Sámsonháza star tour in the spell of stones

Itinerary

• We start the route following the K markings northwest until the branch of the KL marked hiking trail.
• On the KL marking, we take a detour to the Fejérkő castle, then descend back.
• We turn right and continue following the K markings to the abandoned quarry on Vár-hegy.
• In the quarry, we follow the geological educational trail with signposted boards to the paved road.
• Upon reaching the paved road, we turn left, following the K marking to the Kis-Zagyva bridge (to the right).
• On the other side of the bridge, we first turn right and on an unmarked path visit the nearby abandoned andesite quarry of Csűd-hegy and the viewpoint above it, then return to the bridge.
• This time from the bridge we take the other direction (to the left relative to the bridge) on an unmarked path to shortly visit the abandoned sand quarry of Csűd-hegy, then return to the bridge by the same route.
• Crossing the bridge, we turn right and follow the K markings back to the route's starting point.
• From the starting point, we turn right into the unmarked Rákóczi Street.
• From the artesian well we follow the Kᵯ markings along the slope of Csűd-hegy to the branch 300 meters after the artesian well.
• 300 meters after the artesian well we turn right onto an unmarked cart path and climb up to the top of Csűd-hegy.
• From Csűd-hegy we descend back on an unmarked path to the Mária street.
• Turning left, we descend to the village on the Kᵯ marking.
• On the unmarked Rákóczi Street, we reach the bus stop, the end of our tour.

Detailed description of the tour

We begin our tour at Petőfi Sándor Street, following the K markings of the Blue Trail northwest. About 300 meters later – after house number 87 – we turn right from the main road onto the KL marked “hiking trail.” On this poorly marked path, with continuous ascent, we reach the Fejérkő castle at the top of Vár-hegy.

Fejérkő or Sámson Castle

Little is known about the castle’s history; only one written mention from 1328 survives, naming it but with no information about owners or history. The next mention in 1406 already describes it as ruins, which the owners later never restored. Thanks to archaeological excavations in two phases, we now know more about its past. Before the stone castle was built, a fortified wooden structure likely housing the local lord stood on the hilltop. In the second half of the 13th century, Samson owned the area and probably built the stone castle replacing a much weaker and smaller predecessor. The needed bright white limestone was mined locally on the southern side of Vár-hegy.

Rare white limestone in the area gave material not only to the castle walls but also the fortress its name (Fejérkő means “white stone”). According to the natural features of Vár-hegy, the less steep southern and eastern sides had the originally 10-12 m high inner castle wall surrounded by an outer castle wall. The outer gate opened on the northern side, the inner gate on the southwest, accessed via a narrow passage along the castle wall. Within the inner castle, parts of the northern palace wing and a cistern on the western side have been partially excavated. The fortress may have resembled the castle of Hollókő in shape, size, and layout. Examination of the northern palace wing’s floor revealed a thick burnt layer, suggesting that war or internal strife caused the castle’s destruction before the mid-14th century, only decades after its construction. Over centuries locals took stones from the ruins; only the northern wall of the northern palace wing remains best preserved. From the hilltop, the view faces west: houses of Nagybárkány village appear in the valley, with the summits of Hármashatár-hegy and Nyerges-hegy mountains in the background.

From the castle, we return along the already ascended KL marked hiking trail to Sámsonháza. Upon reaching Petőfi Street, we turn right and follow the K markings about 150 meters to the abandoned quarry on Vár-hegy.

The abandoned quarry of Vár-hegy – geological section

The andesite formed by volcanic activity 15 million years ago has been mined here since the Middle Ages due to its good mineability and hardness. Mining volume increased significantly in the 20th century: from 200 m³/year at the beginning of the century to 2200-11800 m³/year by the early 1970s. After closure, the reclaimed quarry became a geological exhibition site: the quarry wall displays tilted layers of scattered volcanic breccias and lavas at 20-25° angle, overlain by sedimentary layers deposited in the Pannonian Lake. The quarry is visually impressive even for those less interested in geology: various colored layers with curved shapes stack over each other, illustrating episodes of Earth’s history and bending of rock layers due to pressure. The unusually colorful, “playful” design of the quarry is noticeable even in its size.

A geological educational trail runs through the quarry area, which we follow during the tour. Following the signs, we first ascend then descend until reaching the paved road. Here we turn left, then follow the Blue Trail K marks walking back to Sámsonháza. A few meters before reaching the trail branching to the castle, we turn right and continue on unmarked paths, crossing the pedestrian bridge over Kis-Zagyva River.

The abandoned andesite quarry of Csűd-hegy

At the opposite branch, on the right is the abandoned andesite quarry of Csűd-hegy, to the left the also abandoned sand quarry. First, we turn right to explore the andesite quarry. Here you can observe traces of volcanic lava flows and breccia periods. The andesite mined here was of lower quality than at Vár-hegy, mostly used for road foundations. The quarry wall features unique vesicles, some reaching cave size. These cavities formed by gases and steam released when ascending lava met surface water. Leaving the quarry, we climb the steps to a nearby viewpoint with a fabulous panorama overlooking the Vár-hegy quarry. From the viewpoint, we return by the same path to the bridge.

The abandoned sand quarry of Csűd-hegy

From the bridge, we continue toward the sand quarry. 14-15 million years ago, the area was covered by shallow, waving sea inhabited by numerous snails and bivalves. Their calcified shells were broken by coastal waves, forming calcareous sand and sandy limestone mined here primarily for soil improvement in the mid-20th century. We return along the already visited route to the Kis-Zagyva bridge.

Built sights of Sámsonháza

After crossing the bridge, we turn right and follow the K markings on Petőfi Street back to the starting point of our tour. From here we continue walking on the unmarked Rákóczi Street, aiming for Csűd-hegy. We continue on an unmarked path to the artesian well, then follow the Kᵯ markings (straight) passing the World War memorial and the stairs leading to the Lutheran church. It is worth climbing up; a large church stands here relative to the village population. The building was erected by Evangelical Slovaks settled from Upper Hungary after the expulsion of the Turks. The church was consecrated in 1870, and in 1871 Kossuth Lajos was asked to be the supervisor of the Sámsonháza congregation. He accepted and held the position until his death. A bust of him near the walking path to the church commemorates this.

Direction: the top of Csűd-hegy!

Turning from Rákóczi Street onto Kossuth Lajos Street, we continue following the Kᵯ markings, leaving the settlement behind. Climbing higher on Csűd-hegy’s slope, we pass a warm water spring on our left. From here, we proceed about 300 meters uphill on the hiking trail, and before reaching the saddle, we turn right onto an unmarked cart path leading all the way to the top of Csűd-hegy. Upon reaching the 368 m high peak, we enjoy a magnificent panorama: in all directions except east. You can spot the hills and mountains of the Eastern Cserhát, the impressive ridge of the Mátra range, and in the distance, you can even see the summit of Karancs.

Csűd-hegy was once cultivated with vineyards, which were nearly destroyed by the phylloxera epidemic at the end of the 19th century. The vineyards with resistant species gradually disappeared from mid-20th century. Today only some stone banks mark the former parcels. Instead of vineyards, semi-arid clearance meadows and slope steppe meadows cover the hillside, providing habitat for many protected plants: in the Northern Medium Mountains only here lives the hybrid of the coralroot orchid and monkey orchid. From the hilltop we return to our tour endpoint on the already ascended path.