Creek-side circular hike to Csurgó spring

Itinerary

• From Boróka Betérő, we start southwest on the Z trail.
• We take a short detour to the Csurgó-kút on the Z+ trail.
• We continue following the Z trail to the Ödön spring.
• From the Ödön spring, we follow the S trail (straight ahead, intertwined with the Z trail for a long stretch).
• On the northwest side of Mánc Hill, we make a detour on the S▲ trail to the ruins of the Táncsics lookout, then continue the valley walk on the S trail.
• At a junction at one of the Bittva crossings, we turn left onto the Gyöngyök útja trail, which joins the S trail further ahead.
• We walk into Farkasgyepű on the S trail.

About the hike in detail

Farkasgyepű

The name Farkasgyepű first appeared in a deed of the Veszprém chapter dated 1401 and referred to a part of the forests near the border of Városlőd. The word originated as a combination of 'wolves' and 'gyepű' (an artificial barrier created against them). Since the wolf danger disappeared by the early 1700s, the longer yet safer so-called 'royal road' between Veszprém and Pápa, touching some larger springs at Tapolcafő, Döbrönte, Máncz Hill, Borsodpuszta, and Kislőd, became shorter. Along this still long road, the Veszprém bishopric built a tavern in 1753. This gave rise to several synonyms for the settlement, such as Wirtshäuzl and the suggestive Koplaló. In the same year, a glassworks was established in the nearby Németbánya, followed by a new glassblowing factory set up by Mihály Kostajger, the 'glass miner' from Pille, in 1756, which operated until 1785. During this period, workers settled in Németbánya and Farkasgyepű (Koplaló). After the closure of the glassworks, the bishopric only resettled the wasteland belonging to Városlőd at the beginning of the 19th century with German residents, who referred to the settlement by the name 'Wirtshäuzl', which lasted until the 20th century.

As Farkasgyepű is one of the villages with the cleanest air in Bakony, a lung sanatorium has operated there since 1920, and between 1928 and 1945, a children’s sanatorium, then called Forest School, also operated. For this noble cause, Nándor Rott, the Catholic bishop of Veszprém and owner of the area, donated a 19 cadastral-acre plot of land on the nearby Hallgató Hill north of the settlement to the Child Protection League. During summer months, the institute hosted two-week sessions for 500 children with tuberculosis, while in the autumn-winter months, 50 children received healing opportunities combined with education.

Through the forests to Csurgó-kút

From the Boróka Betérő next to main road 83, we start southwest on the Z trail along the fence of the hospitality unit. In the area, we find nice forests covered by extensive loess – if not plowed. After the settlement, we first walk through pedunculate and sessile oak forests, then descend steeply into a hornbeam-sessile oak forest above an old streambed, continuing through a beech patch. Soon the trail bends sharply left onto a wider road, where at the forest edge we turn left and pass arable fields behind a tree row. At the ends, we turn right onto a wide gravel forestry road, continue straight for half a kilometer, then after more right-angled bends turn right at a hay rack, and through the Farkas Hill forest descend into the wild Köves-patak valley on the Csurgó-kút side. On the opposite shore stands the Csurgó Rock, one of Bakony’s largest freshwater limestone blocks. Behind it, water cascades about 5 meters down, flowing from the Csurgó spring 30 meters above on the Z+ trail, during which lime precipitates continuously enlarge the freshwater limestone rocks. As the spring marks the common border point of Magyarpolány, Farkasgyepű, and Kislőd, it has long been widely known. Flóris Rómer also reported it in his 1859 published work 'The Bakony,' stating that not long before his trip, 'the limestone mass collapsed,' meaning the Csurgó Rock broke off around that time.

Next to the spring, in a scenic clearing bisected by the creek, there is a rain shelter; next to it are benches and tables and fire pits equipped with pot stands.

To the Ödön spring

Returning to the creek’s far bank, we continue northwest on the Z trail through alder forests accompanying the creek on the valley floor, and after a few cross valleys and creek crossings, we arrive at the artificially created Názer meadow lake, where we can rest on benches by the shore. Turning left, near a hunting lodge, we reach a forestry exploration trail. A few hundred meters further, the trail enters a clear-cut beech forest where goldenrod and blackberry have grown, making progress in the first meters difficult (but it can be bypassed by the exploration trail). At the junction of the Z+ and Z trails, we stay on our trail heading northwest to a gate of a game fence, where we turn left, then right at the corner of the fence. Soon we arrive at the Ödön spring at the foot of Polányi-Mánc Hill, which was once the border of the Zirc abbey estate. It was named after Vajda Ödön, a Cistercian abbot. The extremely active monk restored the abbey church, built a second floor on the eastern wing of the monastery, founded schools, and supported the research of Remig Békefi, among others. Once a hunting lodge stood here, visited also by István Fekete; in 2020, a replica was built—a log house on the hill next to the spring, with a fire pit, benches, and tables nearby. The building was erected for hikers and is currently (2023) available for daytime stay through the Bakonyalja Friends Association.

The neighboring Gannai-Mánc Hill was the site of the Mánckeresztúr settlement. In 1240, Donát, the count of Bakony, handed over a plot of land, donated by Andrew II, to the Saint Cross Chapel founded by the Benedictines of Bakonybél on Mánc Hill. A boundary marker from this period, known popularly as a border limit, still exists near the hiking trail. It was an important boundary sign because the estate border turned from east to north at this point. After the depopulation of the hermitage, the area was attached to Ganna, also owned by the Benedictines of Bakonybél. Its last renovation was in 1913, when Ganna was separated from Magyarpolány.

Through forests and meadows to Mánc Hill

From here, we follow the S trail northeast for about 600 meters. At the split of the two trails, we turn right into a forest pinewood. We pass a wooden cross erected by scouts camping here in summer. Soon we cross the Köves-patak on a small wooden bridge, on whose right bank the overgrown Katalin spring flows. On the meadow after the alder and young willows, we reach a gravel road leading to the former Somháti mill, which we follow left. After a white gate bridge, some meters from where the Köves stream and Bittva meet, we turn right. A rope-hung sign commands to stop, but the area is passable for hikers, so we can continue on the hiking trail. At the northern end of the meadow, we cross the creek again on a wooden bridge. From here, we follow the Bittva somewhat remotely between grazing sections and forest patches.

At the end of the meadows, reaching the northwest side of Mánc Hill (also called Kőpad), formed by Szőc limestone, a slightly overgrown path marked S▲ starts right from a small-leaved linden. On this, we can reach the ruins of the Táncsics lookout built on the summit in 1964, offering a beautiful panorama. Unfortunately, only the supporting pillars still rise over the hawthorn bushes on the grass, but there is still a lookout from the adjacent high stand, with sights to Kőris Hill and the High Bakony. The former lookout was named after Mihály Táncsics, a writer, publicist, and politician, born Mihajlo Stančić in 1799 in a poor peasant family near Ácsteszér. In the 1820s, he was an assistant teacher in Ganna, neighboring Döbrönte—the memory of this is preserved outside the lookout, as well as by a bust unveiled in 1964 in the settlement. Besides his work, he was the first tour guide, or 'presenter,' of the Esterházy mausoleum in the basilica of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, built between 1808 and 1818 by Miklós Esterházy at the request of landlord János Medgyesi-Somogyi. On the way down, it’s worth looking at the ground, as one can easily encounter coins turned to stone by St. Ladislaus on this section.

Coins of St. Ladislaus

The Szőc Limestone Formation is one of the richest fossil-bearing formations in Hungary. The fossils found in it prove that about 40–45 million years ago, our region was covered by a well-lit, nutrient-rich, warm tropical sea with normal salinity. Many small flat, round 'pebbles' that emerge from the rock are known as the Coins of St. Ladislaus, fossils of extinct Nummulites species belonging to the foraminifera group. Their name comes from the Latin word 'nummulus,' meaning small coin. There are several ideas about the origin of the Hungarian name. One says that St. Ladislaus and his soldiers were chasing the Cumans, who scattered gold coins behind them, hoping that the Hungarians would pick them up and they could escape. Our saint king prayed to God, and his prayer was answered. All the coins turned to stone, and thus the pursuit ended in victory. Another version says that St. Ladislaus was chased by the Pechenegs, who scattered gold coins on the ground trusting the enemy’s greed. This way, he escaped with his warriors, and the scattered coins soon turned to stone.

Towards Bakonyjákó

Returning to the S trail, the Bittva winds closer to us. After a small forest patch, we again pass beside the electric fence of a pasture section. Within the pasture, the spiny alders, growing from the bed, are visibly encircled by the Bittva. Briefly, we cross to the other side of the creek onto the Gyöngyök útja yellow trail, which also strings the 83 road and joins back to the S trail. We walk on this to enter Bakonyjákó, where we continue our path on Fenyves street.

The name of the village, along with place names Ják, Jákfa, Jákfalva, is a variant of the first name Jacob – Jakab. According to some researchers, it was named after its church’s patron saint, Saint James, first mentioned in writing in 1351 as a serf village of the Döbrönte castle estate. It was depopulated during the wars against the Turks, then the Vajda family began resettling it in 1751. In 1948, Reformed believers arrived from Felvidék to the village and established a Reformed congregation on 15 December 1949, setting up their prayer house in a former carpenter’s workshop. As a gift from the Reformed congregation of Nagydobrony, they received a 110 kg bell cast in the Netherlands in 2001 for the newly built bell tower. In the center of the village is the Roman Catholic church of the Holy Trinity, built between 1806 and 1811 at the commission of landlord János Medgyesi-Somogyi on the site of a small wooden church demolished in 1796. The village also operates a village museum set up in a basket-arched, columned, vaulted house on Rákóczi street, showcasing the beauties and features of Bakony folk architecture.

Return to Farkasgyepű

Crossing the village in a southwest direction, we reach the height of Szél Hill after a deep road, from where, beyond pastures and forests, the view opens westwards towards Somló. Our slowly but steadily ascending path leads after the pasture into a mixed hornbeam-oak forest, from which we emerge at the bend of the main road before Farkasgyepű. Continuing along the asphalt strip, we reach back to the starting point of the hike after the sanatorium.