Circular walk to the Szentbékkálla Stone Sea

Itinerary

• From the bus stop we head towards the center of the settlement following the K mark.
• We take a few steps on the Z mark, then climb the stairs of the Gyümölcsoltó Boldogasszony Church onto an unmarked section.
• Returning to the K mark, we pass the Veléte palace ruins and then return back to the settlement.
• After the calvary, the K mark turns right into the forest towards the Stone Sea. We reach the rocking Kelemen-kő on an unmarked path.
• After leaving the Stone Sea, we follow the K mark again.
• We turn left on the gravel road, which leads back to Szentbékkálla via the K and then the S▲ marks, through Jókai Street; turning right on Kossuth Street, we reach the bus stop.

About the hike in detail

Szentbékkálla

This area might have been the third most important chiefdom (after the great prince and the gyula) of the Hungarian tribal federation, with judicial rights, the summer estate of Kál horka, which after his death passed to his son Vérbulcsú. After the rebellion of Koppány from their lineage, Stephen I confiscated the territory, which became the property of the king and queen and was settled by servants of the royal court. The first half of the village's name refers to Saint Benedict, since Benedictine monks saved the descendants of Kál and Vérbulcsú, and the area was already owned by the Benedictines in 1273. King Louis the Great in 1341 gave the area to Bishop Meskó of Veszprém in exchange for Tátika Castle near Zalaszántó, initiating a series of lawsuits between residents and farmers of the two territories. Although the village was depopulated during the Turkish era, it was soon resettled.

Easy walk to the Veléte palace ruins

From the bus stop, head towards the center of the village following the K mark. Take a few steps on the right-branching Z marks, then climb the stairs of the Gyümölcsoltó Boldogasszony Church. The parish church of the Catholic communities of the Káli Basin was built between 1790-1799 in late baroque style based on plans by Jakab Fellner. It was commissioned by Károly Esterházy, archbishop of Eger. Its fresco, depicting a Saint Benedict monk converting the Káli people and a Kál warrior, was painted by Ernő Jeges in 1953. The red stone holy water holder probably dates back to the Árpád era. Its tower was built in 1860, and the bells inside, 105 and 69 cm high, were made in 1928 at László Szlezák's workshop in Budapest.

Under the black pines, two crucifixes carved from Rez stone and whitewashed can be seen; one erected in 1826, the other in 1909. A Holy Trinity statue stands a bit further.

The Veléte palace ruins

Continuing past the cemetery and an old collapsed cellar, we reach the Veléte palace ruins. Written records indicate that in the 14th century the Bishop of Veszprém built a gothic-style residential tower measuring 7×7 meters near Szentbékkálla. Notably, very few buildings from this period survive that did not serve direct ecclesiastic or military purposes. According to a document from 1559, it may have been the bishop's manor house, supported also by the 1341 land exchange when King Louis I gave the Kál Valley estates to Bishop Meskó of Veszprém in exchange for Tátika Castle. Local stories mention Queen Agnes, wife of King Andrew III, had a hunting lodge around here, but historical data do not support this.

An architectural curiosity of the ruins is the carved stone console projecting from the building's corner, once supporting a balcony. The name Veléte is only known from the area around Huszt in Transcarpathia, not from the Balaton region, although the area beneath Kopácsi Hill bears the name. In this area, a settlement named Belethfalwa/Belothafalva/Berethfolua existed at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century, possibly the name's origin. The palace was destroyed in the 16th century, likely by Turkish troops.

Onwards to the Szentbékkálla Stone Sea

From the ruins, the K mark leads further on a sloping path through a small forest dominated by invasive species such as white acacia and common tree of heaven. After the steepest but short section, the route remains almost level until the end. Soon we reach Rákóczi Street, turning right at the first houses, then again right onto Toldi Street, passing several old houses until we arrive at Jókai Street leading to the Stone Sea. On the corner, the whitewashed crucifix bears the inscription: “My beloved, if God loved us so, we also must love each other. John I. 4.”

The calvary was constructed in the 1990s based on the plans of architect Endre Szűcs. The Stations of the Cross were built near the existing cross, but since the original idea was that each station’s image should be created by a different artist, not all reliefs are completed yet. The first five stations, positioned in a row, were built into the fence wall, while the rest stand freely.

After the end of the calvary, our mark turns right, then from the road bordered by acacia rows a staircase on the left starts leading to the most spectacular and best-known Stone Sea of the Káli Basin.

The Szentbékkálla Stone Sea

It has long been known that the blocks forming the Kállai Gravel Formation consist of well-sorted sand layers deposited in the shallow delta of rivers flowing into the Pannon Lake, sometimes carrying significant amounts of quartzite gravel as well. This huge volume of material was spread out by the lake's waves and currents forming ripple marks and cemented by silica-rich solutions. However, there are different opinions among researchers about how these came to be here. Based on analogies in France, the currently most accepted theory states that the rocks are siliceous concretions formed close to the surface near springs in the karst water zone. During the formation of the Káli Basin valley network, which coincided with a climate change, silica precipitated from groundwater flowing into the valleys due to changed pressure and chemical conditions. Subsurface blocks were gradually freed from their surroundings by less or more cemented rock. Their emergence on the surface dates back about 1.5 million years ago. The “half-cut”, hard quartz pebbles visible on their surfaces indicate the strength of deflation by strong periglacial winds. (This principle also works in dry sandblasting.) In morning and late afternoon under favorable lighting, the dominant wind direction can be determined on some stones from wind-carved grooves on the sand grains. The stones’ material is otherwise easy to work and was especially suitable for making millstones and grindstones – this activity is also reflected in the name of the settlement Kővágóörs.

The characteristic shapes of the blocks include birdbaths. These smaller and larger depressions formed due to uneven cementation of the blocks. Although weak acids formed during the decay of plant and animal remains in rainwater standing on the stone surfaces and root acids of settled plants continuously attack this very resistant rock, they cause no significant damage.

Locals gave individual blocks specific names such as Billenőkő, Kigyókő, Laposkő, Nakkemence, Szószék, Tátottszájú kőoldal, Thron, etc. Let’s discover the wonders of the labyrinth of paths among the stones! After the large blocks run out on our left, we turn left on a small path to the main spectacle of the stone sea, Kelemen-kő, also known as the Ingot Stone and Alligator Rock, which is the largest and highest-lying such still existing formation. Its origin has been puzzling researchers for more than a hundred years. A tourist favorite attraction consists of two stacked blocks, the upper one rocking about 15 cm like a seesaw on the lower block.

Leaving the stones, we descend to the gravel road on the K mark, then turn left and join the road we left the village houses on. Following the K and then S▲ marks via Jókai and then Kossuth Streets, we return to the bus stop.