Óbánya detour to a mysterious ruin

Itinerary

• In Óbánya we follow the Z+ marking (towards the east), which leads from the main street to the football field.
• At the football field we turn left onto the Z▲ marking, which we follow to the Belátó lookout junction.
• A few meters long path (marked with stylized lookout signs) leads to the lookout.
• From the lookout we follow the Z▲ marking to the ridge.
• On the ridge we turn left onto the Z marking, which passes by Rékavár and leads down to the asphalt road of the Óbányai Valley.
• On the asphalt road turn left and follow the K marks to Óbánya.

Detailed description of the hike

Glassworks and cottage industry embraced by the Mecsek

The stream that deeply cuts the Óbányai Valley springs at the border of Kisújbánya, where water emerges from the depths of karstic limestone layers. Due to tectonic forces, the valley following a fault line was deeply carved by the stream, creating a narrow, steep-walled gorge in the Mecsek massif. The rocky formations and waterfalls made the upper part of the valley too narrow for human settlement, but at the Óbánya area, where the terrain widens slightly, the village could be established. In the 18th century, the glassworks moved here from the Réka Valley at the gateway of the mountains; German-speaking families servicing the glassworks also settled here. At that time, only the northern side of the main street was lined with typical white houses featuring side towers, while the southern frontage's more spacious layout was a later legacy. The glassworks consumed the surrounding forest and later moved to today's Kisújbánya region, but the residents who remained lived mainly from woodworking and pottery making. By the mid-20th century, more than a dozen potters crafted dark-colored glazed vessels, and about ten mill wheels also operated within the village. According to the Swabian families’ inheritance system, the estate was typically not divided, instead inherited by the eldest son, forcing the other children to learn a craft, often opening a workshop afterward. The survival of this tradition was also supported by the nearby Mágocs clay industry school, and the pottery craft lasted the longest in the secluded Óbánya in the region. Later, in the 20th century, life in the valley gradually changed: many turned to bricklaying and later mining, and now tourism provides most of the income for the diminishing local population, about a third of whom still identify as ethnic German.

Village in the grasp of the mountains

From the village, we walk eastward (towards Mecseknádasd) following the Z+ marking, which after passing the church and pub fitting into the streetscape, turns onto a short side street and leads into the forest by crossing the Öreg stream. In front of a football field, we turn left onto the Z▲ marking, which passes next to several houses settled on the hillside and then climbs higher on a wide dirt road. During the shortly unpleasantly steep ascent, we switch onto a path (though we can stay on the forest road), passing on the left the pasture of an abandoned ski slope that once had a ski lift in winter; now it is used rarely and mainly for sledding—although due to the slope gradient, it is not without risk. Soon, we reach the Belátó lookout, which blends slightly into the forest on the left, with a path of a few meters indicating the way. From the upper (covered) level of the "enlarged" hunting stand-like structure, we have a view over Óbánya above the now forested section of the ski slope. The name makes immediate sense, as we can look lengthwise along the village’s only street and the densely lined houses beside it, framed distinctively by steep mountains.

Castle site in the valley's grip

We return to the Z▲ marking and turn left onto a gently ascending road, hiking up to the ridge through a wind forest of sizable oaks. Upon reaching the hilltop, we turn left onto the Z marking and continue walking along a gently sloping forest gravel road. Initially flat, the ridge is edged by increasingly steep slopes as the Óbányai and Réka valleys squeeze the narrowing mountain nose. We eventually pass a pavilion-like rain shelter, and on the ridge spur, the environment abruptly changes, the space narrows: despite the low altitude, a dense hornbeam forest mixed mainly with beech and oaks appears, with strangely winding, undulating terrain forcing a short climb. We cross the considerable moat rings of the former Rékavár, thus entering the site of the dismantled eagle's nest. The gloomy, gray forest, the stone piles of walls, and the still-visible earthworks reveal that the mountain top was once significantly altered and well protected. Despite centuries of decay and solitude, the presence of the old fortress is felt; even in the absence of larger ruins, the castle site is atmospheric and worth visiting. Limited knowledge is available about its origin: although not proven by excavations, the fortress was presumably built before the Tatar invasion, but Illyrian or Celtic origins are not excluded. A charter from the late 13th century makes vague reference to the "Nádasd castle," which is more certainly mentioned in the early 14th century. The owner, the Kórógyi family, was deprived of their castle by Charles Robert, which they later regained from King Louis I. There are no known records from later centuries, and archaeologists have not found evidence the castle still stood after the Battle of Mohács, but they are sure it was destroyed by fire. In the 19th century, the ruins were called Rákvár, a name inherited from the neighboring valley, which was named after the crayfish population of its stream (later changed to Réka).

An interesting illustration of the ca. 200 m long, 36 m wide castle can be seen at the foot of the hill, next to our remaining route. According to tradition, Saint Margaret of Scotland was born here; her father, Exiled Edward, not only lived in Hungary but married with Saint Stephen's relative, Agota, and obtained lands around Nádasd. The excellent defensive position of the former castle is best proven by the path narrowing along a rocky ridge descending steeply toward the valley, which after leaving the moats slopes sharply down. The trail is well passable outside rainy periods and crosses a beautiful, fairy-tale-like landscape. We descend near a fence behind the former Stein mill and shortly turn left to the asphalt road. Here a board presents the castle (and the Saint Margaret of Scotland cross can also be found), opposite a resting place with a rain shelter on a meadow by the stream where we can rest from the exertion of the siege.

Water at the service of the mills

From here, an easy walk awaits us: we walk back to the village along the edge of the Óbánya road following the K marking. The stream meanders among the bases of the trees, and the forest reaches down to the valley floor on both sides. On the left, an old pottery dynasty makes ceramics in the Teimel pottery workshop. Among the houses appearing here and there, several are also remains of old mills converted into buildings: until the mid-20th century, more than two dozen mill wheels were turned by water between Kisújbánya and Mecseknádasd. The stream, dammed for the millers' convenience, occasionally flooded the fields and, in dry periods, the water diverted to the wheels intensified the drought. However, this could not cause damage in the Óbányai Valley (only downstream), as the villagers' lands would not fit in the narrow ravine; their pastures, vineyards, and meadows stretched on gentler northern slopes and ridges. The remains of these are now protected by reed meadows approaching the village on the right. We arrive at our destination beside a restaurant and parking; our hike ends in Óbánya.