Historical hike above the town

Itinerary

• Our route starts from the bus stop following the P then the K trail markers.
• We continue along Királyvölgyi Street turning to the K+ trail marker.
• We reach the Suleiman Lookout by climbing stairs on an empty plot going uphill.
• From the lookout, we return to the K+ trail at the Királyvölgyi resting place along the Alpannonia yellow trail marker.
• At the Kincs Resting Place we turn left going uphill on the asphalt road to join the K● trail marker.
• We turn left following the K▲ trail marker, and continue this way up to Óház Hill.
• From the lookout, at the first intersection we turn left on the Z trail, which passes in front of the Bechtold István Visitor Center.
• The P signs in the city center will navigate us back to the starting point.

Detailed description of the route

The Suleiman Lookout and the Turkish Siege

From the bus stop, take a few steps to the southwest, then turn right at the intersection on the P trail. Upon reaching the Main Square, switch to the K trail and from Királyvölgyi Street follow the K+ trail. After half a kilometer, we arrive at stairs leading uphill on an empty plot; climbing these stairs, we reach the Suleiman Lookout, inaugurated in 2012. From here, we get a beautiful panoramic view of the town and the Kőszeg Mountains. According to local legend, in 1532 Sultan Suleiman I observed the siege of Kőszeg from this hill. The castle was defended by only 46 soldiers and 700 refugees from Kőszeg and nearby villages against the Turkish army of 70-80,000, equipped with the strongest artillery in Europe at the time.

The Turks launched a total of 19 attacks on the fortress; the first began on August 5. For days, they shelled the castle from four locations, but the defenders held firm – they even repelled a Janissary assault launched a week later. In the following days, the Turks attempted to blow up the walls with gunpowder. After several attempts, they managed to destroy a few meters of the wall, then the Janissaries launched another unsuccessful assault. They then built siege towers, which the defenders tried to set on fire. The more than 24 hours long attack on August 27 ended with the Turks raising the horse-tail flags on the castle towers but failing to capture the fortress.

The decisive Turkish assault was to follow on August 29, but for reasons still unclear – perhaps partly due to the personal acquaintance of Fortress Captain Miklós Jurisics and Pasha Ibrahim – the Sultan sent a delegation to the captain offering to withdraw the troops if the castle was symbolically surrendered (i.e., by raising the Turkish flag). After the three-week siege, with his defending force reduced to barely 200, Jurisics accepted the offer, so the Turks withdrew at 11 o'clock – which is why the bells ring every day at 11 in Kőszeg. For this heroic act, Miklós Jurisics was awarded a baronial rank and the town of Kőszeg itself, but after his death without an heir, his estate passed to the royal chamber and later in 1695 to the Esterházy family, who owned the castle until 1931.

From a Methuselah Tree to the Szálasi Bunker

We continue from the lookout along the Alpannonia yellow trail, returning to the K+ trail marker at the Királyvölgyi resting place. Slightly uphill from the intersection, new stairs lead to the memorial of a giant sweet chestnut tree that once stood here. The tree, with a trunk circumference of 1050 cm, sprouted in 1482 according to tree ring counts when King Matthias reconquered Kőszeg from Emperor Frederick III. Kalman Chernel first drew attention to the tree in 1864. It last sprouted in 1963 and became so dangerous by 1981 that it had to be cut down. Its decay was aided by spreading fungal diseases and unfortunately by inscriptions carved into its bark. The displayed section clearly illustrates the tree's former size, taken from the better-preserved part of the trunk.

Continuing, we enter the forest at the boundary sign of the nature protection area, then follow a slightly steep trail through the valley to the Szálasi bunker located at a right-hand curve of the trail. On October 16, 1944, Ferenc Szálasi came to power and on November 4, after swearing allegiance to the Holy Crown, formed the National Unity Government based on total dictatorship in Budapest. The advancing Red Army soon forced a retreat and Szálasi's headquarters were initially set up in Farkasgyepű (Gyepű I.) and later here (Gyepű II.). The barracks and shelter were built starting November 1944 by forced laborers and miners from Tatabánya. One bunker completed by early 1945 had a 21-meter-deep shaft, in which some say an elevator operated. The underground had two rooms connected by a nearly 30-meter-long corridor. Szálasi stayed in Kőszeg for less than a month in March 1945 before fleeing to Austria.

The Kincs Resting Place

Shortly after the small building, we arrive at the Kincs Resting Place parking lot, called "Okmányos" by most locals because it stood along the technical border closure where only those with the proper documents were allowed to enter the border zone.

The Iron Curtain was established between 1945 and 1948 and hermetically sealed off Western Europe from those living to the east for decades. Alongside the technical border closure and fortification system, border patrol and border guard organizations were established. The western and southern border sections were fully closed, and by the end of 1950, a 1000 km wire fence was built on the Austrian and Yugoslav border sections, 871 km of which was mined. The total cost of defense works was nearly 7 billion forints.

Between October 1955 and October 20, 1956, demining of the western border section took place due to a decrease in international tensions. However, after the October 23 revolution, potential armed conflict shifted towards Austria, so the border closure was reinstated in 1957. Along with 282 km of new wire fence, more than 1 million mines were deployed. By 1970, the SZ-100 electronic signaling system (EJR) was installed, which increased security but also workload, as it reacted to technical faults and animal triggers. Eventually, the national commander of the border guard proposed on March 19, 1989, to dismantle the signaling system, which began on April 18. By the time the government decree on the dismantling was issued, 150 km of the fence had already been removed. The border guard completely dismantled the Iron Curtain by August 1989, one year ahead of the Ministry of Interior’s plan.

The resting place is named after István Kincs (1867–1942), a papal prelate and abbot parish priest who also served as the director of the Kőszeg teacher training college in the early 20th century. He often walked from the town into the surrounding forests, where he would rest on a nearby bench.

The Legendary Castle of Óház Hill

We start uphill to the left on the asphalt road, then shortly turn right onto the K● trail. At the next intersection, we turn left to the K▲ trail and slowly ascend to the Óház Lookout.

At the 609 m high peak stood the first castle of Kőszeg in the 13th century, the Upper Castle or Óház. Its first written mention is from 1248 (Castrum Kwszug), when the castle taken by Austrian Duke Frederick was recaptured by King Béla IV’s troops. Thus the name Kőszeg originally referred to the Upper Castle built on Óház Hill; the town’s old Hungarian name was Gyöngyös, from which the German name Güns derives. Around 1260, King Béla IV donated the castle to the Németújvár family. The fortress gradually lost significance with the construction of the Lower Castle and was presumably destroyed during the Austrian-Hungarian conflicts of 1455.

The ruins are surrounded by several local legends. One says treasures are hidden among the old walls; another claims the castle was connected by a tunnel to Hétforrás. There is also a legend that the siege’s fire master, Mátyás Forintos, who was later accused of witchcraft in 1561 by enemies, conducted his experiments and curses here, for example, on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 1552, when he “sent cold, frost, freezing weather to the Kőszeg vineyards.”

Archaeological excavations aimed at uncovering the castle began in 1894, but the 20x12.3-meter tower with nearly 2-meter-thick walls and the 8x7-meter southern gate bastion with its adjoining castle wall were only uncovered between 1991 and 1995. A drawbridge leading to the bastion’s pedestrian bridge carved into the rock is still visible today.

Except for the steep northwest slope of the hilltop, a deep moat surrounds the small hill, and a shallower outer moat is found on the most vulnerable southwest side. The tower’s lowest level had no door, and the first floor entrances were accessible only by stairs. The castle also had an 11-meter-deep cistern with an almost 2-meter internal diameter, as water could be sourced only from the nearby Hétforrás.

A lookout was first built here from wood, then in 1896 of stone. The current one was built in 1996 on the foundations of the residence tower excavated at that time. It offers a beautiful panorama including Kőszeg, Szombathely, Ságró, and Somló, Bakony, the Tapolca Basin's witness hills, the Keszthely Mountains, Rendek Hill, and the Zalai Hills. The view extends into Austria: after the Schneeberg peak comes the Bucklige Welt area dotted with hills, then Lake Fertő and the Leitha Mountains behind it, with many wind turbines along the ridge.

Back to Kőszeg through Szabó Hill

From the lookout, we continue straight and turn left at the first intersection onto the Z trail. We cross the forestry road on an old stone staircase along the sloping road, and soon cross it again. Our path leads with nearly 2 km length through the Szabó Hill forest gym trail on the hillside, a well-known excursion spot from the early 19th century where a seasonal restaurant once operated. The hill was re-parceled in 1929. Construction started on 147 equally sized plots despite the lack of electricity and running water; corporate holiday homes were built followed by a guesthouse and restaurant.

At the resting place built in the abandoned quarry, we turn along with the Z trail and after reaching the asphalt road shortly reach the first houses. Passing through Tölgyes Street, we arrive at Ciklámen Square where our trail turns left, then after the beautiful exposure of quartz phyllite on Panorama Boulevard, a railing-protected staircase leads back into the forest. At the far end, we cross Hermina Street back into the settlement, going straight to the carbonated water spring.

At the ornamental well, we head slightly left, then again turn left onto Park Street and soon reach the Bechtold István Visitor Center presenting the natural values of the Kőszeg Mountains. It is worth spending some time here discovering the interactive exhibition or the adventure trail. We can also visit the nearby Chernel Garden arboretum where a rehabilitation center caring for injured birds operates.

The P trail from the city center guides us back to the end point of our route; turning into Szűk Street offers a slight shortcut.