Murakeresztúr circuit

• We leave the Murakeresztúr railway station at Honvéd Street and continue all the way to the sports ground.
• At the sports ground, we turn right onto Arany János Street, where we cycle all the way to the Mura dam.
• On the Mura dam, we turn left onto a marked bike path which is well marked all the way to the foot of St. Michael Hill belonging to Őrtilos.
• At the foot of St. Michael Hill, we turn onto the 68118 marked public road, which we follow through Őrtilos to the Zákányfalu junction.
• At the northern border of Zákányfalu, we turn left onto road 6804, following it to the Beleznai junction.
• At the Beleznai junction, we turn left onto the connecting road to the settlement, and arrive in Belezna.
• In Belezna, we turn left at the bus turnaround and from here, using the signposted bike path signs, we return to the Mura dam.
• On the Mura dam, we follow the already known route back to the center of Murakeresztúr.

Detailed description of the tour

Where Miklós Zrínyi built a castle

Our tour starts from the railway station, but if arriving without a bike, it is best to start at the mayor's office where bike rentals are also available. (However, bring your own helmet and lock as these are not provided.) We cycle along Honvéd Street to the football field, then turn right onto Arany János Street to leave the village, cycling straight to the Mura dam and turning left onto its pleasant asphalt.

The river initially flows hidden behind the floodplain forest, but soon a branch opens to the right leading down to the shore. Returning, we continue on the dam's glossy asphalt with views of the Mura. The bike path crosses the train tracks towards Gyékényes at Belezna railway stop, then enters the forest crossing a small stream, the Visszafolyó Creek.

On the creek bank is a historical memorial site – it is worth getting off your bike to visit the former location of Zrínyiújvár, which is accessible via wooden stairs and located on a small clearing. The palisade fortress was built in summer 1661, reportedly with the active participation of Miklós Zrínyi himself.

The fortress and the several hundred-strong garrison stationed there guarded not only the Mura crossing but also the Muraközi Zrínyi estates and Styria. The fortress was close to Kanizsa, already under Turkish control at the time, so the Ottoman Empire besieged it several times and eventually demolished it in the summer of 1664. Today nothing remains visible, and the site was declared a historical memorial in 2022. A memorial and plaque, as well as a reconstructed well, stand on the small forest plateau.

A delightful meeting

The forest road with traffic calming is one of the most beautiful parts of the tour, although much of the elevation is accumulated here as we climb the hill rising towards the floodplain. After a saddle point, we begin descending and reach the next attraction: a small but worthwhile detour to the confluence of the Mura and Drava rivers. We cycle down a gravel road from the cycling path turning left, near the Őrtilos railway station, with the riverbank just 100 meters away.

Among the features of the Mura mouth is the distinct coloration of the two rivers due to their different watersheds and sediment loads: the Mura is dark brown while the Drava is a clear blue. Interestingly, the mouth of the Mura shifts location over time, as typical for middle course rivers shaping their channels. Some 30-40 years ago it was near one kilometer above the Őrtilos railway station, later moved here, but today it joins higher up again and human intervention played a role.

In 2010, for flood protection reasons, a cut was made to reconnect the Mura and the Drava further upstream. This controlled re-arrangement was needed because the small 40-meter-wide land strip separating the rivers could have been breached by a major flood wave, flooding the Barcs–Nagykanizsa railway line, the Őrtilos railway station, and adjacent areas.

Some water remains in the old large bend of the Drava main branch, where birds like to rest on the white sandbanks. Therefore, it is advisable to bring binoculars: the floodplain forests along the Drava host the country’s largest populations of black storks and white-tailed eagles, so lucky visitors may spot these species.

From the floodplain to the vineyard hill

Those wishing to enjoy more of the floodplain atmosphere should take a walk along the Drava nature trail starting from the nearby water tour resting place. The Duna-Drava National Park Directorate’s nature trail can be comfortably completed in 20-30 minutes, and the information boards introduce the Drava floodplain wildlife.

After overcoming the long steep ascent, we reconnect with the circular tour route. We’ll also need our leg muscles for the following detour: at the end of a road turning left at a restaurant awaits St. Michael Hill and the panorama from its top. However, the view requires some effort.

At the top of St. Michael Hill

St. Michael Hill is a separate part of Őrtilos, atop which stands the white St. Michael Church offering truly splendid panoramic views. On the horizon rise the Croatian hills, and below the floodplain forest ribbons encircle the meandering Drava. The brick church built in 1740 has a unique atmosphere and style: mainly Baroque features with a square tower and window shapes recalling the Middle Ages.

Descending from the hill, we continue the tour on Őrtilos Road. Soon, at the southern end of St. Michael Hill we pass under the “Fesztung” marked by a national flag visible from the asphalt. A short and steep staircase leads to the 1848 memorial next to the flag; the view from here is also very beautiful.

“Fesztung” is a German term for fortress, which refers to a battery station built here to protect the Drava crossings. In September 1848, a handful of troops under the command of Mór Perczel managed to temporarily hold back Jellasics’s Croatian ban’s army.

Christmas Trees and a beautiful neo-Gothic church

We pass through Őrtilos and then reach a T-junction at the northern border of Zákányalu: we turn left and continue on a somewhat busier road. Along the road, pine plantations stretch—a significant part of the country’s Christmas trees originate here.

Following the signs to Belezna, we leave the busy road on the left and soon arrive in the settlement. Belezna’s most famous sight is the neo-Gothic Virgin Mary Church located at the edge of the village, built in 1899 by Count Ödön Zichy. The church design was inspired by Budapest’s Matthias Church style, which also features in the village coat of arms.

In Belezna, we cycle to the bus turnaround and turn left there. Murakeresztúr appears on the bike path signs from here, so there is no risk of getting lost. We continue along a scenic forest road that joins back to the bike path on the Mura dam near the Zrínyiújvár and Belezna railway stop. Following the familiar route, we return to our starting point: the railway station or the Murakeresztúr mayor’s office.