Királyrét experience walk

Itinerary

• From the bus stop we head northwest on the P trail passing the Királyrét Hiking Center.
• After the Hiúz House Forest School and Visitor Center, we immediately turn right on the ZT trail, adorned with frog figures.
• At the Bajdázói Lake we turn left onto an unmarked path towards the lake's spring.
• On the K◼ trail, about 100 meters ahead on the right, we find the enclosure of the Petőfi Spring, and behind it, turning right, the Bajdázói quarry.
• We exit the quarry on the exploration road. This reconnects to the ZT trail, which we follow around the lake.
• From the lake we head south on the trail.
• A sign indicates a short out-and-back to the spring on the right side of the path.
• We turn left on the asphalt road along the P trail.
• On the side of the Castle Hill we switch to the P▲ trail.
• From the lookout point we follow the P▲ then the P trail back to the Szén-patak bridge.
• From the bridge the P and ZT trails lead us back to Királyrét to the bus stop.

Detailed tour description

Királyrét

Királyrét lies at the confluence of the Nagy-Vasfazék stream, Bagoly-bükki stream, Bajdázói stream, and Szén stream. It was a favored hunting ground of our medieval rulers and the former bathing place of Queen Beatrix. One of its earlier names, Szokolyahuta, refers to the ironworks operating here in the 18th century. The region's several iron ore deposits have long been known. In Vienna, in 1700, the royal court granted permission to Lampert Mátyás Kollbacher for ore exploration and opening mines in the area. Eventually, in the princely estate from 1778, the ironworks began operation, also featuring a hammer mill—a type of industrial facility where iron was worked with large, heavy hammers. The ironworks operated until 1791, producing various high-quality cast and wrought iron products. Contemporary descriptions attribute its closure to frequent shortages of driving water, available for only about six months a year. Some parts of the ironworks still stood in 1900, and a few ruins remained by 1920. Today, only the slag heap and five water dams and an irrigation ditch system supplying the driving water are visible. The hammer mill was later used for sawmilling. In 1892, the estate became property of Count Henrik Francken Sierstorpff, who built the forest railway for timber transport. After World War I, one of the owners of the estate and railway, Cuno Hoffer, renamed the estate from János-puszta Estate and Industrial Plants Ltd. to Királyrét Estate and Industrial Plants Ltd. The settlement received its current name Királyrét on March 26, 1926, but inhabitants still often identified as “hutais” for a long time. During socialism, the area became a resort of the Budapest Council.

The nature trail

From the bus stop, we head northwest on the P trail at the corner of the Királyrét Hiking Center to the Hiúz House Forest School and Visitor Center, then immediately turn right. Here begins the 2.9 km long Királyrét nature trail, which presents the local wildlife through nine stations. From now on, Bori Frog, the little pink-bowed frog lady, guides us. We leave the asphalt onto the ZT trail into the forest, passing a resting site equipped with a fire pit, then crossing a stream. We come to a wide dirt road and, turning left, in about 100 meters, arrive at the artificial birdhouses decorated with candles, where we receive information on the forest’s birdlife. Following some winding, we cross a sessile oak forest, then a bigger, then a smaller spruce plantation.

Leaving the forest, we arrive at Bajdázói Lake, artificially created during the operation of the ironworks. From here we turn left towards the spring feeding the lake, situated on its northwest side. About 100 meters on the K◼ trail, on the right is the enclosure of the Petőfi Spring. Behind it yawns the entrance to the Bajdázói quarry, through which we enter the hollowed hillside. Miocene-age, platy, granitic biotite andesite was quarried here; the quarry certainly operated until 2007. To transport the extracted material, a railway branch was built in 1912, but today it has been dismantled, with only remnants of service buildings remaining.

We exit the quarry on the exploration road, reconnecting to the ZT trail. We circle the lake. After the sixth station of the nature trail, we reach a resting spot that has seen better days. Returning to the fifth station, we continue south on the trail. About 100 meters ahead, a beautifully carved sign indicates the hidden, unnamed spring. Beside it, carved in wood, is the tale of the nine magical deer. At the wire fence, we reach the Királyrét Lake, hosting fishermen as guests, then we cross the railway tracks.

Castle Hill

On the asphalt road, we turn left on the P trail, which soon turns onto a path. We cross Szén-patak bridge and continue past former mine galleries. In and around them, among other minerals, almandine—a garnet group mineral forming globules—can be collected—probably the reason the locals called this elevation Garnet Hill. On the steep side, we follow a narrow path next to crumbling andesitic tuff rocks above Szén stream. The increasingly steep, root-covered path leads to a wide gravel road. Here we turn right on the P▲ trail, which leads to an Árpád-era earth fortification bordered by ditches about 2.5 meters deep, 6 meters wide, cut into rock on the eastern side with ramparts. A smaller Bronze Age highland settlement stood here, while the fortification was built in the 12th-13th century.

At the summit in 2020 a three-level, triangle-shaped truncated pyramid-shaped wooden lookout tower was built, whose topmost level at 15 meters height allows sweeping views over the surroundings above the treetops, and benches provide resting spots. Web cameras were installed in the roof structure, allowing to check visibility conditions in advance. From here we walk back on the P▲ and P trails to the Szén stream valley and the bridge, then to the bus stop. Before the bus arrives, it’s worth visiting the interactive exhibition at the Királyrét Hiking Center about the area’s geology and industrial history, and tasting the forest delicacies offered at the buffet.