Glassworks, swallowing caves, lime and charcoal burners

Itinerary:

• We descend to the Tebe meadow following the K◼ trail.
• Turning left, we follow the P signs to the confluence of the Szarvaskúti-Csúnya valley.
• In the valley, we continue along the Rejteki Nature Trail marked KT.
• At the upper end, turning left, the S marking guides us.
• Next to the Pénzpatak swallowing cave, we switch to the Tárnics Nature Trail marked KT.
• Upon reaching the intersection with the Répáshuta paved road, we descend back to the village on the S trail.

Detailed description of the hike:

From Répáshuta to the caves

We start from the bus stop next to the Répáshuta town hall on the K◼ trail through Szabadság Street. The foundation of the Slovak-speaking village was the glass factory operating here between 1790 and 1834, relocated from Bükkszentkereszt. We walk past the folk house, then the cemetery, and continue on a forest stone road from the village end sign. If we detour right onto the hillside S, then to the branching SΩ path, we can peek into the Balla cave, an important archaeological site.

We enter the gorge-like valley of Balla and start descending towards Tebepuszta. On the left, the creek bed accompanies us, where water only trickles in the upper section, as it seeps underground through swallow holes continuing as a subterranean stream. The region's geological peculiarity is that differing layers of karst and non-karst rocks form it, with the water disappearing in the limestone-edge swallow holes. Only during heavy rainfall or significant snowmelt does water reach the main valley.

At the foot of a rock, we touch on the entrance of the Varangy Cave, and shortly below examine the underground entrance of the Balla Valley swallow hole. At the Csúnya valley branch, we cross a bridge over the creek bed on the right side of the road, then, after leaving the forest, continue along the edge of the Tebe meadow. We reach a large road junction, entering the wide cobbled road running through the Hór valley, which for centuries connected the inner villages of Bükk with the Great Plain. Traffic here is minimal today, yet it is continuously maintained and reinforced with cobblestones in many sections. A covered resting place has been built at the junction, where you have a good view of the sprawling Tebe meadow and the opposite spruce forest. Rare plants like the Banat sedge and Siberian iris live on the periodically continuous open wetlands here. This area was the terminus of a narrow-gauge railway that transported timber to the cableway at Hidegpatak in the first half of the 20th century. The meadow was used by the residents of Répáshuta for grazing. Nearby is the source of the Hór stream, which overflows from an underground reservoir and only releases water when the lower water stock sufficiently increases.

Glassworks memories in the Hór valley

Turning left into the Hór valley, we continue following the P marking. At the meadow’s edge, in a fruit tree grove, is the whitewashed research house of the Tebepuszta cave explorers. We wind through an oak, hornbeam, and beech mixed forest with the valley; small to large meadows open up alongside our path. Occasionally, we see abandoned lime pits used over generations by the people of Répáshuta.

Soon, on our right, appears the fenced area of the Gyertyán valley cemetery, preserving the memory of the last inhabitants of the Bükk glassworks. Between 1843 and 1926, the now destroyed village residents were laid to rest here.

Continuing, on the right side of the road, a cave opening attracts attention: the Gyertyán Valley or Coffin Swallow Hole. We see a rare karst phenomenon, a katavoth: the cavity can operate not only as a swallow hole but also as a spring. During heavy rains, runoff from side valleys can reach here, but when the lower karst water level rises, the system functions as an overflow and spring.

A few steps further, we reach a clearing where Gyertyán valley’s small settlement once stood. Since the early 18th century, continuous glassmaking activity took place in Bükk. The first factory opened in Óhuta (now Bükkszentlászló) in 1712. The second in Újhuta (now Bükkszentkereszt) in 1755, then the third glassworks was built in Répáshuta in 1790. The last, fourth factory relocated here, to Gyertyán valley, in 1834 and produced quality products until 1897. The main reason for the factories’ relocation was the activity’s heavy demand for wood, which consumed the local forests within 2-3 generations. Workers and their families partly moved with the factories, which created special connections and bonds among the Slovak-speaking villages of Bükk.

Today, almost nothing remains on the surface, but thanks to archaeological excavations, the daily life of the former residents has been well reconstructed. Information is available at an open-air exhibition site, where you can also learn about Bükk’s glassmaking history. The rebuilt covered building is a good place to rest and absorb the spirit of the place.

We cross a creek on a bridge; next to it, the village’s potato fields once stretched out. The valley closes again; climbing the hill on the right side, we can see the bell tower. The village had two bells, which after depopulation were transported to the churches of Répáshuta and Bükkszentkereszt (until 1940: Újhuta).

On the nature trail stops

A few minutes further on the road, we stand at the confluence of the Szarvaskúti-Csúnya valley branching left. Changing to the Rejteki Nature Trail marked KT, we enter the wild gorge, which is also a strictly protected area of the national park. We ascend in the rocky and mysterious atmosphere of the narrow ditch, stepping at times over fallen trunks and passing several vertical caves; on the upper section, we also pass old lime pits near the forest association trees. The slopes on both sides harbor caves, and the rocky gorge section probably formed by parallel cave corridors joining and breaking apart in the past.

At the upper end, turning left on the S trail, we continue through the gap of electric wires. We pass a rain shelter, then circle the Nagy-Kerek hill, reaching the permanent swallow hole of the Pénz creek, the 150 meter deep Pénzpatak cave. The water flows on the water-tight clay shale surface until here and disappears in the rock below upon reaching the limestone area. Research has shown that some of the water reaching here resurfaces at the Szinva spring.

From here, we head south on the Tárnics Nature Trail marked KT. The educational route named after the Saint László Tárnics offers much knowledge about the old crafts, karstification, forest utilization, and wildlife of the area at various stops. Initially, we cross fresh meadows, then climb through beech forest, passing the inactive swallow hole of the Háromágú cave.

Before reaching the Eger-Miskolc main road, if we detour about 300 meters to the left on a path without marking, we can visit the Pongor-lyuk ruin cave, where archaeologists uncovered Paleolithic and Bronze Age tool remains in its fill.

Beside a rain shelter and resting place, we reach the intersection with the Répáshuta road. Here, turning left onto the S trail, we descend into the village basin, wandering through streets among houses to reach the village center.