From the Vértes forest toward the coal mines

Itinerary

• Leave Várgesztes on the K marker.
• From the gorge, take a detour on the K▲ marker to the Zsigmond-kő.
• At the Mátyás resting place, switch to the K+ marker.
• At the road junction, continue left on the P marker.
• At the border of Vértessomló, climb up to the Nagy-Somló on the P▲ marker, then return the same way.
• In Vértessomló, where the P turns right, go straight ahead, then follow the P marker turning left at the bus turnaround!
• At the fishing lake of the Majk hermitage, turn left along the Mária road on the ᵯ marker to the hermitage.
• From the hermitage, proceed on the S marker to the entrance of the Mining Museum. Return the same way by following the P and S markers!
• Following the P and S markers, reach Oroszlány train station.

Detailed description of the hike

Near Várgesztes

From the center of Várgesztes, a bus turnaround and a small park created directly beside it start the route. The displayed mining cart draws attention to the bygone days of coal mining in the area—a defining industry that once flourished and then declined, traces of which we will often encounter on our hike. Várgesztes is named for the fortress on the hilltop (currently under renovation), but we now turn our back to it and follow the K markers along the main street to the rock formation located on the opposite side with crumbling walls.

At the northern end of the village, we reach a small lake built in 2000. On the far side of the lake, a forested mountain ridge rises, split by a gorge flanked by white dolomite rocks on either side. The Zsigmond rock is a popular climbing spot, but fortunately is also easily accessible by hiking trail on the K marker. The trail into the forest is beautiful, leading into an old gorge forest where ancient beech trees enclose narrow passageways with rock debris at their base. By stepping over a beech root and turning right from the steep trail back, you can reach the summit of Zsigmond rock within 1-2 minutes (K▲ marker).

Due to tectonic forces, ancient rock masses break along faults into blocks that move relative to each other. One of the northwest-southeast faults cutting through the Vértes mountains runs precisely here near the border of Várgesztes. Looking down from Zsigmond rock, we stand on an elevated plateau above a sunken half-basin filled by Várgesztes. To the northwest appear the neighboring Vértessomló and the chimneys of Oroszlány beyond the slopes in the valley of Által-ér. Due to the geological features of the dolomite ridge, this is a favored climbing area, so don’t be surprised if someone suddenly appears from the treetops!

The exploited forest

Leaving the Zsigmond rock junction, we first cross a young forest, then pass through a clearing before entering the beautiful beech forest of Gadóz. As everywhere in the Vértes, forest management controls the ecosystem here; we walk among even-aged trees. Dense networks of forestry roads meander across the hill, a sharp left corner is soon followed by an even sharper right. Near logged areas, tall undergrowth and swarms of insects accompany us while the downward trail reaches a narrow, water-eroded but mostly dry ditch that leads to the Mátyás resting place. The relatively reliable well water is unfortunately not potable, but visitors can use the forest furniture set. A little higher up there is a covered resting place and a cozy hostel behind it.

Here it is advisable to switch to the K+ marker and walk about the next 1 kilometer on the asphalt road; this route avoids a clear-cut affected by the National Blue Trail, allowing us to reach the next junction levelly. The forestry asphalt road cuts across the Vértes in a long, winding south-north direction, but here where the pipeline pasture crosses, we turn left following the P marker. Initially, we ascend a beautiful, hornbeam-covered water erosion, then at the end of the short climb, we take a left and shortly after a right turn and proceed on a quite monotonous, stony road towards Vértessomló. Mosaic patterns of clear-cuts, regenerations, and older stands broken up by bulldozer roads show a heavily exploited forest that has long lost its natural character, sadly displaying the unquestioned dominance of human needs—a grim legacy of forest management principles outdated but partly overcome in recent decades.

View from Nagy-Somló

At a left turn the line changes into a deep valley type but after a few meters merges back into the forest, and soon we reach the edge of Vértessomló. Here the P▲ marker starts east towards the lookout tower on the 329-meter-high summit of Nagy-Somló. The building can be reached after about 15-20 minutes’ walk: initially under nice oaks, then through younger forest after a clear-cut, on a sandy-sprinkled path reaching the hilltop. The small tower has 3 levels connected by ladders secured with railings. From the top, enjoy a panoramic view: the nearby village, the residential blocks of Oroszlány behind the church tower of the Majk hermitage, and the mirror of the Bokod cooling lake flooded by the Által-ér serving the Vértes Power Plant shine. To the left are the forested plateaus of the Vértes mountains, into which long, tectonically defined valleys cut. From one of the heights, we can spot the Körtvélyes geodetic tower, and also the Gesztes castle can be found among the foliage. To the east, gaze over the ridges of the Gerecse Mountains; with binoculars, the Turul statue can be easily spotted above thick limestone slabs. Numerous small lakes can be seen nearby, created by small dams built on streams running from the Vértes springs for fishing.

From German settlement to Italian hermits

Returning to the trail, we first cross the edge of Vértessomló. Moving further into the village, some German houses with gables and whitewashed walls are still visible. Like many neighboring settlements, Somló was inhabited by a significant number of Germans before they were expelled. The village was sustained for a long time by forest resources and coal mining. We only touch their earlier legacy beyond the cemetery, as the P marker turns right, go straight ahead downhill! After a small left turn, immediately right onto a downhill asphalt road, where at the bus turnaround, our markings meet again and zigzag left then right.

We say goodbye to Vértessomló by a cornfield and soon enter a narrow forest strip with a small stream running at the bottom, nurturing a small, picturesque marsh in a shallow basin without drainage. Climbing out of the hollow, we cross the Várgesztes road and start across agricultural fields nestled in the gentle slopes integrated into the Vértes plain. To the left, the forested ridges of the mountains roll, and next to the Gesztes castle, the rock bands of Zsigmond rock are identifiable.

The Majk hermitage

Across the cornfield, we walk in the Majk forest on a sandy-earth road to the Kőhányáspuszta road, which cuts across the Vértes along a tectonic trench. Crossing the asphalt strip, we stand at the shore of Majkpuszta fishing lake, the hermitage tower visible among the trees. The hermitage buildings are situated above the largest water surface, planted on a hill and bordered on all sides by forest forming a natural screen. The ᵯ marked Mária road climbs wide promenades to the entrance, then follows the walls from the side.

Today, around the truncated church (only its tower remains), 17 cells and a convent building stand—their decorative stones made from the nearby Gerecse red limestone known as "marble". The hermitage was built in the 18th century, the foundation stone laid by Count Esterházy József. Founded in the early 11th century by a Lombard prince in Italy on the land of a farmer named Malduli, the order lived in Hungary with 11 ordained fathers and 4 unordained monks taking vows of silence until dissolved in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II. Later, the Esterházys used the buildings as a hunting lodge and residence. In the 20th century, it functioned as a college, vocational school, worker hostel, and hospital; the assets were scattered, and wars and mining inflicted serious damage. Despite all this, Majk hosts Central Europe's most beautifully preserved Camaldolese hermitage, currently undergoing renovation, and guided visits are available.

The monsters of the depths

The hiking trail leads along the walls, showing the simple exterior facades of the cells, with the church tower pointing to the sky. Continuing on the S marker, the forest promenade occasionally offers views back to Zsigmond rock before arriving at the Mining Museum gate. The 20th-century mining of Eocene coal seams around Oroszlány completely transformed the region: significant industrial capacity settled nearby, a thermal power plant was built, and the road and railway networks developed accordingly. The huge labor demand was met by extensive housing estates, and some formerly quiet small settlements transformed into socialist industrial towns with smaller agglomeration rings developing around them. Environmental loads have eased with the closure of the industry; mining ended, the last underground mine in Hungary, Márkushegy, closed. The Vértes Power Plant switched to biomass—mostly forest wood, and uniquely for Oroszlány, straw fuel. The museum is located above the former Shaft XX entrance. Visitors can also look underground, get close to the mining machinery that once operated here, and even admire the view from a tower.

The transformed city

From the museum, an unmarked asphalt road leads west into Oroszlány, but if we walk back on the S marker alongside the hermitage walls, then turn left following P and S markers, we reach the city train station. It is hard to detect what Oroszlány was like before from this side, as industry completely altered the settlement's image. Characteristic socialist urban planning, narrow parks separating block buildings, concrete, bleak community spaces often without functions, and service buildings define the cityscape crossed by busy roads. Industrial downsizing and job losses put the city on a declining path, yet the main street’s tree-lined promenade is not as desolate as in similar towns. Next to the largely abandoned freight railway station designed for older times grows weeds in dry artificial ponds, with the power plant chimneys towering above tree crowns in the background.