From the depths of the mountains to the highest ridge

Itinerary

• We follow the Tolvaj-árok along the K+ trail.
• We join the K trail, which leads us to the Muck clearing.
• At the border, we follow the poorly marked Z trail (straight ahead, on the right-hand branch).
• We make a short detour on the paved street to Ilonaakna.
• We return to the border and turn left on the Z trail, walking up to the Magas-bérc.
• From the lookout, we return along the Z trail back to the border.
• About less than 1 km after Ilonaakna, we turn left onto the P+ trail heading to Brennbergbánya.

Detailed description of the hike

The valley gate

We start our hike from the youth camp and the introductory section of Tolvaj-árok offers a narrow clearing for our path. We pass information boards and at the end of the meadow enter the forest. The Sopron Mountains are part of the highly complex alpine structure: the rock mass of a mountain chain uplifted by the African plate is built up of overlapping sheets and scales. Its central crystalline ridge (and the entire mountain range) has its easternmost outcrop rising in gentle ridges above the city of Sopron along the border. Only a few shallow valleys cut into the hard, transformed rocks, the most beautiful of which is the Tolvaj-árok lying ahead of us.

Immediately at the "green gate", we cross a wooden bridge and then a few meters further another plank bridge. We cross the winding stream several times on small bridges. We leave the occupied Béla spring, which served visitors of the neighboring lodge for decades - however, the charming wooden hut was burned down in the last decade. From here, the K+ trail follows the stream on a memorable beautiful path that meanders with narrow curves in the valley. Because the banks are so close, the canopy closes above our heads, and the path’s green carpet is lined with the green tassels of vegetation - the landscape reminds one of some valleys in Mecsek.

The Tolvaj-árok

The watercourse has cut into the side of the block of Ultra Mountain composed of crystalline slates, sawing ever deeper into the hard rock with its sediment. Descending, it has carved steep walls in which a less well-known rock is exposed: gneiss. This rock formed from granite during Alpine orogeny due to the enormous pressure and heat deep beneath the surface; as with surrounding metamorphic rocks, it appears less layered than the parallel "leaf-like" segmented slates.

At some points, the valley narrows significantly, and the forests on these slopes show visibly diverse species and age structures, with dead wood making the steep slopes a refuge. Forest management here has spared the vegetation not just because of difficult slope access but also because the thin, acidic soils formed on the slates are sensitive. These soils further degrade by erosion, which moves their particles downward - to protect the valley from this process, the forest is left intact, as tree roots provide stability on the steep banks, and fallen branches enrich the soil with vital humus.

At one point, the hiking trail turns away from the stream, where a rope tied to a railing helps climb to a higher path. (However, an unmarked track also follows the watercourse and can be used.) After a short while, emerging from beneath some pines, we return to the stream, with the sound of flowing water again accompanying our walk. The valley’s narrowing section follows, where the cutting stream exposes the building rocks. The short gorge corridor eventually turns back to a narrow valley, then at a ford we bid final farewell to the watercourse. We head toward the peaks of the mountains, crossing a dark pine forest - the abrupt transition and the straight edges of the stand suggest a planted forest. Among the hills of Sopron, conifers have a long history, with some species being native representatives of the Alpine chain. The mixture of deciduous and pine associations forms a defining and characteristic landscape and atmospheric element of the mountains.

Pines at the foot of the Alps

After the last ice age ended, pines spread in the Carpathian Basin during a slowly warming but much colder climate than today. To this day, the subalpine climate, cooler and wetter than the national average, has preserved them in the Sopron Mountains, but warming and accompanying drying are stressing these species. Weakened stands are also attacked by forest parasites (e.g., mistletoe); their spread kills entire forest parts. Under natural conditions, this process benefits the ecosystem, as old and sick tree groups die and are replaced by a new, vital generation. (This would eventually mean that species less tolerant of changing climate - including planted pines - would gradually give way to warmer climate-adapted stands.) However, forest management satisfying human demands (in this utilized area) does not wait for this long process - when a mass dieback occurred in the 1990s, diseased spruces had to be cut down en masse, mostly to be replaced by oak and beech plantations.

On the borderland

Already on the wide track of K, between wild boar rooting, we step onto a concrete road in a grove-like forest. The dense young stands likely replace pines that were lost in the 1990s. Soon a forest linden crosses the asphalt, and behind a barrier, a straight, long section drills into the forest. We stand on a historically significant place: here lay the technical borderline of the Iron Curtain. The facility, built for the defense of Hungary and the Soviet bloc and to block more developed western emigration, split the continent, guarded by soldiers, initially secured by mines. In the 1960s, the million mines were replaced by an Electric Signaling System imported from the Soviet Union, developed further inside the border line - here along today's tourist path. The low-current signaling fence triggered the nearest guard alarm on touch (1500-4000 times per year), from which a unit was dispatched to the problematic point. Despite electric fences, many false alarms occurred (more than two-thirds of all), and the system was costly to maintain. As politics shifted, dismantling began in 1989.

Within minutes, we arrive at a clearing cleared of the former Muck border guard ruins, where the Forest House Ecotourism Visitor Center opened in 2021. In the complex, we can observe the 'classic' native forest game species, and inside the main building an interactive exhibition room full of forest experiences awaits visitors. The surrounding forests are connected to the area's namesake, Muck Endre, a forester born in the Czech-German Sudetenland who became Sopron's chief forester in the second half of the 19th century. He laid the foundations for systematic forest management, planted pine forests on centuries-plundered land, built hundreds of kilometers of walking paths, and created signs and maps. The asphalt road leads to the crumbling ruins of the former István shelter. Nearby once stood an interestingly designed lookout; at the popular excursion spot, the Dunántúli Turista Egyesület (Transdanubian Hiking Association), also the builder of the mentioned shelter, erected a decorative lookout in 1906, with a room inside its stone structure. This has since fallen apart and is unrecognizable in its original form. However, in 2023, next to it the Muck tourist house opened, where overnight stays are possible by prior booking, accommodating 40 people at a time in a self-catering building. Nearby, a covered fire pit and benches and tables are available.

From Muck, we follow the Z (and P) trail further, which leads towards the border. Although the markings are sparse and rare, the wide forest road cannot be missed. At the border, we can see a grill place on the Austrian side equipped even with a cauldron. The Celtic Route hiking section recalls the ancient cultures once present in the mountains, whose burial mounds we can view near Várhely. We do not see traces of the former Iron Curtain built here a few decades ago: however, the former wide pasture cleared of vegetation is reminiscent in the grove-like mixed forest composition. The slender, white-grey-barked birch is a defining sight along the border. This relatively undemanding species advanced here as a pioneer on the sifted and earlier raked track used area, thriving on the lean soil. Its appearance was favored by the acidic soil developed on silicate-rich metamorphic rocks and the rainy climate. However, it will not stay long: it poorly tolerates shading from taller neighbors, so it will soon give way. (The forest management likely preempts this process: birch trunks stacked along the trail can be seen in several places.) Thus, the border forest is in a 'changing era': nature is reclaiming what was once its own, as less demanding species die off, enriching and rebuilding the soil for their more native companions, who in turn displace the long-distance newcomers.

At the top of the Sopron Mountains

On a monotonous, undulating tourist path, we cut through the forest. In contrast to the Tolvaj-árok, forest management is much more emphasized in the forest image here. About one hour after Muck, we reach Ilonaakna recreation area, which belongs to Ritzing (Récény), Austria - definitely worth a visit, but it is advisable first to climb the nearby Magas-bérc and cross the border on the return. Visiting the famous mining settlements around the area will be left for the end of our hike.

The highest point of the Sopron Mountains (Ödenburger Gebirge) is the 606-meter cone of Brenntenriegel in Austria, while on the Hungarian side it peaks on the 557-meter ridge of Magas-bérc located on the border. From Ilonaakna, we climb a gently rising road through a forest colored with ancient specimens. The monotonous walk is enriched by a forest management nature trail with signs mainly about hunting. Among the trees, some constructed hunting devices can be seen here - mainly interesting for children. On the summit, in the middle of a spacious clearing, stands a tall wooden lookout, next to which a resting place offers possibilities to refresh.

The area's flat ridges, modest heights, and long slopes offer only a modest hilly panorama, but the view is interesting. Mainly the forest mixed with pines makes it so, as well as the gigantic Alpine outposts, the rock monsters Schneeberg and Rax, which make it worthwhile to grab binoculars. To the north, the wooded slopes of the Leitha Mountains appear blue, in front of which wind turbines silently dance their circle.

On this side of the border...

Descending on the route taken earlier, it's worth considering where we are. In 1948, the order was given to build the Iron Curtain (named by Churchill). In two years, a double wire obstacle was erected, and the minefield came into operation, with control carried out by the "green guard" of the State Protection Authority (ÁVH). At the beginning of the ‘50s, a 15 km deep border zone was designated: staying inside required permission, and entering within 500 meters of the border required special documents and strict supervision. The border zone had a huge military presence and continuous hunts targeting suspected spies, which made everyday life grim. Stalin's death changed this: just as the system was declared ready, a few months later, in October 1955, mines and wire obstacles were removed. Just before the 1956 revolution, the last mine was removed - masses fled across the green border. As a result, the Iron Curtain was immediately rebuilt, closing again within months. In the 1960s, mine barriers were removed and replaced by the Electric Signaling System. The strict border closure lasted until 1989, when it was finally dismantled.

...and beyond the border

We reach the Ilonaakna junction again, where it is definitely worth crossing the border and taking a 5-minute walk around the resort showing alpine architectural solutions. The particularly pleasant-looking village section also features a well-developed beach below at an idyllic forest lake. Here, at the border, a junction is the center of the settlement; on one side stands a small mining memorial. Part of it is a few-meter-long mining tunnel section where a coal-loaded mine cart is visible, and on the walls are tools of the mining craft. At the entrance, a small Iron Curtain memorial is complemented by a bench and table set on the other side of the building. Opposite rises the former mine shaft tower: this is Burgenland’s oldest industrial monument, brick-clad in 1914-15 by Italian prisoners of war. Ilonaakna, involved in brown coal mining around Brennberg, began deepening in 1882 and reached depth down to 345 meters during later decades. The Trianon borders placed the site on the Austrian side, but effective treaties allowed mining to continue until 1930 - coal was transported to Brennberg by cable car at this time. The disused mine tunnel was filled in during the 1980s; the tower was purchased by a Vienna entrepreneur in 1991 and renovated at his own expense.

On perforated soils

On the P trail soon we reach the P+ junction, which (due to neglected markings) is not easy to detect: a wide forestry road branches left. We descend gently, crossing hunting towers and pine patches until a few sharp turns bring us to Brennbergbánya. At first, we partially see the kettle basin surrounding the settlement, then we walk among tattered buildings toward the center. An unmarked path branches right into the forest - here lies a bunker where Ferenc Szálasi and his government hid from the Soviet army. Since this secluded mining village was once served by a railway, at the end of 1944 and early 1945, freight trains arrived here loaded with valuables confiscated to be smuggled west. The "Jewish gold train" left for Austria in March 1945 (Szálasi fled to Kőszeg).

The treasures of the Burning Mountain

In the village center, we should look for the bus stop (from where buses depart for Sopron), and a bit forward stands the most visually impressive mining monument, a robust church shelter housing a pub at its base. Several stories are known about the discovery of the brown coal deep underground, but it is certain that in the mid-18th century the flammable rock was not well known. Allegedly, a mountain shepherd accidentally ignited the coal, and a screw smith of Palatinate origin living in the village knew how to use the material in his workshop. Then large-scale examinations began, and within a few years, Hungarian coal mining was born and started. The village name also refers to the raw material: the place of the burning, relentless fire was named Brennender Berg (Burning Mountain). As the mine grew, workers arrived from distant regions: Carinthia and the Czech-Moravian area. Due to new mines, the housing of Brennbergbánya divides into several loosely connected parts, but even the nearby name Görbehalom reflects the economic demand and the settlement structure peculiarities born of the terrain. The museum can be seen in the engine house of the country’s first steam-powered transport shaft - Brennberg was Hungary’s most technically challenging mine, where several solutions were first trialed (e.g., the mining telephone). Fatal accidents were not rare in the fire-hazardous tunnels. Mining stopped in 1952: although economic reasons were cited, the underground galleries reaching the Austrian side and the proximity of the border closure were sufficient reasons in the political context for closing. Miners were relocated elsewhere (e.g., Oroszlány, Tatabánya), and the village today paints a varied picture: shabby, dilapidated streets and wealthier residential and tourist areas alternate.

The pub church

For a century, miners lived in the village without a church, doctor, school, or cemetery. The last was made necessary by the cholera epidemic of 1872, as Ágfalva cemetery no longer accepted the many victims. Much later, in 1930, the Saint Barbara church (named after miners' patron saint) was designed by a Sopron architect (Oszkár Füredi), who was protected by a Brennberg miner during the German occupation due to his Jewish origin. According to the inscription on the bell of the fortress-like massive church, "Mining work is dangerous, think of this when you go down to the mine!" The space at the base was a carbide storage during mining, and the pub operating here today (in the location) is unique in Hungary - and a great finishing point of our hike.