On the skirt and cap of Badacsony

Itinerary

• We start southwards on the K trail, which climbs up the side of Badacsony on the Bujdosók stairs.
• At Czinka Panna resting place, we make a detour on the K▲ trail to the tördemic lookout point.
• Returning to the K trail, we continue our way passing the Ranolder Cross and Egry József lookout point.
• On the K▲ trail we head for the Kisfaludy lookout.
• We return to the K trail and descend on it from the cinder cone to the Kőkapu valley.
• On the S▲ trail we visit the lookout point at the corner of the tördemic mine.
• Returning to the K trail, we descend through the Kőkapu.
• Upon reaching the P trail, we take it to the right; an unmarked out-and-back detour leads to the Tomaji mine.
• We descend on the K▲ trail to the Badacsony railway station.

Detailed about the hike

From Tördemic to the base of the basalt

We start southwards on the K trail along the main road, then turn left onto Rodostó street and begin ascending the mountain's skirt. After leaving the settlement, we reach a deep road, pass by Dongó-kút, then our trail turns left onto a stone staircase beside a dry-laid basalt fence leading to the Rodostó tourist house. The shelter was built in 1936 by the Hungarian Tourist Association to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of Prince Ferenc II Rákóczi in Rodostó (present-day Tekirdag). The house’s most famous caretaker was Mária Takács, wife of writer Sándor Tatay - they lived here for years without electricity and running water with their daughter Ágota Tatay. The house, built at about 290 m elevation on the boundary of the Pannonian formation and basalt constituting the mountain, has been closed for a long time, although from its terrace one could enjoy a beautiful view towards Lake Balaton.

The geological formation of the mountain

The 438 m high Badacsony’s lower, gentle slopes consist of upper Pannonian age sand and sandy clay layers up to about 300 m height. Here grow the famous Badacsony vineyards, above which volcanic origin pyroclastic and mostly basalt layers formed by debris scatterings and lava flows, bordered by huge basalt columns called stone sacks, stand. These formed in four eruptive phases. Under the Pannonian formation, built of alternating sandstone, rock flour, and marl with very good water permeability, lies a Miocene shallow marine limestone formation capable of storing large amounts of karst water. Upon reaching this karst water, ascending magma caused phreatomagmatic (interaction of groundwater and magma) explosions. From the basal blockages and debris, a shallow pyroclastic ring formed around the crater, about 5 m thick beneath the basalt, now mostly eroded and covered by large slope debris extending at the base of the basalt columns. As water replenishment decreased and ceased, magmatic explosive eruptions followed, which created cinder and lava spray cones within the tuff ring. Later, during so-called Hawaiian-type lava flow activity, gas bubbles bursting from molten rock produced lava fountains and curtains disturbing the lava lake surface inside the tuff ring. Subsequently, short Stromboli-type magmatic explosive eruptions formed a reddish cinder cone atop Badacsony. The gas-rich, bubbly cinder basalt of red-brown color due to high iron content settled on the mountain’s northern side, including around the lookout, reaching even the tops of the two mines. Because this rock’s physical properties are considerably weaker than the grey, compact basalt, it was considered waste cover from a mining perspective. Removing and transporting this thick rock layer (15-30 m in Badacsonytomaj, sometimes up to the mining wall in Badacsonytördemic) was a significant cost for the mining operation.

Immediately after the mountain’s formation, erosion began. Throughout its existence, sometimes semi-desert sandstorms blew away the volcanic debris and Pannonian formation around it; sometimes Pleistocene frosts split off chunks from the former lava lake basalt body, and eventually the iconic coffin-shaped witness mountain formed, indicating the ancient surface level where lava once flowed protecting it from erosion.

Up the Bujdosók stairs

Bypassing the tourist house, we reach the 464-step stairway named Bujdosók stairs (exiles stairs) created during the Rákóczi memorial year (1935). The stunning slope debris and prepared basalt columns and stone sacks line the way. The exhausting climb is divided by resting points named after prominent personalities from the kuruc era. Not far from one of these rests the 4 m long, protruding Rodostó cave opens. Since the Badacsony plateau is a strictly protected natural area, it is forbidden to leave the marked hiking trail! The cave and about 25 other cavities around the basalt organs are also not allowed to be visited.

Legend says the last shaman of the old Hungarian God hid in these caves from his pursuers. When he grew very old, he decided to leave Badacsony and the western border. He set out on the ice of Lake Balaton. When the guards of the Tihany abbey spotted him, they shouted loudly: "There goes the shaman! The lord of Veszprém, Gerhard, pays a blood price for him!" The armored soldiers chasing him almost caught him, but he didn’t even look back. He knew his fate was in God's hands, not human will. Suddenly the ice split behind him from shore to shore, so his pursuers couldn’t catch him. That day fishermen gave him shelter, but he had to continue east until reaching the mountains of Transylvania. There he collapsed from fatigue and recovered in a seer woman’s hut. He stayed with the Rima woman until spring, then moved on to Székely land, spending his last years in the mountains. When he felt the time had come, he chose the best Székely, and together they climbed the highest mountain. There the old shaman gave him a sword taken from tanned leather: the Sword of God, guarded since Prince Géza's time. The Székely accepted the sword, and the old man told him: "God’s sword will only shine again and lead the descendants of Huns and Hungarians to victory when they are united again, as in the old times: one intent, one will, one deed, according to the command of the Old God." Since then, once a year a Székely climbs his highest mountains to cleanse the sword.

At Czinka Panna resting place, there is also a rain shelter. From here it is worth making a short detour on the K▲ trail to the tördemic lookout point, from where we can see Badacsonytördemic, Szent György hill, far to the left the Sümeg Castle hill and Kecskevár. Benches make rest more comfortable at the lookout. We return to the K trail and continue along the edge of the basalt-capped mountain plateau. Quickly through secondary forest, we reach a stone slab erected in memory of Queen Marie Henriette of Belgium’s 1887 stay here, with views towards the Szigliget bay. The tree canopy only allows catching a glimpse of the southern end of Szigliget above the Queen’s skirt at the site of a former watchtower called Óvár lookout, behind which the abrasion terraces extending to Lake Balaton in the Keszthely hills line up. On the lower Garga hill, the Bél Mátyás, and on Pap hill, the Batsányi lookout stands out, with Balatongyörök visible below.

A few meters further, at the junction of the K+ trail (we stay on the K trail), we reach another lookout point with benches, and then 100 meters later from the base of the dazzling white Ranolder cross made of Miocene limestone, we can admire the magnificent panorama over Harangozó bőrc.

The Ranolder Cross and its surroundings

The 12-meter-high, classicist-style monument erected in 1857 consists of massive individual stone blocks transported by 40 ox carts through the Kőkapu. Tradition holds that when the animals reached the top tired and caught sight of the shimmering surface of Lake Balaton, they instinctively started running up. Two of them fell into the depths, crushing themselves on the lower rocks. Why does this huge cross stand here? This story was recorded by lawyer and writer Károly Eötvös in his work "Travel Around Balaton." "János Ranolder, bishop of Veszprém, was once on a confirmation tour in the Badacsony region. He came up here and was filled with sublime feeling... He called his governor. – Our country is the most beautiful, and this place where we stand is the most beautiful in the world. Build a residence for me here, and above me, on the basalt tower top, erect a giant cross in memory of our Savior. And buy the ruined vineyards for me, and teach people wise viticulture. One day foreign travelers will come here by the thousands and hundreds of thousands to see all beauty in one place!"

From the cross, the hills of Szigliget and the line of the Keszthely hills stretch beyond the Zala river mouth, over the castle and Sipos hills of Fonyód, extending the view over Lake Balaton and the Somogy hills behind it. On clear days, the Mecsek mountains are also visible. From below the cross, we can glimpse the ruined former palace of the bishop among the vineyards. His name is linked to the first purebred plantations established in the wine region. The Ranolder cellar in Badacsonytördemic, with its sandstone facade and area over 1300 square meters, remains the largest in the wine region. From Eötvös Károly’s records, we also know the bishop 'only had six hundred akó of Tokaji Aszú wine properly... When he died, that was all found in his cellars. But that was not his best or most expensive wine. The Badacsony Kéknyelű and Somlyó Aszú were twice as expensive as the most expensive five-puttonyos Tokaji. Because their cellar masters did not filter thinner than five-puttonyos.'

There is also a story attached to the aforementioned Harangozó-bőrc: there lived two brothers in Badacsonytomaj: the strong and evil Ferkó and the weak, good Joska. Ferkó asked a girl for her hand, who agreed only if her brother left the house. The next day, Ferkó invited his brother to fish on Lake Balaton to drown him in the water, but as he tried to push him in, a sound boomed from the top of Badacsony: Harangozó-bőrc sounded. In fear, the evil brother fell and was lost in Lake Balaton. From the book 'Past and Legendary World of Lake Balaton Region' we also know that whoever hears these hammering so-called 'rock sounds' on Lake Balaton will confess even their most secret sins.

Further on the edge of the basalt cap

Our next stop after the Ranolder Cross is the lookout named after József Egry, also called the painter of Balaton. The artist lived and worked in Badacsonytomaj from 1941 till his death ten years later. From the shelter built in 1908, the panorama towards Fonyód unfolds, where on clear days the Mecsek mountains can also be observed. Under the slope debris below, forests, vineyards, and many cellars decorate the mountainside. The space under the terrace is dirty and neglected but useful in case of sudden rain.

Our trail turns northward. About 200 meters later, a right-angle turn leads to the commemorative plaque attached to a basalt rock for Dr. Lajos Jugovics, a geologist and university professor who did much professionally for the protection of the mountain and for ending mining. From here 100 meters further is the Pavilion lookout next to the Hertelendy memorial. Ferenc Hertelendy was a member of the House of Magnates, Lord Lieutenant of Zala and later Temes counties, president and vice-president of several organizations. Using his political connections he earned indelible merits in tourism development on the north side of the lake, including promoting railway construction. A few meters from here is the Pavilion, located about 40 m below the plateau edge, its name not accidental. To the east, nearly the entire northern shore of Lake Balaton can be seen from here. Below lie Badacsonytomaj, then the Örsi and Csönge hills, beyond them the Fülöp hill, the Küszöb promontory, and the water-reaching shape of the Tihany peninsula; on clear days the Mecsek appears southwards.

Up to the summit of Badacsony

After enjoying the view, we continue our hike up the basalt staircase. For some time, our trail steeply climbs. Then we reach a gentle, ancient valley with little slope as the underlying hard basalt with bench separations prevented erosion backward. At Kőkunyhó, we reach the plateau, then turn right and start ascending again. On the K▲ trail, going straight ahead, we aim for the Kisfaludy lookout on top of the volcanic cinder cone.

The 18-meter-high tower open to the sky stands on the 438-meter peak, built in 2011, designed by Szabolcs Kőmíves. It has three floors and a spectacular twisted structure thanks to unit rotation of the octagonal, membrane-like beam lattice ceilings. Its structure is made of steel and pine, with a spiral staircase leading up to the lookout floor. The almost full panoramic view is only interrupted in a small southwestern section by the Badacsony forest. Tables fixed to the lookout frame display photos introducing the surrounding mountains.

Descent to the Rózsakő

From the lookout, we return to the K trail and descend on it from the cinder cone to the Kőkapu valley. After the junction with the K+ trail, the S▲ trail leads left to the corner of the tördemic mine. A beautiful view opens from here of Kőkapu, the Örsi hill behind it, and Balaton, which can be scanned with the eye all the way to the Keszthely hills. Returning to the K trail, we descend through the Kőkapu. The formation of this interesting valley and rock formation is similar to the northern valley of Szent György hill.

Upon reaching the P trail, we head right and after about 300 m, when our trail turns left, if we continue straight on an unmarked path, we can make a small detour to the quarry in Tomaj. Returning to the P trail, we arrive comfortably and at times briskly descending at the Rózsakő, from where we gain another view towards Fonyód. Tradition says if a girl and a boy sit back to Lake Balaton on the basalt block holding hands, they will become husband and wife that same year. The rock named after Rózá Szegedy also inspired Ferenc Király, a vine breeder who named his Badacsony grape variety resulting from crossing Kéknyelű and Budai green after this rock.

Mermaid

From here we descend among the cellars on the K▲ trail. First passing between the Róza Szegedy house and the Kisfaludy house; the Kisfaludy spring flows from the latter. Our way to the railway is charming, with a sight of Éva Kumpost’s 1965 creation Hableány (Mermaid), consisting of 18 square meters and 252 high-fired glazed ceramic tiles, on the side of the Hableány restaurant. The mermaid, lake fish, Sun, and the goat teaching humanity to cut (in this case a chamois horn) beautifully summarize the atmosphere of the settlement called Hableány between 1910 and 1949. But what does the mermaid have to do with Badacsony? Tradition says once the lord of the Badacsony volcano fell in love with a beautiful girl. Upon her call, she appeared to him and he saw his beloved was a mermaid. In fury, he ordered to be thrown into the lake; from the splash the volcano extinguished, and Badacsony got its name Mermaid. The building has functioned as a restaurant since the end of the 19th century, and also opened as a hotel in 1883. It gained its current shape in 1963.

Across the street stands the former Poharazó designed by Ferenc Callmeyer. Today, the bravely designed basalt stone building operates the Pláne Badacsony wine terrace, open year-round, where selected wines and excellent coffee from the wine region can be tasted. Our path here soon comes to an end. Beyond the railway tracks, on the K trail, we can still take a short walk to the boat station where the pier of Badacsony extends into Lake Balaton and the panorama is reflected.