On the borderlands of the Carpathian region, on the trails of Szitnya

Itinerary

• From the bus stop, follow the asphalt road upwards towards the corner of Bacsófalvi Lake (Počúvadlianske jazero).
• At the lake shore (parking lot), turn right onto the Z trail, which we follow up to the Tatár Meadow (Tatár-rét) clearing.
• From the Tatár Meadow clearing, we ascend on the K trail to the Chata Andreja Kmeťa mountain hut at the summit of Szitnya (Sitno).
• From the mountain hut, head north for a short round trip on an unmarked path to the panoramic rocks at the mountain top.
• From the hut, continue following the K trail on the asphalt road to its lower left bend, up to a meadow.
• At the bend, turn right on the K trail towards Szitnya Castle (Sitniansky hrad).
• Continue along the asphalt on the K trail to a spring equipped with a rain shelter and resting spot.
• From the spring, head left following the educational trail (rarely marked) ZT around the summit.
• Return to the Tatár Meadow (Tatár-rét) clearing, and from there descend on the Z trail back to the lake shore by the same route.
• From the lake corner (parking lot), walk left on the asphalt back to the bus stop.

Detailed description of the route

City hiking life on the slopes of the mountains

Following the asphalt road briefly upwards, we emerge at the corner of Bacsófalvi Lake (Počúvadlianske jazero), where on the left we find restaurants and buffets, and at the end of the hike we can also take a swim here. The lake is one of the scattered mining water reservoirs (tajchy) in the Selmec Mountains, created as part of a system designed to drain mines – among its 6 dams, the largest was Europe's highest until the 19th century. According to the guidelines by Sámuel Mikovinyi and József Károly Hell, 60 lakes and countless channels were made, harnessing water energy to power ore crushers and pumps deep inside mines. Only Bacsófalvi Lake had about 16 km of channel networks in the Szitnya massif – however, much of the water was diverted to another lake system (Szélakna lakes) from one junction. In the 1770s, reportedly more women (400) worked on the lake construction than men (300), due to low pay.

At the lake's corner, we turn right onto the Z trail (a tourist map displayed during the summer season helps navigation), cross the parking lot and enter the Szitnya (Sitno) forest. From almost 700 m altitude, we start the climb to the summit, but the elevation gain is spread over a short distance, so prepare for a rather steep ascent. Szitnya has been an important tourist destination for over a century and has several significant firsts. The society of Selmecbánya (Banská Štiavnica), a wealthy mining town, quickly produced the region’s first tourist organization, the Szitnya Club, founded reportedly in the 1860s. Built on this, the Hungarian Carpathian Association's Szitnya Section organized in 1882, which later joined the Hungarian Tourist Association founded by local doctor Ödön Téery in the following decade. The active locals pioneered the area: they built one of Europe's earliest marked hiking trails next to the city in 1874, and Ernő Király, a teacher and director at the evangelical lyceum in Selmecbánya, developed the trail marking system resembling today's model here.

The ascent path (leading up to Tatár Meadow [Tatárska lúka]) was created at the turn of the century and named after Ernő Király. The gently winding, well-trodden wide path attacks the Peter Hill (Petrov vrch) steeply like a root-laced trail. The path sprinkled with andesite boulders ends at a spring (potable water), where it takes a sharp right turn and reaches the border of the highest-level Slovakian protected reserve (marked by a sign). In the southern slope of Szitnya, trees older than 100 years live, including an ancient forest spot. The oak, due to the sunny, warm climate of the plateau around the summit, grows here at the highest elevation in the country (above 700 m). We first arrive at a small clearing, then a larger one, Tatár Meadow (Tatárska lúka), opposite the rugged rocks surrounding the summit with the broadcasting tower on top.

The stone gate of Szitnya

The clearing, along with the other meadows on the mountain, was once an important hay meadow area, as up to 500 people mowed here simultaneously, and their singing reportedly echoed throughout Szitnya. On the other side, we switch to the K trail and storm the mountain top. In a fairytale-like old forest protected by the reserve, mainly of old beeches, the climb stiffens, and metal stairs appear in the narrow squeeze between huge rock blocks. Huge cliff walls flank the current section with winding stairs built into them, forming a wild hiking trail. The wooden equipment replaced in 2023 was originally built at the end of the 19th century from a donation by Duke Philip of Coburg (members of the Szitnya Section), and the trail was named Téery Path in memory of one of Ödön Téery’s hikes (as is one of the upper rocks). The weathered, rotted wooden structure has been renovated several times since, but a complete replacement became unavoidable. (Our pictures still reflect the pre-replacement state from 2022.)

The andesite formations testify to Szitnya's volcanic origin (it was an eruption center), and their formation is due to the erosion and wearing away of softer (tuff) cover layers. Water freezing in cracks and temperature fluctuations caused exfoliation, and during the ice ages, these processes intensified, creating regular bastions around the summit. The brownish-gray, grim andesite ridges seem to fence the mountain top like a castle wall, limiting access but also enhancing the atmosphere. At the end of the last stair, we pass through the stone gate and (to the right) can walk out onto the flat top of a rock tower, from where we see the vast volcanic caldera of the Selmec Mountains, about 20 km in diameter – a collapsed depression. Next to Selmecbánya and surrounding villages is a basin with cultivated fields, surrounded by bustling terrain and endlessly rolling mountains. To the left is the long ridge of Madaras, opposite is the mass of the Körmöci Mountains and behind it the Veľká Fatra, while to the northeast rise the Polana and, on clear days, the Low Tatras.

At the top of Hont, "the lover of clouds"

We will soon admire the view from another angle but first conquer the 1009 m summit just a few meters away. The summit features a clearing, with the first noticeable building being a simple pavilion clad with wooden panels, harmonizing with the landscape – with a long history. Its original predecessor was a white stone lookout built by the landowner, Duke Miklós Koháry, in the 1730s, but it was destroyed by lightning in the mid-19th century. It was one of Europe's first buildings intended for hikers, so it's no surprise the Szitnya Section wished to rebuild it. This was achieved in the 1880s with the contribution of Duke Philip of Coburg. The current building, hosting a mountain exhibition (though not always open), is only the successor of this flat-roofed structure.

After crossing the summit, on the other side, we see the next building, the Chata Andreja Kmeťa mountain hut. It is open every day in summer and outside the season on weekends, where its buffet offers draft beer, other alcohol, Kofola soft drinks, simple packaged foods, and soups, with a small but comfortable dormitory on the attic floor. The terrace offers a panoramic view dominated by "local flavors": the "little brother" of the Selmec Mountains, Börzsöny, appears, along with Naszály and the Mátra hills in the distance behind the Javoros hills. The cozy resting place is perfect for relaxing before the return to the starting point, making the summit experience worthwhile.

The hut was also built with the support of Duke Philip of Coburg in the early 20th century, originally as a forest ranger's lodge, but from the beginning provided accommodation for hikers. In the 1990s, demolition began to replace it with a modern building, but the funds ran out, and then its owners sold it. It was revived in the 2000s, with accommodation provided since 2020. It was named after Andrej Kmet, a Slovak polymath who, together with professors from Selmecbánya, carried out plant identification on the mountain – his herbarium included 300 wild rose species identified solely in the Szitnya massif. The earlier name of Szitnya (Sitno), according to an 11th-century document, might have been Surkuscher or Szurkos-cser or Sarkos-cser, while the Slovak-origin Sitno means "overgrown with reeds" likely referring to the hay meadow spreading on the summit. (Although a local legend says the mountain's stomach hides the gates of hell, and the word also has a meaning of hell.)

Visiting the deep mountain knights

The interior of the mountain hut already carries the atmosphere of the distant high mountains, yet it is worth leaving on the unmarked but well-trodden northern path to explore another point of the rock formation surrounding the summit. From here, the panorama of the surrounding endless forested mid-mountains is even wider than before. Returning to the hut, we bid farewell to the highest peak of the former Hont County and descend on the K trail along the asphalt. After the TV tower, a small path branches off to the right, which is worth taking briefly, as it leads to the top of a rock tower offering a panorama towards the south over the Börzsöny as a large island rising above the Ipoly valley, and behind it, the Pilis and Geresce mountains. The hiking and asphalt paths descend, and after a chain of meadows, sharp left turns come. Here, turn right to visit Szitnya Castle (Sitniansky hrad). The rocks surrounding the summit on 3 sides "run out" here, so close to the mountain top lie the trenches of a prehistoric fortress built for the protection of Selmecbánya, which housed the 13th-century stronghold. The romantically situated gloomy ruin is fused with a smaller andesite ridge, and its ancient atmosphere is strengthened by a small rocky gallery with stairs leading to the top. From there, once more panoramic views open towards Börzsöny, Cserhát, and Mátra, with the rim mountains of Selmec and the back of the Korpona forest in the foreground.

The castle was blown up by the invading Habsburg armies during the Kuruc uprisings, and its walls recall the legend of Szitnya, according to which a high priest cursed the two quarrelsome sons of the castle’s former lord – as a result, the armies of the brothers staring down like wolves were swallowed by the mountain’s rocky halls (some interpretations say the summit rocks themselves are the warriors). The leader of the knights holding half their legs in the stirrups reportedly ascends the summit every seven years to see if locals need their help, and if all is well, returns to his hideout. Szitnya, prominently visible from afar, likely inspired a particularly rich legendary corpus: one popular collection of Slovak folk tales contains 80 legends about the mountain.

The asphalt road winds into dense forest and reaches a covered resting place and a spring equipped with a wooden trough. From here turn left, follow the forest road and the educational trail (rarely marked) ZT presenting the mountain, passing under the summit. In the dense mixed forest dominated by beeches, native animal species well-known from domestic landscapes live, and the lynx, which has shifted down from northern mountains and is widespread in the Selmec Mountains, also occurs sporadically. The gently ascending route soon returns to the Tatár Meadow (Tatárska lúka) clearing (named because, according to tradition, Tatar armies chased local inhabitants here), from where you descend back to the shore of Bacsófalvi Lake (Počúvadlianske jazero) on the Z trail, via the ascent path familiar from earlier.