In the footsteps of legends around Zengő Castle

Itinerary:

• From Hosszúhetény we start on the Z◼ trail heading south.
• Immediately at the first junction we continue on the S▲ trail (to the left), which leads up to the Zengő summit.
• From Zengő we descend on the northern side of the mountain following the S trail.
• At one point we turn left onto the S● trail, which leads to the Maria Chapel.
• We reach the Pilgrim's path on the Hungarian pilgrim's yellow trail, then continue on it to Püspökszentlászló, up to the bishop's castle.
• From Püspökszentlászló, we walk back to Hosszúhetény along the Z◼ trail.

Description:

The siege of Zengő Castle

In Hosszúhetény, we briefly head downhill along the Main Street on the Z◼ trail, after 100 meters switching to the S▲ trail on Zrínyi Miklós Street. With a slight climb, we leave behind the truly long-spanning village, enjoying a great view over the settlement's houses and the surrounding hilly landscape.

To the left appears the highest peak of the Mecsek, the legendary Zengő, with its convex ridge covered by dense forest. Among orchards and vineyards, we turn toward the mountainous area and gradually climb on an increasingly steep terrain. Behind us, from the distinctly cone-shaped Szársomlyó to Tenkes, capped with a military locator, the undulating hills of the Villány Mountains also come into view.

After about a kilometer of climbing, we enter the hillside oak forest, which here near the gardens is mixed with locust trees and bushy undergrowth. Locust was mainly used in the past as vineyard stakes; its tannin-rich wood resistant to decay made it popular around grape-growing areas. With increasing steepness, the oak forest is increasingly mixed with silver lindens typical of the mountain, while behind the first ridge, due to altitude and precipitation, beeches start to dominate. The path climbing in an extremely steep slope reaches the mountain on a consolidated route, a significant forestry achievement that greatly aids the conquest of Zengő. The exhausting ascent takes us to the western mountain ridge, where the path follows the crest. On the left appears a stone-based cross with barely readable, eroded inscription immortalizing the Bocz family's prayer, commemorating the namesake's rescue. From here among the beech trunks, we look out to the inner parts of Eastern Mecsek and towards Püspökszentlászló; the forested ridges ripple around the village's houses lined up like a ribbon.

On the ruins of Zengő Castle and at the lookout above the treetops

The strenuous climb bears fruit, as among the medieval trenches occupying the summit, we reach the foundation of Zengő Castle's remaining tower and the lookout at the highest point. Before climbing to the lookout, we can catch our breath on the bench next to the entrance and contemplate the summit surrounded by trenches.

Zengő Castle does not appear in writing; its age and function are only inferred from excavations. Besides pottery shards, no trace of continuous habitation was found by archaeologists, so beside its 13th-century origin, it is presumed to have been a shelter out of use. However, a Roman-era fibula (clothing clasp) was found, which together with other Roman finds from Hosszúhetény suggests a guard post or observation point on the mountain's highest point. This might also have been the function of the medieval structure at this strategic location.

Since 2020, we can also survey the area from the summit, standing in the lattice-structure lookout built around the geodesy tower. From the tower's top, above 700 meters, the highest point of the mountain range, an impressive panorama unfolds over the old forest canopy: the entire Mecsek ridge is visible below. Prominently in a central position is the Hármas-hegy block with its three peaks and domed locator, behind which the TV and relay towers studded Misina peak and the Tubes block stretch as the highest points of the Western Mecsek. On a wide arc, a Croatian mountain range, the long ridge of Papuk, can be seen in good weather between Tubes and the Villány Mountains, while to the south the latter's spectacular end mountain, the cone-shaped Szársomlyó peak, closes the view above the Danube plain. On very clear days, the Keszthely Mountains, the Balaton Upland's witness hills, and large parts of the Bakony are also visible on the northern horizon.

Our leader is the star of Zengő, descent to the Maria Chapel and the bishop's castle

We descend steeply from the summit along the rocky northern ridge following the S trail within the ancient forest of Zengő's peak. At the sharpest drop-off on our route, fortunately, we step downwards: we look for roots of trees as steps, lean against trunks, and grab hanging branches. Here it is advisable to use a trekking pole, and in icy, snowy weather it may be wiser to detour eastwards. On the ridge ahead, after one kilometer, a bulldozer road bypasses the Zengő block, leading to the same place as our current path. Here a sign shows the direction to the Maria statue, marked by the S● trail on the bulldozer road traversing Zengő's northern slope. On a right-branching path, we reach the Star of Zengő, the statue of Christ held by Mary, guarded by a small forest chapel. Tradition says the original Mary statue was carved from the wood of Saint László by Benedictine monks, and later the Saxon master Kis György made the pietà kept in the chapel, to which villagers made pilgrimages in May and September. The small, well-maintained chapel hidden in the ridge's oak forest is surrounded by garden, flowers, a paved forecourt, and benches.

From here we continue following the yellow marking of the Hungarian pilgrim's path, which leads down to a loess sediment deeply cut by a valley, where for the first time on our route we can refresh and get water at the Pilgrim's well. The trail runs along the valley's edge toward Püspökszentlászló. The path leads to the bishop's castle arboretum, and after passing through its gate, we arrive in the settlement in the bishop's garden. If the gate is closed, we can reach the same place at the arboretum entrance by following the fence to the left.

The bishop's summer residence and garden were built at the end of the 18th century, with a chapel dedicated to Saint László offering a special sight deep in the Mecsek forests, among century-old plane trees. In the bishop's garden, we can see many foreign evergreens and flourishing herbaceous plants, and also learn about the castle's history. A plaque commemorates the imprisonment of József Mindszenty, Archbishop of Esztergom, sentenced in a show trial during the communist years. There was also a period when the building functioned as a nursing home with nuns active there. Their communal grave can be seen above the castle in the garden next to the Hettyey spring. The castle and the Saint László chapel were beautifully renovated in the 2010s.

The village itself is tidy, characteristically a one-street (church-row) mountain settlement, consisting of renovated old peasant houses. The originally Árpád-era settlement was founded, according to tradition, by Saint László, who, while hunting in the area, took refuge from a storm at the hermits of Zengő. Grateful, he had a chapel built for them around which the village formed. During the Turkish occupation, the inhabitants left the settlement, and in the 18th century, it was revived with German settlers under the name Szentlászló. Currently, only a few families live in Püspökszentlászló, mainly guests houses and the House of Life Arrangement make it popular among those seeking peace from everyday life, just as the hermits originally found their spiritual peace in the protective forest.

Back to Hetény the leader’s people, to the truly long Hosszúhetény

At the village's lower end, the forests of Zengő and Hármas-hegy welcome us, and on the Z◼ trail, we cut into the Szentlászló valley, where under the closing canopy we descend on the valley floor's gravel road back to Hosszúhetény. Halfway, a peculiar figure offers a surprising sight: a giant wooden sculpture partially emerging from the ground stands beside the road. Depicting the Stone-Crusher, this 4-meter artwork is part of a trio that we can playfully discover using a guidebook and get to know the Mecsek legends.

Leaving behind Hármas-hegy and the Zengő block, we walk back along the truly long row of houses of Hosszúhetény to the center of the village. In a forested basin of Kossuth Street, in an abandoned quarry, we can see the stone-carved statue of Hetény the leader. Tradition says among the conquering tribes, the clan led by Hetény settled here at the foot of the Mecsek, which the village name preserves. The settlement is mentioned as Villa Heten in the property deed of the Pécsvárad Abbey. Contrary to the abbey, the village survived the Turkish occupation, although in the 18th century German settlers were moved to the area. At the local museum, we reach the Main Street, then after the bridge, the starting point of our tour, thus closing our circular route.