From spring to spring

Itinerary

• We start northeast from the Cák bus stop following the S↺ sign.
• After crossing the Doroszló Creek, we turn left at the old hornbeam tree following the P sign.
• We continue right on Terv Road and take a short detour to the Enikő spring on the P● sign.
• We return on the P● sign.
• At the parking lot next to Saint Vid, we turn left onto the K+ sign and follow it to the Velem bus turnaround.
• After the chapel, before the deep road, we turn left and take a short detour to Saint spring on the K● sign.
• From the Velem bus turnaround, the Alpannonia S sign leads us.
• After the Gate of Heroes, we turn left on the S↺ sign, which guides us back to Cák.

Detailed description of the hike

Following unique rocks and springs born because of the Iron Curtain

We start northeast on the S↺ sign from the Cák bus stop, opposite which stands the monument to the heroes and victims of World War I and II. We turn left after the last house on the street. A small path behind the playground leads to the abandoned village quarry, where we find the geological cross-section of the Cák Conglomerate Unit, cut by quartz and calcite veins belonging to the Velem Limestone Formation.

When the rock formed, the area was covered by a shallow marine bay of the Tethys Ocean, where a rich fauna developed under a warmer climate than today. According to the marine sponge skeletal elements found in the rock, its original material could have formed around the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous period. The dark gray color of the limestone and dolomite pebbles forming the layer series indicates the nutrient-rich and oxygen-deprived seawater in the bay, which inhibited the decomposition of organic matter. With the later uplift of the area, the eroding rock material may have been deposited near a river delta, and as the African tectonic plate collided with the Eurasian plate, the Tethys basin completely closed. The accumulated sediments were thrust one over the other, forming so-called nappe folds. Among them is the Lower Southeast Alpine Nappe, which was separated hundreds of kilometers by later tectonic movements and slid over the rocks of the Kőszeg Mountains, which were altered under great pressure and heat. One product of these recrystallized calcareous sediments is the Cák conglomerate, used as building and base stone because of its good workability and frost resistance. In the mine wall, there is a small cave niche (Old mine cave).

Returning to the sign, we go uphill along the creek through mixed forest, then crossing the Doroszló creek flowing into the Kőszegszerdahelyi creek, at the old hornbeam tree we turn left on the P sign. Passing in front of cellars we soon return to the forest, then after a short climb we reach Terv Road connecting Kőszeg with Velem, where we turn right. We take a short detour on the P● sign to the Enikő spring, which feeds the Doroszló creek; its unique retaining wall was built in the 1970s using a tied technique, equipped with a downward-curved spout based on North Central Mountain springs. On maps of the time, it was marked as the Peace-Friendship spring. Since during the Iron Curtain period Hungarian tourists could not access their previously favorite destinations in the higher parts of the mountain range, they continued hiking in the lower areas, resulting in several springs being enclosed in the 1960-70s, including the Enikő spring.

From spring to spring

Turning right, we return to the paved road, from which after about 700 m we turn down on a dirt road leading steeply through a beech forest mixed with sweet chestnut. The beeches give way a little further to sessile oaks, where the road loses its steepness. We cross a dirt road and soon reach the junction of the P● and P+ signs. Turning left, then before a small hill appearing on our right, in front of which stands a tall forest pine, we continue left leaving the winding road and reach the Borha spring about 100 m away on a short overgrown path. Between 1977 and 1990 this place was also a checkpoint of the National Blue Trail. The name refers to the area, but there are explanations that the name derives from the exclamation "If only wine would flow from it, that would be great!".

From the spring we continue north. After a short climb, we walk on a wide level path under a pine forest to the untreated Jávorkút spring. The spring coming up in the left curve of the road likely takes its name from the formerly growing mountain maple(s) (maple tree) here. Today its water trickles in the shade of beeches.

Continuing on the wide dirt road, at the next junction we turn left and go out on the Terv road via a sloping path. From here we have to walk about 800 m on asphalt, admiring a nice shale exposure on the next right curve. (Though named Szépkilátó rock, there is no panorama from it today because of mature forest.) Above it opens a 5.2 m long through cave, the Hét szemű cave, formed by weathering and dissolution along a crack parallel to the rock edge.

At the next curve of the exploration road, we reach the Gyertyán spring in the Hét szemű valley by another path. There is a rain shelter and fireplace by the spring welcoming walkers. Despite its name, mostly beeches grow around the spring. Formerly Velem lads fetched sprinkle water from here at Easter because it is one of the cleanest spring waters in the area. The origin of the valley's name is unknown but it appears already in Frigyes Pesthy's 1864 published gazetteer, where it is traditionally said seven springs flow there.

Saint Vid

Returning to the paved road, we soon reach the parking lot near Saint Vid. Turning left onto the K+ sign, the Calvary and the National Blue Trail memorial are only a few hundred meters away. At this latter place was the western endpoint of the National Blue Trail during the Iron Curtain era. In front of the chapel, from the nature trail signpost, we can take a short detour on a small path to a fenced, currently about 15 m deep clogged shaft, which was cross-cut at about 30 m depth by a horizontal exploratory tunnel driven in 1952. Opinions vary about its origin: some consider it a mine shaft, others a cistern.

The history of the summit and surrounding area goes back to the Neolithic but more detailed knowledge comes only from the Bronze Age. Residential terraces were built below the summit at that time. The hill may have been an important leadership center, supported by a gold diadem found here and bronze casting workshops dated to 13th-9th century BC. A local specialty was the use of antimony in large quantities with bronze (unique worldwide at that time!). The resulting high-quality products reached Northern and Western Europe. Later the Celts occupied the area. At the foothill stood an amber road and a lookout tower overseeing the water supply system to Savaria. In the Carolingian era, it was mentioned as a fortified site. In the Árpád era it may have been not only a secular but also an ecclesiastic center, whose castle was first mentioned in a 1270 document when it transferred from Henrik Kőszegi to King Ottokar II of Bohemia. The fortress likely was destroyed at the end of the 13th century but no exact data remain. The Saint Vid chapel may have been built on a former corner bastion in the 18th century. A 1757 census reveals that a church dedicated to the Holy Cross adjoined the chapel, allowing pilgrimages not only on Saint Vitus day, June 15, but also on the September 14 feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The chapel was significantly rebuilt at the end of the 19th century to its present form.

To Velem
After enjoying the white walls of Saint Vid chapel and the view from the Bakony through the Keszthely Mountains to the Zala Hills, we descend a natural stone staircase. A Virgin Mary statue stands in the second cave of the slate exposure rising on the right. Below the stairs, we turn left and follow the signs of the Hill of Cultures nature trail to Velem. Soon we reach a deep road, turning left before it we can detour to the Saint spring on the K● sign. The spot has been revered since a 16th century Virgin Mary apparition, and its water was said to cure eye diseases. Around it, archaeologists uncovered about 2000-year-old water conduit remains. A bit further away we reach two mine tunnels driven in the 1950s in graphitic phyllite.

On the deep road, we soon reach a forestry road running on the border of Velem, after walking 100 m we turn right back into the forest and continue on the Nuschy (József) Promenade named after the settlement's head notary of the 1930s-40s. After a rickety bridge we take a detour left to a romantic bench on a small hill in the creek valley. According to oral tradition, many loves were woven here. Shortly after, we reach the resting place around the Vasa spring. The formerly higher yielding spring is named after the rust sediment precipitated from its water; it is also called Vasas or Iron spring. Its water is not drinkable!

We cross a small wooden bridge and reach the bus turnaround on Petőfi Street, from where the Alpannonia S signs show the right direction. Nearby stands the Stirling villa, now functioning as a folk art creative colony. In 1944–45, fleeing westward, the Szálasi government set up their prime minister’s office here due to the Soviet threat to Budapest, as the village was safe from air raids. Between December 27, 1944, and March 19, 1945, the building’s underground bunker guarded the Holy Crown along with the coronation jewels. On the other side of the street is the historical park.

Back to Cák

We continue along Rákóczi and then Main street, reaching the Gate of Heroes commemorating the Velem residents who died in World War I and II, where we turn left onto the S↺ sign. We soon leave the neatly stacked stone fence and come among Velem houses. Fields accompany us from the right as we soon reach a small Mary statue set up in 1875, after which the sign continues left under the vineyards. After the iron-wrought cross, we return to the gravel road, where after about half a kilometer we reach the houses of Cák.

At the village border, among others, Roman graves and two Frankish iron lances dating from the late 8th century were found by archaeologists. The first written mention is known from 1279 as Villa Chak, a village belonging to Saint Vid castle, later to the Rohonc estate. In 1532 it fell victim to Turkish destruction; then the Batthyánys were the owners. In 1573 and 1606, the Christian army burned the settlement. In the second half of the 19th century, the phylloxera epidemic dealt a severe blow to the village with large vineyards, whose residents then turned to fruit growing. The most important among these was the sweet chestnut.

At the first corner in Cák, we turn left at an old timber-walled cellar, then right to reach the beautifully ornamented two-spouted Hordómosó spring, then the famous Cák cellar row. The number of thatched, timber-walled single-cell cellars with earthen floors, scissors roofs, and clipped backs reached 20 in the 1960s; now only 8 remain. Some cellars have been equipped with viticultural and winemaking tools including side-spindle, stone-drawn, and central-spindle grape presses.

Following the S↺ sign after the cellars, we will soon return to the Cák bus stop.