In Tilos following the footsteps of the Eszterházys

• The 24 pine nature trail has no tourist markings, but signs show the way, the route is easy to follow.

Detailed description of the tour

"Twenty-four pines in a cluster"

To start our tour, we need to find the beginning of the 24 pine nature trail in Réde on Kinizsi Street. You can reach it with a few minutes' walk from the center of the village, but if you come by car, you can park directly at the entrance of the trail, by the side of the street. Drivers will find it much easier as both Waze and Google Maps are "familiar" with the place, so simply entering Réde 24 pine nature trail will navigate us easily to the starting point. There is no chance to get lost because a sign also marks the beginning of the trail, summarizing briefly what awaits us on the next more than two kilometers. Although the distance may not seem much, due to the sights, plan at least half a day for the tour!

The former castle park is separated from the road by a fence, and after passing through it and crossing a small wooden bridge, we arrive at the first station. Although there are relatively few marked hiking trails in the area, this should not discourage us, as the route of the nature trail is quite easy to follow: small directional signs indicate the correct direction at critical points.

The first sign introduces the flora of the former estate. We learn that most of the nearly 8-hectare plant collection is original forest stand, but non-native species were also planted when creating the castle park. We can see this right away with huge plane trees and horse chestnuts, but for example, the namesake group of pines of the trail is also not native. Originally, 24 black pine saplings were planted in a group in the central part of the castle park, of which only 18 remain standing today, but their appearance is still impressive. It is no wonder that a poet was inspired by them as well; Ferenc Pap's poem "Rédei Pines" begins like this:

"In Réde, in the old count's park, twenty-four pines in a cluster,
Twenty-four lives, proud trunks, but their crowns have grown together.
And from afar they look like one tree, twenty-four trunks one foliage,
Millions of needles in the clear sky, a thousand roots underground."

Griffin and tennis racquet

Along the nature trail, besides tree rarities reminiscent of arboretums, there are other attractions as well. For example, the former castle of the Eszterházys, or rather its remains, as today only the entrance part of the manor built in the 1760s stands. On the sign related to this, we can see in an old photo how the building with 32 rooms once looked, which even survived World War II. Its fate was sealed by an attic fire in 1947. From then on, the usual story unfolded: every element of the building, built by masters from Győr, was dismantled. Above the entrance, which remained the last messenger, still decorates the coat of arms of the Eszterházys featuring a griffin holding a sword, supposedly referring to the frequent military roles of the family's male members.

From the images on the sign at the third station of the nature trail, we can conclude that besides the sword, the Eszterházy descendants were also skilled with hunting rifles and tennis racquets. The former location of the tennis court is still easily identifiable, and numerous memorial stones marking successful hunts can be found at various points in the nearby forest. Among the Eszterházys, there was a tradition of erecting a memorial stone where a family member shot his first fallow deer.

Among the oldest residents of the park

The nature trail winds along scenic parts of the park and surrounding forest. For example, a beautiful meadow, called Dobai-lapos on maps, where if you visit around September-October, you'll see autumn crocuses blooming among the grass blades.

Of course, there are important trees along the trail as well: pedunculate oak, turkey oak, sessile oak, and even downy oak grow here in significant numbers and relatively high average age, so oak enthusiasts – and this is not about wild boars – can stroll happily among the majestic specimens. The oldest trees of the Szentély forest, older than 190 years, can be found in large numbers between the 7th and 9th stations of the trail.

Time’s wear and natural calamities spare none of them: on our way, we often see fallen giants that serve as nourishment and shelter for many small and large forest creatures. The sight of dead trees may be unusual for eyes used to conventional parks, but here, the Kisbér Forest, belonging to Vérteserdő Zrt, does not practice traditional forestry, so some parts have an almost primeval forest atmosphere. However, the signs of the nature trail and the traces of the Eszterházys interrupt this mood, as we slowly complete the circuit of the route.

As the last station, we return to the starting point, but before that, we pass by the former manager's house built in 1879, which fortunately survived the main building. It was privately acquired in 2013 and beautifully renovated by its new owner, who also enjoys hunting. Thanks to this, a natural history and hunting exhibition was established there, which is open to anyone by prior appointment. The natural history collection was compiled with the help of biology teacher György Halász and the Bakony Natural Science Museum, while the hunting collection’s backbone consists of 45 deactivated old hunting weapons with detailed descriptions.