From the Szálka stag to the Grábóc monastery

Itinerary

• We start northward on the K trail along Petőfi Street, passing the Stag Statue.
• In Grábóc, we walk past the Serbian Orthodox Church, then take a short detour to the Maria Lookout on the K▲ trail.
• Returning to the crossroads, we cross to the Church of the Assumption on the ᵯ trail, then turn left onto the Mőcsényi paved road.
• Leaving the trail, we follow the paved road to reach Mőcsény.
• On Rákóczi Street turn left, then turn right on Peace Street, passing under the Saint Peter and Paul Church.
• From the small square, we follow the P◼ trail.
• At the edge of the village, we follow the P trail.
• Upon reaching the Szálka Reservoir, we step over the ribbon guardrail and follow the K+ trail to circle the lake via the dam, passing the old railway embankment.
• The K trail leads back to our starting point.

Detailed description of the hike

Szálka and the stag

The area was the estate of the Gutkeled clan. Its name first appeared in a document from Pécsvárad in 1015. During the Turkish era, two settlements formed: Little and Great Szálka, totaling 27 houses. In 1669, it was inhabited by Serbs; by 1776, most residents were Orthodox Christians, but with the Germans settled then, Catholicism soon became dominant. In the Swabian village, in 1797, József Battyán built the Baroque Church of Saint Joseph (Napfény St. 1). After World War II, about 80% of the population was relocated, replaced mainly by Hungarian families from Heves County, whose livelihoods were mainly in agricultural cooperatives and forestry.

Our route starts from the bus stop beside Pál Farkas's sculpture, the Stag Statue, commemorating the historic "Szálka stag" shot in 1891. This magnificent animal was taken from the forest leased by the Szálka farmers from the forest of Prince Alfred Wilhelm von Montenuovo and brought to the field by János Reinspach. It was the first official world record trophy, rated at 243.90 international points in Vienna in 1910, holding the title until 1937. The unmatched 22-point antler is displayed at the permanent hunting exhibition of the Museum of Natural History, along with other beautiful trophies. These world record trophies are national treasures owned by the Hungarian state; the hunter only owns a certified replica.

We start north along the K trail on Petőfi Street. On the left, among the bushes, is a calvary from 1851, then following the trail, we pass the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk on the left side of the street, who lived in the 14th century and is considered a martyr of confession secrecy and protector of sailors, fishermen, and miners. King Wenceslaus IV arrested and tortured him in 1393 and finally had him thrown into the Moldau River—some sources say partly because he refused to reveal the confession secret of the queen to her jealous husband.

At the end of a long uphill, we leave the village passing old cellars dug into loess. From the curve behind us, there is a beautiful view over Szálka and the surrounding heights. Soon we can see the Mecsek Mountains while descending comfortably among vineyards and fields towards Grábóc. The pavement disappears, and after a long straight stretch, turning right before a calvary erected in 1860, we reach the small settlement.

Trickily renovated church and hidden monastery

Our first sight is the Church and Monastery of Archangels Michael and Gabriel, long the center of Serbian Orthodox clergy training in Hungary. Its height was in 1663 with a monastic community of 60 members. During socialism, the leader of the expelled Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Patriarch of Sofia found refuge here. The first Orthodox monks came here in 1580 from the Dragovity Monastery in Dalmatia, recording their history here from 1593. After a wooden church, in 1587 with permission of the Ottoman Pasha of Buda, they built a stone church. The monastery was deserted at the beginning of the 17th century but was revived from 1619 until 1667, when the Turks destroyed the village and monastery.

The returnees rebuilt the standing church between 1736-1738, though without a tower. Since the Vienna court opposed building a new Orthodox church, they requested permission to renovate and built a bigger new church around the old one; after finishing, the inner old building was demolished. The iconostasis separating the sanctuary, opened to the faithful, was completed in 1768. Only the high priest and country dignitaries may enter its door. The wooden frame was made by János Laubr, a carpenter from Eszék, with icons by Vasilij Ostojić, an icon painter from Novi Sad.

The church remains a significant pilgrimage site. Monk Szimeon pilgrimaged to Jerusalem in 1600 and brought back a relic: a piece of Saint Barbara's frontal bone. Besides this valuable relic, pilgrims visit for the picture of Mary the Fruit-Bearer (Blessed Virgin). The patron, Archangel Michael, appears on the monastery seal holding sword and scales.

The monastery building, built in 1787, was modified in 1895, closing the formerly open side corridors. In the 1960s, it functioned as a social home, its valuable sacred objects transferred to the Szentendre Serbian Church Art Collection. Between 1981 and 1987 comprehensive renovations were done. Since 1994, it has been used by the Serbian Orthodox Church; until 2008, two rooms housed the Serbian church office. In 2021, Father Mitrofan Gajics and two nuns lived on the premises.

We can taste fresh water from the spring introduced into the Turkish well house. The guard's room is upstairs; below, in a donkey-back shaped well construction, are old carved stones plus icons of Saint Martin and the Black Madonna above a red copper spout.

The long building behind the church hosts the festive lunch after the July fair ("búcsú"), and exhibits church models. On the road behind the monastery is the Serbian cemetery and northwest in the bushes are ruins of a destroyed Benedictine church.

Grábóc

Continuing among the village houses, we reach the K▲ trail, with a short climb past the cemetery to the Grábóc Maria Lookout. Opened in 2015 and designed by László Simon, it was built by local farmer István Janovicz as a three-story hexagonal structure with 57 steps to the viewing level. Named after the forest-hidden Maria statue, it offers a beautiful panorama of the surrounding landscape dominated by the Mecsek massif and the village below. At the lookout base are picnic tables and a fire pit.

We return to the crossroads and cross to the Church of the Assumption on the ᵯ trail. In front of this church stands the World War I memorial of local fallen soldiers, a memorial column, and a cross erected in 1878 by Peter and Elisabetha Koster under an old horse chestnut. The sanctuary was built in 1765, the nave in 1795. Behind it rises a 14-station calvary made by German-speaking settlers brought in by Maria Theresa. The calvary was restored by descendants in 2012. The calvaries were made in 1885. A playground awaits children on the lawn before the church, with a memorial post at its edge, and the statue of Saint Wendelin stands on the opposite street side.

Following our trail along the Grábóc stream, we continue on a wide, mowed road past fields, orchards, and through trees towards Mőcsény. On the highway, we turn left and can see grazing red deer and fallow herds of Mayor János Pálfi at the village edge. Opposite is the 1888 statue of Saint Wendelin, protector of livestock. At the bus stop calvary, we turn left toward the Saint Peter and Paul Church built by the Kliegl family from Bonyhád. At the corner of Peace Street, we turn right. On our right is a cross inscribed: "1946-1996 JESUS BLESS THE LAND OF MŐCSÉNY OF THE WANDERING SZÉKELY CROSS"; on the left stands a Baroque Holy Trinity statue from 1924.

Arrival at Szálka

From the small square, we follow the P◼ trail, joining the P trail at the village edge, which we follow along the road. Upon reaching the Szálka Reservoir, we cross its ribbon guardrail and traverse the dam on the K+ trail. The Lajvér stream was dammed between 1978-1980 to create this 56 ha artificial lake in the Szekszárd Hills' longest northeast-southwest valley. Soon we reach a wide dirt road which we follow to encircle the water. After 800 m, a peninsula extends into the lake, a remnant of the former railway embankment. Trains ran here between Dombóvár and Bátaszék on today's Line 50 predecessor; this section (Hidas-Bonyhád - Bátaszék) opened in 1873 and operated in its original form until 1911. The track was realigned to straighten and reduce travel time. The 607 m long railway tunnel southeast of Mőcsény was drilled at this time and is still in use.

From this wide dirt road, about 2 km remains to the lake's northern end, now along the K trail. Passing the fishery house, we reach Szálka's built-up area. By the lake, we pass the cross erected in 1911 by Katharina Gungl and return to the starting point.