience cycling to Europe’s longest wooden bridge

Itinerary:

• Leaving Komárom train station, we turn right on the Rákóczi Ferenc quay and after about two hundred meters reach the Elizabeth Bridge that connects the two parts of the city (and country).
• Turning left, we cycle over the bridge, and turning right on Palatínova Street we arrive at the historic city center (pay extra attention to pedestrians in pedestrian zones).
• If we enter the downtown, we stay on Palatínova, which leads straight to the main square, the Klapka György Square. If we plan to stop in Komárom on the way back, now from the bridge turning onto Palatínova, we immediately turn right, back towards the Danube along Lehár Street (Lehárova). Upon reaching Dunajské nábrežie we turn left and are now on the bicycle path bypassing the city center.
• Continuing a bit further on Palatínova from the main square, on our right opens Pevnostný Rad, this street leads alongside the Officers' Pavilion down to the bike path along the Danube. The street along the Danube and later along the Váh river is later called Elektrárenská cesta, and just before the Váh bridge, at the restaurant (Vág Inn), we must decide which bank we take to Gúta. Turning right at the restaurant, we stay on the Váh’s right bank - this is the family-friendly version. Turning left at the restaurant, we climb onto the bridge and then turn right.
• This tour crosses the Váh River and turns left at the first opportunity, then along Novozámocká cesta beside the Váh embankment, we quickly exit the city. From here we simply follow the embankment!
• The bike path runs for a good distance on the embankment along the lower class road 1463, then before Kava we turn left (the road bends right). From here we follow the bike path on the embankment made of concrete slabs, but almost until the main road between Gúta (Kolárovo) and Kamocsa we can also take the lower class road running at the foot of the embankment. The view is better from above, the path is better lower down.
• Where the road alongside the embankment leaves the embankment, we should definitely climb back onto the embankment top. On the poorer quality road, in about 1 km we reach the main road 563, where we turn left.
• After about 1 km, crossing the Váh again we reach Gúta (Kolárovo), where at the first opportunity we turn right (Petőfi Street, Petőfiho Rad). Following the street, within 1 km we reach the wooden bridge on the right and the mill located beneath it.
• Returning to the main road on Petőfi Street, we cross it and immediately find ourselves on the embankment route Komárom - Gúta bike path as indicated by the sign.
• The bike path leads us straight back to Komárom without branching, but an ideal stop could be the Holt-Vág located by the embankment near Komárom, where we can even swim.
• Crossing under the railway bridge on the bike path, the next right turn leads to the well-known Váh road bridge and the city center, while remaining on the bike path, bypassing the city center, we reach the Elizabeth Bridge, which taking over connects us back to the train station.

Detailed description of the tour

Sights of North Komárom

Stepping out from the train station, immediately visible is the impressive Elizabeth Bridge built in 1892, over which we first reach Elizabeth Island, then directly enter downtown Komárom (Komárno). As a spiritual and cultural center of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia (where a significant majority of inhabitants still speak Hungarian), it is surely worth a stop, ideally extending our trip by an extra day or two. Walking the historic streets, we can still feel the city’s former grandeur and economic importance, as Komárom was once a significant commercial hub: southern wheat was marketed here by Serbian merchants. The city's most famous son, Mór Jókai (with whom we encounter his memory in many locations), modeled the main character of his novel The Man with the Golden Touch, Mihály Timár, on a Serbian merchant named János Domonkos who once lived here. Crossing the bridge, we notice several ship cranes somewhat further away; the Komárom shipyard, of reduced size today, was one of Europe's most important river shipyards during the decades of socialism!

The city center is Klapka György Square, where we find the elegant town hall and the Klapka statue erected at the millennium (which, due to the storms of history, has stood again in its original place only since the regime change). One of the city's well-known, though not born here, historical figures is György Klapka, who after the surrender at Világos held the huge fortress for another two months, surrendering only after demanding (and receiving) a safe conduct for all his soldiers (the never captured, enormous fortress stands on the Danube bank and can only be visited with a guide). The famous Klapka march that has become Komárom's anthem was composed by Béni Egressy in 1849 as the conductor of the Komárom garrison orchestra. If we visit the main square at 10 AM, noon, 2 PM, or 4 PM, we can see a small window open on the town hall tower and a Hussar figure trumpeting the march.

Even if we only stop for a coffee in the city center, it is worth walking through the so-called Europe Courtyard under the Zichy Palace next to the Town Hall. This complex brings together the architecture of more than 40 European countries in one space, uniquely representing the divided city's search for identity after the regime change. The buildings opened in the 2000s house apartments and shops, but the somewhat Disneyland-like emptiness of the buildings is also striking. Finally, but by no means least, we must mention Ferenc Lehár, Europe's most famous operetta composer, who was also born and lived in Komárom for a long time.

The Pevnostný Rad starting from the main square leads us alongside the Officers' Pavilion built in romantic style in 1863 down to the Danube. Here, turning left, we follow the Danube for a good stretch, then later the Váh, while from outside we can see the robust walls of the Komárom fortress, which includes both the Old Fortress built as part of the anti-Turkish defenses and the later pentagonal New Fortress, whose huge size was justified by the 200,000 strong garrison stationed here.

On the bank of the Váh to Gúta

Crossing the Váh by the road bridge, we turn left and surprisingly quickly leave the city. Initially traveling on low-class roads along the embankment, then before Kava, where the road detours right from the embankment, the designated bike path leads up to the embankment’s top. The road on the embankment is made of concrete slabs, quite bumpy, but almost to the main road leading to Gúta we can choose the lower class road below the embankment, which is of much better quality. Especially as here we do not expect heavy traffic; among agricultural lands, meadows, and floodplain forests, there are now only a few buildings used as weekend homes hiding. The view from the embankment road is definitely better, although unfortunately it offers little view of the river itself.

We cycle peacefully for about 20 km from the Komárom border until the embankment is crossed by the road. Here we turn left, then right towards nearby Gúta (Kolárovo), where we arrive at the famous Gúta water mill. The scene is truly picturesque: on the gently flowing Little Danube, there is an 86 meter long covered wooden bridge standing on wooden piles (allegedly the longest wooden bridge in Europe), and underneath the Gúta ship mill, a faithful replica of a 1920 ship mill. A group of geese regularly appears before the mill, their characteristic honking recalling a not so distant past when 17 floating mills operated around Gúta (and floating mills could be found across the country, including on the Danube beside Komárom). These floating mills stood on the rivers except in winter, and their special design increased the speed of the river water before the mill wheel located in the middle of the hull. The ship mill currently operates as a museum with visits every whole hour (guided tours in Hungarian are usually available), and there is a buffet beside the mill, as well as a restaurant nearby.

Back along the Váh to Komárom

The return route is easier and even more beautiful: returning on Petőfi Street to the main road, we only need to cross it and immediately get onto the closed bike path on the embankment between Gúta and Komárom, from which on several points the river can also be seen on the left. On the right, fields and agricultural plots, forests, and smaller oxbows color the landscape, and thus it is even possible to see water birds. We do not cross any villages, only encounter some small waterworks and buildings on the roughly 20 km road.

If we have time, it is worth detouring to the Holt-Vág accessible from the embankment near Komárom, where we can properly swim. Returning to Komárom, following Jókai’s path, we can explore this uniquely fated city in detail, extending our excursion by two days.