A walk in the Monor Cellar Village

Itiner

• From the train station, take the P■sign to the Cellar Village.
• The trail starts at St. Orban Square, follow the P+ sign straight ahead.
• The lookout is approached on the ZT sign.
• Go back and turn left at the Kadarka line on the ZT sign.
• Follow the ZT sign through the Pincefalun.
• At the end of the trail, walk straight on along Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street.
• You will reach the sign P■which will lead you back to the railway station.

More details about the tour

Through Monor

Starting from the railway station, we follow the P■signposted route along Petőfi Sándor Street to the central part of Monor - passing the pedestrian street. The town centre took its present form at the beginning of the 20th century, when the buildings that dominate the townscape were built, such as the Vigadó, one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in the country, and later the Court of Justice and the Kossuth Lajos Primary School. The town's churches, the local history exhibition, public institutions and statues adorn the main street. Turning right onto Kossuth Lajos Street, you can see the municipal library, opposite St Stephen's Square and the memorial to the victims of World War II, and the Roman Catholic Church of Assumption. In the square next to the library is the 1956 memorial.

After the sightseeing, the tour continues to St. Orban's Square in the cellar village, which is now located on the central slope of Strázsa Hill. We wind our way through the quiet streets between the houses of Monor. Arriving at St Orbán Square, you are greeted by a statue of the eponymous walnut tree, considered the patron saint of vine-growers and cooperage.

The northern mountains meet the plains

According to tradition, Strázsa Hill takes its name from the fact that in the Turkish era, the locals used to spy on the area from here, guarding the village from raiding Ottoman soldiers. Strázsa Hill, at 190 metres, does not even deserve the name of hill, but it is still a place of note. Monor lies at the junction of two great landscapes, the Great Plain and the Northern Central Highlands. The Gödöllő hills, which form part of the latter, are gradually merging into the lowland landscape that already clearly defines the town's interior. This extension of the hills is essentially the Strázsa hill, home to the cellar village and vineyards. The cellars are drilled in clay, with an average depth of between 5 and 6 metres from the surface and varying in length, usually between 10 and 15 metres, but there are also cellar labyrinths 100 metres long. As the Strázsa hill was once covered with elm forest, there is 1-1,5 m of brown forest soil above the clay, which provides an excellent home for the vines.

In the 1400s, the Eger Abbey established viticulture and winemaking in Monor. The Strázsa Hill is a valuable area with a series of traditional cellars. The cellar village with its vineyards was established in the 1800s.

St. Orbán Square and its surroundings are the setting for many wine festivals, with a rest area and fireplace in the centre, and a trail that leads through the 180 hectares of the winery village. There are currently nearly a thousand cellars and press houses in the area.

In the square you will find the welcome and starting point of the trail, a map of the Hungarian wine villages, a lock wall for enthusiasts and visitors, information about the cellars, wine tasting and dining facilities. A memorial stone on the St. James pilgrimage trail highlights the tours of a Monor winery owner.

A trail through the cellars

The Thousand Cellars vineyard and wine trail is divided into two distinct sections: the St. Orban trail is dedicated to the vineyards and wine-making of Hungary, while the Bacchus trail introduces the natural, architectural and cultural history of Strázsa Hill. Along the trail you can see the cellars, which can be basically divided into 6 types. But you will also discover vineyards, both traditional and cordon-cultivated.

The hike is worth continuing along the St. Orban's trail. Following its signposts, you will reach a crossroads where, under shady trees, at a crossroads of vineyards, you will find the first information signpost of your route, surrounded by well-kept cellars.

The route continues along a typical low road through vineyards. Depending on the season, the vineyards can be seen in the state they are in at the end of their life cycle, the changes in which are described on the information board at the next short climb to the crossroads. To the left of it is an unconventional cellar chamber with a carved façade. Further on you reach the viewing platform. Turning towards the tower, you will find the next sign, which shows the steps of cultivation and care, from pruning to winter preparation. Don't miss to go up to the lookout! At the top level is the next sign with explanatory text to help you recognise the features of the landscape. On a clear day, you can see the cellar village and Monor, as well as the surrounding villages and the Buda hills.

The square is a meeting point for hikers, as the P+ tourist sign from Lake Peter's enters the cellar village from the line above the lookout, leading to Tetepuszta and Felsőfarkasd. This is also the point where the route of the 70 km Hike in the Solar System cross-country cycle tour reaches the cellar village.

On the paths of the villages

After visiting the lookout, head back towards St. Orban's Square and take a new direction before reaching the "Origins of grapes and wine" sign. Turning left, you can take a short deep path uphill through a central part of the cellar village. To the left, a cellar has been built into the loess wall to take advantage of the opportunity. A few metres ahead on the right is a cellar made up of two complexes of buildings, once a notable wine-tasting place. If you look carefully, you will notice a vent on the left - indicating that the cellar extends well below the road, a Monorian feature. The next panel shows the most important grape varieties registered as Hungaricums. The aim is to offer visitors wines that are truly typical of the region. The next stops will show you the wine villages and wine regions, with a table and bench at one of them, a swing, a lawn for relaxing and a "Neptune" sign for the Tour of the Solar System. Continuing along this signposted route, the tour continues along a traditional cellar lane, where the position of the wine presses indicates that the caves are dug under the dune road. Following the signposts, we reach the next trail sign, which describes the wine festivals, many of which are based on folk traditions. Monor also celebrates St Orban's Day every year, the patron saint of winegrowers, cooperage and tavern keepers. New wine is celebrated on St Martin's Day, because the saying goes that 'he who does not drink new wine on St Martin's Day will thirst all year round'.

At this point of the tour, the hiker has a choice: he can go straight back to St. Orban's Square and from there to the railway station or the bus terminus, following the signposted route.

The Bacchus Trail

If you want to continue your hike, go one row down and follow the signposted Bacchus Trail! This will show you the natural, architectural and cultural history of the Strázsa Mountains. A few minutes' walk will take you to the "Unique Landscape Values of Strázsa Mountain" sign, here it's worth noting beyond the cellars that next to the information sign is a wheeled, two-bucket dug well. The two-bucket solution essentially means that the full bucket comes up and the other goes down for dipping. These wells used to supply water for washing barrels and watering horses.

Next we move on to the hard surfaced Mende road. Following the signs, continue up the 'hill', which is essentially a deep path (surdik) washed out by the falling rainwater. This has been shaped over centuries by man's desire to travel, the wind and the falling rainwater. On the way up, the road is flanked on both sides by a row of cellars, and after passing another round well, the next signposted trail is on the left of the low road. Behind it are a row of disused cellars, the oldest such structures in the area. On the other side of the road you will see another sign with a beautiful apple orchard behind it.

Along the way, we saw traditional vineyards, both vineyard and cordon, and learned about winemaking techniques, tools and equipment. Traditional tools and techniques can still be found in our cellar walls, but more and more vineyards and wineries are growing grapes and making wine in ways that meet the requirements and possibilities of the times.

Let's continue down this road to the valley! To the left we can detour to the Spring Valley, a nature reserve, but unfortunately the spring has dried up. It is true that there are still traces of wetland vegetation.

Returning to the crossroads, we can continue our hike up the ascent, following the trail of the line straight ahead. Here the trail leads again through mixed farmland and vineyards, where you reach the signpost to the formation of Strázsa Hill.

The cellars of Strázsa Hill

But why is it that there are so many cellars on Strázsa Hill? The thick layer of loess and clay formed during the Ice Age is suitable for drilling to a depth of 5-8 m, with a suitable arched construction, to create a wine cellar. In these cellars, the combination of gravity ventilation and the heat extracted by evaporation from the soil ensures that the barrels do not dry out and that the average temperature remains between 10 and 14 °C, ideal for storing wine in winter and summer.

The Brickworks cellars are located on the path of the dune road, and on the right-hand side of the road, on the wall of a cellar, you can admire a large painting by the artist László Koday entitled "Cellar Village". Another short walk takes you to the information board "History". Opposite it is a well-maintained porch press house with a wheat oven in the courtyard.

A signposted path leads through a vineyard, between wine cellars and vineyards, and a footpath takes you down two cellar steps. The façade of one of the press houses features a fresco in keeping with the theme of the place. A few steps away is the "Wine and Culture" station on the trail. From here, armed with a knowledge of universal wine culture, you can continue along the wine route until you reach the "Wine and Wine Culture" signpost number 16. Here you can discover the main cellar types in the village, even in a playful, illustrated way.

Along the way, two rows down, you will find the information panel "Kunság wine region", which tells you about the important role played by the vineyards of the wine region in overcoming phylloxera. Continuing on, we come to Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street and a short stroll brings us to the entrance of Bacchus Square.

The square has a watering place, a cosy resting place, a fireplace and a memorial column in memory of Lajos Magócsy, the village's song tree, regent and master well-driller.

Returning to the Bajcsy-Zsilinszky road, staying on the signpost, you will reach the 18th signpost of the Bacchus trail, which marks the end of the trail and the cellar village tour. Following the tourist sign will take you to the bus and train station for the return journey.