Along basalt peaks and mining memorial sites

Itinerary:

• We start from Salgótarján railway station following the S mark, until the fork below Pécs-kő
• From here, we take a short detour on the P▲ mark to the Hurka-Pécskő quarry
• After the detour, we continue on the S mark, then ascend Pécs-kő on the S▲ mark, and descend from it
• From here, we continue again on the S mark.
• We go along the Somlya ridge on the P+ mark, then descend on the other side
• Following the P mark to the left, we return to the intersection with Kohászok útja
• From here, we go down along Kohászok útja on the K mark to the abandoned mining settlement of Inászó, then further to the Kazár, Inászó mines bus stop

Detailed description of the hike

In the footsteps of the industrial history of Salgótarján

The name Salgótarján refers to the nearby Salgó castle, whose name derives from the adjective "salgó" (shining, bright). In the first decade of the 10th century, the area was owned by the Tarján tribe, settled here for the defense of the inner border line. The word Tarján has ancient Turkic origins, meaning prince or subking. The town lies in the narrow valleys shaped like a Y of the Tarján stream and Zagyva watershed.

From 1847, Viennese entrepreneur Hyeronimus Morsbrugger searched for coal nearby with engineer Alajos Weber, and in 1850 they discovered brown coal. This led to the start of mining, and the industry based on it, thus the settlement began to grow rapidly. At the end of the 1860s, one of the largest companies of the time was established, the Salgótarjáni Coal Mine Co. Another key company, the steelworks, started operations in 1871, but the first houses of its workers' colony were already built in 1865. Since 1867, Salgótarján has been connected by railway to the rest of the country. During the 1956 revolution, the bloodiest shooting took place here in the town, with death toll estimated between 46 and 131 people. Large housing estates were built from the 1960s, but the mine closed in 1970. Today, a mining museum operates in one of the former urban shafts, using sections of the former József inclined shaft.

Our hike starts from the town center, from the Salgótarján railway station following the S mark. Immediately we cross under the station through a brightly painted underpass with photo exhibition making it more lively. Upon reaching Rákóczi Road we turn left, then enter the steelworks colony area on Acélgyári Road, where on the right at the entrance stands the notable Art Deco building, also evoking Gothic style, the Franciscan Saint Joseph Church. Nearby it is worth visiting the steelworkers' casino. Salgótarján was declared a town here in 1922, and here operated the Steelworks Reading Club, frequently visited by Zsigmond Móricz. We find it by turning right from the S mark from Acélgyári Road onto Dózsa György Road; then turning left onto Salgó Road. The building is about 100 meters to the right.

“The defining elements of the built environment of the Salgótarján colony were the spaces for leisure time. By the turn of the century, the company had built the Olvasó or Workers' Casino, and the Officers' Casino. Sports clubs grew out of the latter, while the Olvasó maintained the library, orchestra, choir, and an amateur theatre group. The company also paid attention to green spaces and landscaping. The Dolinka named relaxation park was created after the First World War. The garden management of this pine and acacia planted park and playground was handled by the steelworks' gardeners,” writes Réka Várkonyi-Nickel in her study “The Steelworks Workers' Houses of Salgótarján (1871–1945).”

Quarried basalt peaks

Passing through the colony, the S mark crosses the Salgó Stream, then turning left crosses the railway track. We soon reach the Szojka Ferenc Stadium, named after the left half defender of the Hungarian national team who won the silver medal at the 1954 World Cup. At the stadium, the road turns right and soon reaches Dolinka rest park. We cross this between the playground and barbecue areas, then climb straight up through an acacia grove. Soon we see a hornbeam; here just before a double right-left bend we have to turn left up a path (the mark may be covered by leaves). We continue ascending under power lines through a clearing, with several viewpoints towards the southwest.

Before reaching Pécs-kő, we meet the P▲ mark, which leads left down with a short (about 500 m) detour to the Hurka-Pécskő created from basalt filling a parasitic crater on the volcanic main peak's side, and to the remains of its quarry. On the path at the top of the mine collapse is a sign “Caution, cliff!” warning to be careful. We enter the quarry on the right, descending steeply. Below we pass between two basalt walls and can observe the quarrying from below. The rocky gorge was formed around 1923 by blasting the originally protruding basalt mass. The basalt columns visible in the sidewalls were formed by cooling and shrinking of 1000-1200 degree basalt breaking through the sediment covering the area. The 5-6-7 sided prisms usually form perpendicular to the cooling surface, here they are horizontal. The quarried basalt broke through limonitic sandstone layers to the surface. An entrance was carved into the sediment, now the path crosses there. Yellow-rust colored layers form fine patterns on the wall; below them about 100-120 m lower, coal mining found the parasitic volcano basalt breaking through the sediment.

Returning to the fork, the S and then the S▲ marks lead us to the 544 m high Pécs-kő. In Antal Füst's historical tale, Árpád leader translated the Slavic origin word pecska, meaning furnace, as pécskő. Its volcano erupted 5 million years ago in two cycles; the main cone's mass was built from the first debris scatter. Its material consists of gray volcanic bombs of various sizes, lava fragments, scaly basalt tuff, and agglomerates. In the second stage, lava basalt broke through along the cracks. Erosion revealed also the channel feeding the crater. On the main peak were two basalt veins, where Bronze Age settlement was discovered during mining. In the 1930s there were 6 mine yards here, served by a narrow gauge railway.

A rope stretched beside the path helps ascent to the bare peak, but it can be climbed without it. However, care is needed due to several unexpected collapses near the mine yards. Regardless, it is worth climbing because from the top a 360-degree panorama can be admired: Mátra with Kékes and Galya hills, to the west Börzsöny, and even Pilis can be seen on the left. Above the valley-entwining town dominates Karancs, and on clear days on its right the High Tatras are visible. In the Bronze Age, a small fortress was built on the peak (now no trace remains), and vertical niches were carved into the northern face.

In the beautiful forests of the Somlya ridge

Descending from the peak, we continue following the S mark, which soon leads past a resting place with two peaks, a table and benches. After further descent, we cross Kohászok útja K mark at the edge of holiday resorts. We advance on a gravel road until the P+ mark forks right – we then follow this through Kis-Somlya to the 584 m high Somlya, passing through notably beautiful forests. In the oak woods, we sometimes see huge lonely trees and pass by possibly even larger fallen, rotted giant trunks. We can imagine how big trees grew here and all over Europe before systematic forestry began. The ridge winds among basalt blocks scattered in several places, offering a nice shady resting place in summer.

At the flat, viewless summit of Somlya, a short path leads right past a huge fallen tree to a Soviet military monument marked as a grave on the map, with a red star partly worn off, erected in 1975 by the KISZ chapter of Nógrád County Waterworks.

After descending from Somlya on a forestry road, we meet the P mark again. Turning left on it and heading north, we return on it to the earlier fork, where Kohászok útja K mark ran. Here at a lonely oak tree, we turn right and start walking towards Inászó on a slope covered with beech woods.

The decaying roots of mining: Inászó

After almost 2 kilometers and crossing a streambed, we reach an asphalt road where a barrier closes the road to motor traffic. At the corner of the game fence, we walk 150 meters left on an unmarked path to find Inászó’s wildflower-covered, decaying cemetery.

Returning to the asphalt road, we continue about 500 meters east on the K mark to Inászó’s former center, where only a roadside sign presents the structure of the former settlement. Inászó was a market town in the 13th-15th centuries, was completely destroyed during the Hussite Wars and mentioned as deserted from 1478. The next certain date among records is 1848, when the Ó-Mária seam, 2.2 meters thick and high quality coal seam, was explored here first, marking the beginning of coal mining in the Salgótarján area. Subsequently an important mining settlement was established here, with about 2300 inhabitants in the early 20th century.

There were 24 coal mines operating in the area, producing 53 million tons of coal until 1968. For the 150th anniversary of the opening of the first mine, the Retired Miners’ Union created a memorial shaft in Inászó on the 1998 Miners’ Day. The memorial site can be found at the edge of a meadow, accessible by turning back slightly from the information board along a dirt road, then turning right. Every year on the first Sunday of September, Miners’ Day is held here, laying wreaths.

From here it is only 1 kilometer walk on the K mark to reach the end point of our hike, the Kazár, Inászó mines junction bus stop.