Madách memorial route on the southern edge of the Ipoly valley

Itinerary

• From the Balassa Street bus stop, turning towards the center, we proceed along the Rákóczi fejedelem road to the Civitas Fortissima square. At the square we turn left onto Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street, then after 200 meters we turn right into Palóc park.
• After exploring the Palóc park, we return to Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street and continue (to the right) on the Z marked path all the way to the railway station.
• From the railway overpass, we follow the S marked path to the far end of the fence of the Nyírjes Herb Garden and Wildlife Park.
• At the end of the fence, we turn left and follow the signs labeled Lookout all the way to the Kövecsesi Teréz Lookout.
• From the lookout, we descend on the western branch of the Csillagösvény to Csesztve center.
• Reaching the main road, we cross the pedestrian bridge opposite and continue on the S marked hiking path to the Saint Martin Church.
• After the church entrance, we descend into the valley on an unmarked forest path starting immediately to the left, where we reach Kossuth Lajos Street and turn left.
• We continue on Kossuth Street to the folk house, turn right here, then after the bridge turn right again onto Madách Imre Street, and a few steps from there is the Csesztve, church bus stop, the endpoint of our route.

The detailed description of the route

Exploring the "bravest city"

We explore the sights of Balassagyarmat downtown along unmarked paths. Starting from the Balassa Street bus stop, we follow the center sign: we turn left onto Rákóczi fejedelem road, considered the main street of the downtown. On this route, we pass several sights, including the Holy Trinity Church, Tornay Gallery, and the Town Hall. When we reach the Civitas Fortissima square, sights become denser: the former County Hall housing Hungary's first bicycle museum, the statue of Imre Madách, the Jánossy Gallery, and the Civitas Fortissima memorial all beckon a stop. The latter commemorates the city's most important historical event: after World War I, in January 1919, the Czechoslovak Legion occupied Balassagyarmat, but despite the prime minister’s prohibition order, the locals decided on armed resistance, and on January 29 successfully expelled the occupiers from the city. For this act, Balassagyarmat later received the title Civitas Fortissima, which means "Bravest City" in Hungarian.

From Civitas Fortissima Square, we continue south on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street, from which we turn into the Palóc Park. Established in 1898, the park’s area has halved today, but still hosts numerous ancient trees: among others, lindens, maples, and American swamp oaks provide shade. The park contains not only natural sights but also the Palóc Museum, where we learn about the life of Palóc people from Nógrád, and see their preserved most beautiful material memories rescued from decay. In the museum's rear yard stands the Palóc folk house, relocated from Karancskeszi. The museum and folk house are only open during visiting hours, but the park's statues, the Ipoly riverside national flag, the Stations of the Cross, and the World War I memorial can be viewed anytime.

Returning to Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street, we turn right and follow the Z marked hiking path to the railway station. Crossing the overpass over the tracks, we enter the far side of the railway, then following the S marked hiking path we leave behind the former seat of Nógrád county and head towards the Nyírjes lake system.

Nyírjes lakes – beach, spring, wildlife park, and herb garden

A two-kilometer forest walk from the city boundary brings us to the Nyírjes lake system, created by the Zichy family by damming the Nyírjes stream in the first third of the 20th century. Their goal was to establish a fish and agricultural model farm, but today the area serves other purposes: it has become an important part of the recreation zone. At the first lake, there is an open beach, a buffet, and a visitor center, where in summer you can refresh both inside and outside. The Historical Trail around the lakes lets us learn about the history of Nyírjes, illustrated by old pictures. Continuing along the S marked hiking path, we touch all lakes of the system, and on the southernmost shore, we can quench our thirst at the Segítő Virgin spring. From here follows the wildest section of our tour: through marshland on a boardwalk made of planks, then through a winding valley road we reach the entrance of the Nyírjes Herb Garden and Wildlife Park. The 22-hectare park displays over 500 plant species from three continents in its herb garden, and while walking through the wildlife park, we can meet local large game (mouflons, deer, wild boars) as well as emus and Shetland ponies among others.

After exploring the park, we continue along its fence on the hiking path. When the fence of the wildlife park ends on our left, we change the hiking path (to the left) to an unmarked trail but provided with direction signs labeled "Lookout" at every fork: at Kincsempuszta, we cross the road, then after passing the Dézsa stream valley we start the longest ascent, reaching the Kövecsesi Teréz Lookout at the top.

Sights of Csesztve

From the 2014-built tower, we enjoy a 360-degree panorama: to the north, the Ipoly valley and the Korponai hills of Upper Hungary, to the west the Börzsöny range, to the east Cserhát and the Karancs–Medves region, and to the south the ridges of Cserhát can be seen on a clear day. Looking closer to the south, the goal of our route, the hidden Csesztve in the valley, is visible. From the lookout, we descend to the village along the western branch of the Csillagösvény, following direction signs. Reaching the road, the S marked hiking path joins from the right; crossing the pedestrian bridge, we continue straight along it, then after a short climb, we reach the Madách manor.

Imre Madách lived here from December 1844 to September 1853; today the writer-poet's memorial museum operates within the century-old walls. In the museum, we learn about Madách Imre’s life path, see original objects he used, and the exhibition also presents in detail his most important work, The Tragedy of Man. It is worth exploring the manor's park, designated as a nature conservation area, where we can see the increasingly diminishing remains of Madách’s fallen linden tree.

After visiting the museum and park, we continue the ascent on the S marked path towards the Roman Catholic Saint Martin Church. The church, dating from the 13th century, became ruinous during Turkish occupation along with the whole settlement, later suffered fire damage, but survived all difficulties and obtained its current state in 2008.

At the church, we say goodbye to the hiking path and descend into the valley on an unmarked forest path starting immediately to the left behind the entrance. Reaching Kossuth Lajos Street, we turn left and walk to the folk house. The small building, which used to be a general store, a gendarme rest, and a pub, is now a folk house exhibiting tools and material relics of the old life. Next to the folk house stands the Evangelical church built in 1873.

After leaving the building, we turn right, then crossing the bridge, turn right again to reach Madách Imre Street, from where a few steps lead to the endpoint of our route, the bus stop.