Exploration route of Csobánc

Itinerary

• We walk out of Gyulakeszi along the ᵯ trail, which runs together with the Z marking beside the church.
• At the tin cross, we turn right onto the ᵯ trail, which runs along the side of the hill.
• At the Castle Well, we turn left onto the K trail; this leads up to the hilltop, then down along the far side of the plateau.
• From the Bad Church, following the Z sign to the left, we return to Gyulakeszi.

About the route in detail

Gyulakeszi

There may already have been a fortification protecting the route here in Roman times. Originally settled in the Árpád era, the village belonged to the territory of the Lád clan, who occupied Zala county, and after the state foundation, it became the property of royal stewards. The first written mention dates from 1182–84, when our King Béla III granted a grove with three plowpieces of land between Tapolca and Kesző to a cleric named Chump (court priest), later known as Csomberke. In the 13th century, it was owned by the Atyusz and Hahót clans, the Veszprém chapter, and the Rátóti Gyulaffy family. At the beginning of the 14th century, it had already split into Upper and Lower Keszi, and from 1522 the name Gyulakeszi appeared. It was destroyed by Turkish attacks in the mid-16th century but was resettled. From 1678, it belonged to the Esterházy family, whose Baroque manor can be found on Petőfi Street.

Several large buildings stood in the village: in the 13th century, Sal comes of the Atyusz clan built a fortified wine cellar; the Rátóti Gyulaffy family, owners of Csobánc Castle, erected a fortified manor in 1551, which was destroyed by Pál Bakics and János Paksy, the Veszprém captains, but was always rebuilt by the early 18th century. On the remains of this, the Esterházy family later built a manor that served as a manor center and the residence of administrators.

In 1748, the Church of the Assumption was restored; its walls, pierced by six buttresses and narrow windows, suggest Gothic origin. Opposite stands a Holy Trinity statue erected in 1910, beside it a stone cross carved in 1853. Behind them is a bronze bust by Tibor Merencsics depicting László Gyulaffy, captain of Csobánc Castle.

Around the hill's skirt

From the bus stop, we start on the ᵯ trail, which for a while follows the same route as the Z trail. We turn left before the church, then walk straight for a long time through vineyards towards Csobánc. Already from here there is a nice view of the witness hills of the Tapolca Basin. From the parking lot, we follow a loess road lined with acacias to the tin cross; here we turn right onto the ᵯ trail. We follow a pleasant-level path past a stone cross erected in 1810, then to the classicist-style Saint Donát Chapel with a rectangular plan and semicircular sanctuary closure, built around 1830 on the site of an earlier building from 1785. From the almond tree above, there is a wonderful view of Gulács and Badacsony rising above Lake Balaton.

Behind the chapel, we can replenish our supplies from a good water well about 26 meters deep. As we continue, the panorama opens increasingly towards the Tapolca Basin to the south. From the southeastern side of the hill, the view extends to the mined Hajagos, and the Káli Basin is also outlined.

Up to the hilltop

We soon reach the K trail – but before heading left on it, let's check out the Castle Well at the bend, featuring a relief by Angelo Kalligaro from 1924. The stonemason apprentice, born in 1862 in South Tyrol, first moved to Nagykanizsa, where he spent thirteen years. In 1907, he founded a cement and artificial stone factory in Tapolca, operating at the old city's western cemetery edge. In the first half of the last century, he became a public figure in the city and was a long-time member of the craftsmen's guild. We can encounter many of his products nearby, especially wells. Typical motifs include jugs, vases with flower bouquets, and geese; on the fourth side is the inscription "Kalligaro A. Czementárugyára Tapolcza" and the year of manufacture.

The terrain gets exciting from here, as we leave the gentle Pannonian layers behind and begin a steeper climb up the side covered by the basanite towards the 376-meter-high summit. The volcano erupted about 3.42 million years ago in violent phreatomagmatic explosions – from these formed the lower volcanic ring made of lapilli tuff. After the debris scattering, huge lava flows began, building a 100-120 meter thick basanite cap on the hill. The magma erupted at several places in what is called cluster pipe volcanism; this caused thick sack-shaped and thin column formations. Later, basalt intrusions penetrated into a larger cooling lava lake, shaping formations like the Szénaeregető rock, and towards the end of volcanic activity, lava fountains broke out high into the air.

From the well, we climb through a linden rock forest, then after a short blackthorn stretch, we reach the hill's sunny silicate rock grasslands. These mosaics with forest edges and basanite rocks are home to rare specialist species such as the sub-Mediterranean widespread Foga-leaved broom and tall pea (the latter a possible ancestor of garden pea). The clustered stonebreaker contrasts with these as an alpine relict species on the steep northern slopes.

The outer castle

We reach the Csobánc plateau from its eastern side, where a beautiful view unfolds before us. To the south are Badacsony, Gulács, the Vár and Sipos hills at Fonyód on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, then Tóti Hill and Mohos Hill at its base, behind which rise the Örsi and Csönge hills above the lake's surface. The order of vineyards and fields is interrupted only by a few forest patches and Káptalantóti, at whose southeastern corner lies the gentle pyroclastic mound of Sabar with its 13th-century church ruins. Scanning eastward, the small sand mines of Kisörs shine near the foot of Rendesi Hill, then the ranges of Fülöp Hill, Küszöb Nose, Szűcs, Bálint, and Pál Hills appear before the Balaton comes into view. In the distance lies the Tihany Peninsula, before its southern tip the water tower of Zánka and Balatonakali are visible, north of which is the Hegyestű and Tar Hill bordering the Káli Basin to the east. Between Kopasz and Köves Hills spreads Köveskál, and behind it rises the church of Szentbékkálla between the Black Hill and the Hajagos saddle. Above the Hajagos mine towers the block of Sátorma Hill, beyond which lie the southern Bakony mountains, dominated by Kab Hill, with the Bondoró plain before it.

Following our sign, we continue through the hilly outer castle courtyard, whose surface was artificially shaped to prevent siege engines from being moved on the plateau. Circling the escaped lilac from the former castle garden, in which according to Elek Fényes’s 1841 country description there could even be sage lily bushes (no longer found), we reach the castle wall remains. These create an interesting habitat similar to the hill's silicate rock grasslands, but here – probably thanks to the lime content of mortar – alongside the golden yellow rock lichen that colors the basalt rocks in spring, calcicolous rock moss and meadow fescue also find habitat. The former is a glacial relict species, the latter a thermophilic native plant.

Csobánc castle

The name’s origin remains unclear; one idea is it derives from the personal name Ssubanus, borne by Béla III's archbishop and Slavonian ban, probably an ancestor of the Rátót clan. The name Csobánc hill appeared first in a 1221 charter where Sal comes of the Atyusz clan donated the vineyard of Chobanch hill but did not mention any building there. The first mention of the castle’s predecessor is from a 1255 property dispute, where nobles of Diszel built a stone house and planted vineyards on the Keszi hill. Since the property remained with the Diszel nobles, the name likely refers to the Gyulaffy branch of the southern Italian-origin Rátót clan, whose ancestors arrived in Hungary with King Kálmán’s first wife, Felícia, a Sicilian Norman princess. The family’s properties were already concentrated here in the 13th century. The castle’s first known owner was Gyulaffy Demeter, during whose time Csaba was the castellan. The castle was definitely standing by 1272; the old tower may date from this period. The first major development only occurred in 1490 when Maximilian I invaded Hungary, and under orders from Pál Kinizsi, Ágoston Leányfalusi, the Somló castellan, began fortifying Csobánc.

When the Turks occupied Buda in 1541, Csobánc became a border castle under the Győr commander-in-chief. Its strategic importance became key in 1561 when the Turks also took neighboring Hegyesd Castle. In spring 1562, combined forces from Transdanubia and the counties launched a reconquest from Csobánc; before the siege, László Gyulaffy, called the "Hungarian Achilles," defeated the Turkish leader Bajazid in a duel. His spear pierced the armor and flagged lance of the enemy, only removable with an axe. Afterward, he fought duels under a false name and disguise, as no Turk dared face him. The Turks besieged Csobánc several times but never captured it, similarly to the Habsburg forces about 150 years later.

In 1669, Pál Esterházy purchased the fortress. In the 1690s, Ádám Béri Balogh, later a brigadier under Rákóczi, served here. After the Turks were expelled, the Viennese Court War Council listed it among castles to demolish, but the Rákóczi War of Independence prevented this. Nevertheless, imperial troops supervised the fortress until 1705, when Kuruc troops led by Colonels Ferenc Domonkos and László Kisfaludy reclaimed it. The castle’s most glorious day was February 25, 1707, when about 1,000 imperial soldiers led by general Jean-Louis Rabutin unsuccessfully besieged it. Vice-lieutenant Márton Szász led 30 infantry fusiliers and about the same number of armed noble refugees and their families to repel the assault. Their armament consisted of just two two-pounder cannons, a five-barreled volley gun, and a few muskets. Nearly 400 imperial soldiers, including 52 officers and their commander Kreutz, fell during the siege. Rabutin in revenge burned down Csobáncszög. The castle’s destruction was completed in 1709 by imperial engineers stationed in Sümeg, who blew it up under Captain Johann Dierling’s orders.

In 1953, archaeological excavations and conservation work were carried out at the castle. Four years later, a relief plaque commemorating the castle’s defending women, girls, and Kuruc soldiers was placed on the eastern wall. In 2003, the enthusiastic locals formed the Csobánc Castle Foundation and the Gyulaffy László Tradition Preservation Cavalry Band, who have since continuously cared for and protected the ruins and its surroundings.

From the castle walls, the panorama continues east across the plateau: before Agártető stands the characteristic small cone of Hegyesd. On clear days, Somló appears behind Babuka Hill, northeast of Haláp, the small height of Cseket Hill marks the edge of the Sümeg-Tapolca ridge. Moving westward is Rendeki Hill, then Sümeg Vár Hill with its eagle heraldry. After cold fronts, the snowy peak of Austria’s Schneeberg appears in the distance. In front begins the long chain of the Kőszeg Mountains, with the Rax plateau and the Wechsel rising behind. Our gaze reaches the northern basalt region of the Keszthely Mountains, where the summit crowned with Tatika Castle ruins behind Láz Hill breaks the plateau's line, followed by the southern dolomite section of the mountains extending into Lake Balaton. Closer rise the Szent György Hill, then after the pyroclastic hills of Szigliget, Badacsony follows.

Down to the Bad Church

It is worth pausing at the first bend of the serpentine road, on top of the Szénaeregető rock formation, from where we can once again look around north and west. From here, a slightly steep, rubble path descends, at the second hairpin turn over railway sleepers. Pay attention to every step! Before entering the trees, we reach another viewpoint by a collapsed bench, then soon discover the ruins of a church.

The former church of Csobáncszög was built in the 13th century, but it was shorter than today and was later extended westward by adding a nave. This construction period included the semicircular sanctuary with an earlier chapel with eight shores on three sides — the owner built a press house in the 1950s and dug a cistern into the nave. The church's current shape is Early Modern; only the base of the nave's walls and a few stone lines above are from the medieval period. Large amounts of Early Modern and Modern ceramics were found around the church. The Atyusz clan crypt once stood nearby.

Csobáncszög

The church belonged to the village of Csobáncszög. Little is known about its early history; initially, the Keszi stewards probably owned the area. In 1407, Sigismund of Luxembourg confiscated the village of Chobanchzygy and donated it as a noble property to János Gersei Pethő. In 1464, according to a complaint by Katalin Gersei Pethő and her sons, Miklós and László Kanizsai plundered the estate called Chobanzegh, driving away serfs’ animals and robbing movable property. Later owned by the Gyulaffys, the village grew into a small market town “in the shadow” of Csobánc Castle, evidenced by its seal showing a straight-armed figure holding a sword cutting toward a Crescent Moon, with a shining Sun at the base and the legend “Csobancz varossa.” Béla Mátyás referred to it as “oppidium splenium” or shining town—probably already deserted in the early 18th century after a failed Austrian siege, when inhabitants moved to Diszel.

Return to Gyulakeszi

From the church ruins, we follow the Z trail. In the deep ditch right slope before the cellar called Csóka-vár, two ancient fleshy cornel matriarchs survive. Near the cellar, we can view another crafted Kalligaro well, beside which likely lie crooked blocks from the Kőmagas stone sea. Soon we reach the tin cross intersection; turning right, we return to Gyulakeszi on the road where the tour began.