From underground to Kiscelli Park

Itinerary

• At the bus stop, the Pál-völgyi Cave is found on the left side of the uphill Virág Benedek Street.
• Leaving the cave, we head downwards following the K⩍ mark.
• Turn left onto Mátyáshegyi Road (K⩍ mark).
• Turn left again, now following the K+ mark on Kolostor Road.
• The K+ mark turns right and leads into Kiscelli Park.
• We turn right in front of the Kiscelli Museum, and cross the park through the stairway alongside the stations of the cross.
• The K+ mark leads to Bécsi Road.

About the route in detail

The Pál-völgyi Cave

If you look at a 3D satellite image of the immediate surroundings of the Pál-völgyi Cave and the Mátyás-hegyi Cave opposite it, or if you survey the area on site, huge quarries and their deepened pits interrupting the sea of green trees on both sides of the road towards Fenyőgyöngye will catch your eye. In the early 20th century, only the large stalactites occasionally appearing near the mine guard's house indicated to walkers here that during mining activities, workers might have discovered some underground cavity. Indeed, the current entrances of the longest caves in Buda were accidentally discovered, mostly due to human activity. In the Pál-völgyi Cave, the first section was quickly developed and made accessible; its reception building is located on the left side of the uphill asphalt road, at the bottom of a stairway. Opposite, a large iron door hides the exit of the Mátyás-hegyi Cave in the corner of a huge quarry - don’t be surprised if it suddenly creaks open and a group of people with headlamps squint in the sunlight, as this cave is also visitable on guided tours.

On the way to the park

From Pál-völgyi Cave, we return via the stairs to the road and turn right. Our K⩍ mark soon directs us left onto a narrow path through the trees. We descend wooden beam stairs to a rocky road, from which we can take a detour left to the Mátyás-hegyi Cave exit, or, heading the opposite way and bypassing a barrier, step onto Mátyáshegyi Road. We head left here, following the busy street—since there is no other option, along the edge of the asphalt. Within minutes, buildings appear, and here we can continue on a sidewalk. New houses are still being built on the panoramic hillside, but the forest behind them is now protected. Soon we come to a junction; stay left following the K+ mark on Kolostor Road!

The small plateau of Kiscelli Park

After a roundabout, the path soon turns right, bringing us into the Kiscelli Park forest. The hillside becomes flatter, though this is not entirely due to artificial construction: in an earlier geological period, springs surfaced here, where carbon dioxide escaped from the water, causing dissolved limestone to precipitate. As a result, freshwater limestone covered the area to a thickness of about 5-15 meters. Why are these springs no longer found? Because previously the bottom of the Danube valley lay at this elevation, so the springs surfaced here. During ice ages alternating with warmer intervals, the river carried more sediment and water, wearing down its bed and thus moving lower. However, its former terraces roughly retained their original height (a similar origin to the Buda Castle Hill).

A castle building with a colorful history

On the small plateau of Kiscelli Park today we can stroll through an ancient tree park. The K+ mark soon leads to the castle building of the Kiscelli Museum. On the left before it are the remains of a small quarry, where we can touch the spring limestone uncovered by mining. The patinated building dates back to the 17th century. After the expulsion of the Turks, the territory's owners, the Counts Zichy, arrived at Mariazell with a pilgrimage group. This journey likely made a significant impact, as shortly after they built a chapel on Kiscelli Hill to house a copy of the miraculous Virgin Mary statue from the Mariazell Basilica. In 1738, the Zichy family settled Trinitarian monks on their estate so they could serve the shrine with their work.

The Trinitarians in Hungary were occupied with freeing people from Turkish captivity at that time. The Zichy Counts intended the ruined church near their Óbuda castle for them, but the monks preferred the popular Kiscelli pilgrimage site because it was easier to collect money here to ransom captives. They succeeded in this idea, and the construction of the monastery and church started quickly. Although welcoming many pilgrims, the institution could not operate long in its original form. In 1784, Emperor Joseph II dissolved the Trinitarian order; the baroque furnishings were sold, and the statue moved elsewhere. The tomb of Miklós Zichy was demolished, as were the church towers. In the following centuries, the complex served as barracks and a military hospital with resident doctors.

In the early 20th century, after two decades of neglect, furniture manufacturer Miksa Schmidt bought the former monastery, converted it into a castle, and developed the current park forest. After his death, per his last wishes, the city inherited these, and today the Kiscelli Museum operates within the walls.

Across the park

Leaving the castle, we enter the 15-hectare park from the houses. It is dotted with several mining pits, and small clearings hide among the trees. Not much remains of the original battlements, but the early 19th-century baroque stations of the cross, restored, accompany the promenade. The most impressive part is the Golgotha group of sculptures made in 1821, but on the stairs leading down before it, we find a small memorial chapel pressed among the trees. The well-preserved Holy Blood Chapel, built between 1812 and 1814, supposedly has a spring under its altar; on its terrace, we can rest on benches.

At the end of the stairs leading to the city, we reach a street and exit onto Bécsi Road between the buildings of Óbuda University.