On Vas Hill and in the Pinka Gorge, at the gateway to the Alps and Burgenland

Itinerary:

• From the bus stop, we start westward along Néphadsereg Street perpendicular to the main road on the Z+ trail.
• Turning left onto the Z trail, we reach the Pinka Gorge, from where we take a short detour along the Z+ trail to the state border.
• We continue on the Z trail to Vas Hill and the border crossing on the far side of the hill, where we make a circular route on the Austrian side.
• On the Z trail, for a short section we return towards Vas Hill.
• On an unmarked section, then on the Z▲ trail, we walk to the Saint Margaret Chapel.
• We descend back on unmarked asphalt touching the Iron Curtain Museum to the Z trail at the Pinka bridge at Felsőcsatár.
• From here, turning onto the better-known route on the Z+ trail, we complete the circle.

Details about the hike

In the shady Pinka Gorge

From the bus stop at Felsőcsatár, we head west on Néphadsereg Street perpendicular to the main road, following the Z+ signs. We turn left onto the Z trail, cross the Pinka bridge, and then follow the stream upwards. At first, we walk a few hundred meters on the asphalt road leading to Vas Hill, then a path branches off to the gorge along the edge of meadows and streamside trees. Almost immediately, we find ourselves at the wildest point of the gorge, where the rushing stream cuts through the slate rock mass of Vas Hill. The valuable, 150-million-year-old metamorphic rock is mined as decorative stone near the settlement, sold under the name "Csatári kő". The path climbs steeply in the narrow side between the rocks and the Pinka stream. In places, the rushing water even undercuts the path. Right beside us, a dam and a fish ladder that bypasses the gradient appear because here, for the last time, both banks of the Pinka are Hungarian soil, so a hydroelectric plant was installed on the other side on the site of the former mill.

From here, the wide valley floor path moves away from the Pinka and winds in the shady floodplain forest, circumventing the rocks of the hillside. Fallen tree trunks sometimes hinder progress on the road. Here, we already walk in the border zone where no forestry took place during the existence of the Iron Curtain; afterward, it became a nature conservation area, the green belt of Europe, a forested strip separating east and west. The steep, rocky slopes are adorned with ferns and moss patches in the dark gorge forest. The proximity of the stream and the subalpine climate always result in humid, mild weather at the valley bottom.

Following the meanders of the Pinka, hidden by trees, we almost lose our bearings, only the branching Z+ sign, then a full “S” turn and the climbing Z trail on the hillside help with orientation. We also climb on the Z trail but first take a short detour: it is worth following the streambed to the border crossing along the Z+ trail. We have to walk only a few hundred meters to the border in the shaded forest, where the current border crossing is an instructive sign of the Schengen area. Only a sign painted with national colors warns of the transition between countries. A multilingual information panel supported by paragraphs explains who may cross here. In fact, nothing changes on the other side; only a sewage treatment plant and a large quarry indicate that the Austrians have a different relationship to the gorge.

Values hidden among the oaks on Vas Hill

Back at the Z trail, we begin climbing a steep hillside, leaving the shady gorge forest behind and continuing through bright shrub forest dominated by knobby downy oaks. If we pay attention to details, we can discover rare plants in the area, such as the small-leaved, moss-like mountain clubmoss, whose only stable station is found here in Hungary.

The steepness of the hillside quickly eases, and after an elevation gain of over a hundred meters, we reach the top of Vas Hill. Strange mounds a few meters high make the summit uneven: the earth hummocks hide burial mounds. The Iron Age Hallstatt culture, which lived in the 8th century BC, used large areas of the hilltops surrounding the Pinka on both sides for burials. Notably, the geodetic tower of Vas Hill was erected on one of these mounds. The concrete ringed structure rises above the trees and was maintained due to border guard duties. Climbing is forbidden, though from the top, one can look widely over both sides of the border, as far as the Keszthely Mountains and the Eastern Alps range.

Descending slowly on the other side, the Z trail leads to a forestry road at the same level, where we take a large detour: we return here after our Burgenland circular and descend eastward from Vas Hill on an unmarked forest path. The contrast between the Austrian side's vineyard culture and built environment and the conditions in Hungary makes this few-kilometer extra circle worthwhile. The Z trail soon exits the oak forest and reaches the border crossing on the open southern side with vineyards to the right.

Vineyard slopes of Burgenland

The asphalted rural road, Grenzweg and Grenzlandstrasse, winds narrowly between rows of vines, press houses, and residential houses. Among tidy houses and yards, we reach a triple junction where we turn onto the asphalt strip of the Obere Kellergasse running sideways on the level. Far below, the vineyard plots stretch out. This hillside, the southern side of Eisenberg, is considered the best of the Burgenland wine region; visibly, viticulture dominates everything in the area. Below us, however, the neighboring more gently rolling hills are already covered with forests, as is the less sunlit northern side. The view extends far from the vineyard-covered hillside to the plains of Hungary and the hilly, mountainous areas of South Burgenland and Slovenia.

We cross over to the northern side of the hill. We leave the rows of vines and houses at the Eder family restaurant, which offers a great opportunity to taste the local wine culture products, the South Burgenland uhudler. Opposite the restaurant, beside the characteristic village pillar press, we reach a four-way junction – it is worth choosing a pleasant forest walk returning through the trees. The middle path returns across the summit of Eisenberg toward Hungary, but unfortunately without a northern view. Upon reaching the border crossing, we return on the forest road to the junction of the Z trail and continue straight on the unmarked forest path. From here, we actually follow the Iron Curtain Museum's signposted route, which now winds among the vineyards on the Hungarian side.

In the vineyards of Vas Hill, at a preserved private collection of border protection

Among orchards and vineyard plots, we reach a shallow valley confluence, where we take a few hundred meters detour to the Virgin Mary Chapel, already visible from afar. This offers the best view of the whole area, worth taking the short distance. Among the vineyards, the western ranges of the Alps emerge to the north-northeast. If arriving in good weather, one can see the highest Rax group rising above 2000 meters, as well as the grassy, snowy peak of the Wechsel, the source of the Pinka.

The chapel, set in a romantic location among vineyards and orchards, looks down on the surroundings, Felsőcsatár, and the Pinka Gorge from the highest point. Opposite us appears the wide, flat block of the Kőszeg Mountains, the last larger Alpine block to the east before the landscape finally spreads out over the Rába sediment-covered plain. To our left, between vineyards and forest, stands the open-air Iron Curtain Museum. Only the disabled entrance opens here, but if we are lucky, we can enter.

Returning to the previous junction, we descend into the shallow valley scattered with houses, passing to the right in front of the museum entrance. Original border protection objects and tools are exhibited in chronological order, with some explanations and descriptions of the development and eras of border protection. Even if we don’t enter, it is instructive to see the watchtower surrounded by barbed wire, as it once protected the impeccable values of socialism from the decay of the declining West – eventually, time exiled them here among the vineyards.

From the museum entrance, we continue along the asphalt road leading into the forest, which after a sideways turn steeply descends to the Pinka River, joining the Z trail. At the parking lot, our circular route closes.