Huts and shrines near Mátraszentimre

Itinerary

• From Mátraszentimre we follow the Z◼ mark in the Csörgő Stream valley.
• At the end of the valley, we turn left onto the Z mark, which leads to Fallóskút, passing through the Csörgő valley.
• In Fallóskút we turn left onto the purple ᵯ mark.
• Again we follow the Z● marks to the left.
• From the shrine gate, we go straight on the K● mark back to Mátraszentimre.
• In Mátraszentimre, we turn right onto the Z◼ mark, which leads to the village main street.

Detailed description of the route

Ötházhuta

In 1900, five Upper Hut families moved from one of the flat high Mátra plateaus to another. They founded Ötházhuta. The village was renamed Mátraszentimre 38 years later, on the 900th anniversary of King István's death. Today it administratively belongs to all the High Mátra settlements. Among them, it is the largest, most populous, and perhaps in the best shape. Next to the bus stop, several small restaurants await visitors in its center. Tourism development only began after the Trianon border changes; before that, it was such a remote part of the country that the 1909 tourist guide by Kolos Hanák reflected their isolation: "In these small villages, naturally, hosting a tourist group is a big event. Young and old gather: the accordion player appears, and the ball is ready. Some know the older Hungarian songs well and sing along." Allegedly, Kálmán Mikszáth kept asking his parliamentary colleagues where Galya Peak could be found, but even the residents of Gyöngyös couldn't answer.

We start on a narrow street perpendicular to the main road; the Z◼ mark will accompany us for the next hour. Shortly after leaving the village, a fence appears on the right: domesticated residents live in the small animal park. The path next to the upper fence leads to a somewhat larger game lookout, which is actually a lookout tower. From its top, the only, and unique, panorama of our route can be seen. We overlook the Csörgő valley; Ágasvár and Mátrabérc do not allow views out of the Mátra.

In the Csörgő valley

The tourist path descends on the side spur of Teréz Hill, the Rothadt-peak, through mixed forest darkened by pine trees. Upon reaching a beech grove, the terrain flattens, and after a short walk along the bank of the Nárád Stream, we arrive at the smelter site. The small roof structure eroded and broken by the stream, and the small furnace below, are important industrial history relics: in the 1700s, the first glassworks of the Mátra was built here. The settled Slovaks cooked the raw material for glassmaking, potash, from the trees of the surrounding slopes until the easily accessible resource was exhausted, after which they finally moved to the higher, flat peaks.

A wild and memorable beautiful path section begins when we follow the Csörgő stream named after its sound. The undermined bank and the large boulders lying on the valley floor testify to the fiercer face of the watercourse: after extreme rain or sudden snowmelt, it roars relentlessly through the valley, dramatically reshaping its image. The tourist path runs through a forest reserve, under various forest cover; in this barely disturbed, natural forest, the lynx has reappeared in recent decades. At one point, a small sign draws attention to something that unfortunately we no longer see with the naked eye: a fulling mill softening cloth on the abundant stream operated until the 1930s. In the 19th century, more than 40 fulling and sawmills operated in the Mátra. Thanks to them, the region had significant industrial capacity until factories replaced the old technology.

Between the valley and the ridge

We cross the stream several more times, then the tourist path climbs onto the slope of Mátrabérc, continuing diagonally westwards. We reach the Ágasvár tourist house below in wind-damaged forest. With a short side trip of a few minutes, we can visit the small shelter also offering dining opportunities. However, our route descends along the Z mark, briefly following alongside the stream before crossing it.

Back up

Turning right on the Z mark, we say goodbye to the Csörgő valley; in the valley of Fiúsom stream, we climb back to the High Mátra plateau. The initially dense young forest disappears from the right side of the path, and the large clearings open the vegetation like curtains. The valley offers little beauty, even when the canopy closes again around us. Eventually, a wide transport road bends into Fallóskút.

Fallóskút

The pleasant holiday resort, radiating the atmosphere of decades ago, administratively belongs to Mátraszentimre, with its sleepy streets showing hardly any movement. The village's name likely derives from the nearby Vállós-kút; the Slovaks or Germans who settled here may have pronounced it this way. The purple ᵯ marked tourist path immediately turns left and reaches a bazaar row at the upper edge of the village. Under the trees, a sizable pilgrimage site is hidden, which attracts thousands of believers from the furthest regions of the country. At the end of the short walk paved with concrete slabs, we enter through the open Székely gate and get acquainted closely with the impressive shrine!

According to legend, in 1947 the Virgin Mary appeared to a woman from Hasznos and showed her a healing spring, then in a later apparition asked for a chapel to be built at the water source. The church and communist regime did not support the idea; instead, the woman was sent for psychiatric treatment. However, thanks to donations from believers, the chapel was soon built and in 2006 was supplemented with the Forest Queen church. Until 2011, the country’s only official hermit lived here. Fallóskút is now nationally known and visited by many pilgrims.

Back to the start point

The K● mark leads to a small clearing, where turning left we head for Mátraszentimre. The wind-beaten beech woods covering the flat plateau exude a true High Mátra atmosphere. The tourist path crosses the Gedeon Stream level, then slightly descends, and finally reaches the edge of Mátraszentimre after a short climb, crossing under power lines. From here, the Z◼ mark on the right branch leads us through rings of holiday homes to the village center.