From Csókakő Castle to the Arany-hegyi vineyards

Itinerary:

• We start from the Csókakő castle parking lot on the KL trail via Zrinyi Miklós street towards the castle, then after visiting the castle, we go up to the Vértes plateau in the valley behind it on the ZL trail.
• The Z trail briefly leads from the end of Buhin valley to the Felső-Cser-vágás junction.
• At the Felső-Cser-vágás, we switch to the K▲ trail, which crosses the Alsó-cser vágás and descends from the plateau into the foothill vineyards.
• Among the vineyards, at the first level road, we turn right on the K+ trail, returning towards Csókakő to the parking lot.

Description:

Our route starts at the upper end of the village of Csókakő, at the parking lot below the castle, where the last houses of the village, the vineyards surrounding the settlement and the forests of Vértes meet. At the parking lot, there is an information board, toilet, and water access, and we can comfortably enjoy our breakfast at the benches and tables next to it. Our path follows the KL trail, which leads to the former castle, starting at the upper street of the village, Zrinyi Miklós street, then making a sharp turn onto the cart path carved into the rock, ending at the castle entrance. We enter Csókakő castle, overlooking the area, through the gate tower and murder corridor renovated in the 2010s.

The castle was probably built after the Tatar invasion, at a time when the Csák clan ruled the Vértes and its foothill areas. The first written mention dates back to 1299. Initially, only a rectangular, 15x28 meter fortress was built on the rocky ridge rising above the surrounding landscape, primarily for observation of the area. Beneath it ran the military road mentioned in the founding charter of the Tihany Abbey. The wide valley of the Móri-árko is the most natural connection between the upper Danube region and the inner parts of the Carpathian Basin. The castle rising above the valley was thus very suitable to monitor the road between Győr, Komárom, and Fehérvár.

King Charles Robert exchanged the area as part of fragmenting the estates of the Csák family for the Nyék and Dombó lordships, from then on Csókakő was the fortress of the current Fejér County ispán. Thanks to this, the reconstruction took place as well, with the Rozgonyi family building the lower castle with a gate tower and chapel, tripling the castle’s area. In the mid-16th century, the northern expansion of the Ottoman Empire forever sealed the castle's fate. Fehérvár fell before the army of Sultan Suleiman in 1543, and in the following year, the defenders surrendered the Csókakő fortress without resistance.

Under Turkish rule, it functioned as an outpost, but after the imperial troops’ victory in 1687 and the expulsion of the Turks, it no longer played a role in history. Due to slow decay, its condition became critical by the 20th century, which even the post-WWII monument protection status did not significantly change. Following the regime change, the Csókakő Castle Friends' Society was established, with the heartfelt mission of restoring and thoroughly exploring the structure, so by the early 2000s, the ruinous fortress slowly renewed.

The Wilderness of Vértes

We quickly leave behind the impressive view of Csókakő by crossing over its rocky gorge ridge and descend into the valley gorge on the other side along the steep mountainside following the ZL trail. At the back of the rocky outcrop supporting the castle, on the overhanging limestone wall, rock climbing routes line up where climbers hone their skills in warmer months. Although the terrain is surprisingly exposed, our steps are eased by a stairway reinforced with wooden slats, so after a short descent, we reach a cool, shady gorge covered by centuries-old beech leaves. We join the National Blue Trail and the Maria Road briefly. Before the valley bend, we can rest at benches and tables offered to hikers before climbing back up to the Vértes plateau. Above the forest rest area, our path turns right on the ZL trail and, through the wild, rocky forest of the upper valley, gradually ascending, reaches the limestone plateau.

The previously rocky valley edge and the area bordered by dense old tree canopies suddenly opens as we arrive at the plateau’s clearing area with scattered clearings. From here, we turn comfortably southward sectionally along forestry roads within the maze of guiding tourist marks. We switch from the ZL trail to the Z trail, which leads to the Felsőcser vágás junction. From here, we follow the K▲ trail past the Maurer hut rebuilt in 2024. The simple hut is named after a former forester and can accommodate 2-3 people overnight on its earthen floor; the outdoor bench and table fixed to the wall also make it ideal as a day rest area. Soon we reach the Alsócser-vágás.

Be attentive: on the monotonous oak forest forestry road, the K▲ trail leaves via a small path towards the plateau edge! The increasingly dense oak forest turns into a karst scrub forest typical of rocky breaks on the plateau, where the K▲ trail winds among the shrubs searching for the way out of the labyrinth. The path ends in an edge valley, where we descend from the Vértes plateau again on a wider road but still in a narrowing rocky gorge. Soon we emerge from the forest onto the cultivated landscape of gentler slopes covered with vineyards.

In the Heart of the Mór Wine Region

Among the vineyards and wine cellars, we reach the K+ trail running sideways on the hillside level, where we turn right, northwest towards Csókakő. From this road, mainly used for vineyard cultivation, we can scan the central part of the Mór wine region with our eyes: endless rows of vine stocks wave in the distance from the rocky hillside of Vértes to the flat valley bottom of the Móri-árko. Like in all our wine regions, here too, the phylloxera epidemic caused massive destruction, which was the livelihood base of the local population. Consequently, the village’s growth, after the Turkish destruction and reestablishment, stalled by the late 19th century.

Less well known is that at the end of World War II, in the winter of 1944-45, the frontline stretched here for months. From the Margit Line utilizing the natural defense line of Lake Balaton and Lake Velence, the Olga position branched off towards the mountains of the Transdanubian Central Mountains, designed to slow the advance of the Red Army. However, the fortress only extended the final hours, manifesting as a death trap for the locals. The village church was destroyed as well, set on fire with phosphorus bombs to eliminate Russian snipers.

The last section of our route undulates for over a kilometer among vineyards changing color with the seasons: golden yellow in autumn, red shoots in winter, green in spring, and full of fruit in summer. Climbing down from the last hill ridge, the white rocky prominence of Csókakő reappears, towering over the village lined with vineyards below. We return directly alongside the dense rows of wine cellars and cottages to our starting point at the upper end of Csókakő. Once we've taken in the sights, it's worthwhile to taste the mountain’s nectar at some wine-offering cellar and chat with the winemaker to gain closer insight into the life and everyday affairs of Csókakő residents.