Szekszárd loess erosion

Itinerary 

• We follow the K● mark from the bus stop to the Belaci-csurgó.
• Returning to the crossroad, we continue left on the K◼ mark.
• At the corner of the forest we turn left on the P▲ mark.
• We follow the connecting K▲ mark to the Várhegy lookout and stay on it afterwards.
• Reaching the asphalt road, we turn right on it following the K+ mark.
• Climbing up from the Sötét-völgy, after the 2nd gate, maintaining our direction, we follow the K mark.
• A short unmarked path behind the Bati-kereszt leads to the Bati-kereszt lookout.
• Returning to the K mark, we continue our way through vineyards towards Szekszárd.
• At the border of Szekszárd, we turn left on the K↺ mark.
• At the saddle of Cserhát Hill, we turn right on the K↺ mark into the scenic Ferenc-völgyi gorge.
• On Bocskai Street, we soon reach the K mark and turn left on it, which leads to the train station.

Detailed tour description

Kakasd

The village probably got its name from a noble family called Kokas through royal land grants. Its church is known from the 12th century, and its name was first mentioned in a document in 1436. It was completely destroyed during the Turkish wars, similar to many other nearby villages. Resettlement with the neighboring village of Belac took place between 1718 and 1726. Kakasd gained fame as the first settlement in Hungary where serfs could redeem themselves from their lord, István Bezerédj, through the right of redemption.

Behind the bus stop stands the village hall and folk house designed by Imre Makovecz. Its two towers symbolize the intertwined and united Székely and Swabian populations living together in the village. Next to it is the former Saint Anne Chapel located on the border of Kakasd and Belac, united in 1935. The shrine was built in the 18th century and was a minor pilgrimage site.

We start

Following the combined K● and K◼ marks, we pass the Nepomuki Saint John statue standing on the bridge over Faluár Creek. Its location is not random, as Saint John Nepomuk is the patron saint of bridges. In this statue, he is depicted crucified. More commonly (e.g., in Szálka) he is shown with his index finger raised to silence, alluding to the sanctity of the confessional secret, for which he died a martyr’s death. Next to the statue stand a Székely gate and a carved memorial pole.

Heading left, we cross the Rák stream and soon reach the bell tower on Petőfi Street and the crucifix beside it. The bell was rung in case of a death and funeral in the Belac part of the village. About 80 meters later, turning left on the K● mark, we can take a detour to the beautiful brick-built Belaci-csurgó spring about 350 meters away.

We return to the previously left crossroads and continue on the K◼ mark, which sharply turns left before the next crucifix and ascends with a steep climb over pastures and fields to the Öreg Hill overlooking Belac. On the way, we visit two nice viewpoints overlooking the Mecsek.

Up to Vár Hill

At the corner of the forest, we turn left on the P▲ mark; here it is also worth occasionally looking back towards the Mecsek. After a little more than 1 km, we reach close to the top of Vár Hill where we pass beside a game fence, then suddenly turn right following the K▲ mark. The narrow path steeply leads to the Várhegy lookout, erected in 2003, offering a beautiful panorama over the surrounding hills. A resting place was created at its base. The name of the hill and tower includes the term “vár” (castle), referring to a late Bronze Age earthwork castle built on the hilltop. This is why the place is colloquially also called Bativár, but the actual castle is not located here. In 1988, Frigyes Kőszegi, citing Mór Wosinsky (1896), mentioned fire dogs, polished shards, including vessels with turbanned rims, finger-impressed ribbed pots, etc., from the castle area linked to the Lengyel culture. It is possible that the castle was also used in the early medieval period and was only abandoned during the 13th-century castle modernization program of Béla IV, but this would need archaeological excavation to confirm.

Sötét-völgy

From the lookout, we start an easy descent towards Sötét-völgy. The 502-hectare Sötét-völgy is the deepest and the only locally protected nature conservation area in the Szekszárd-Geresd hills. It opens towards the Völgységi stream while the valley, bordered by steep slopes from other directions, hides Tolna County’s oldest forest, a 180-year-old sessile oak grove.

We pass the 12.5-hectare Sötét-völgyi fishing lake, established in 1977. It currently operates as a flood reservoir and fishing water. Its water supply comes from springs and mainly from the Rák stream, and in rainy years from watercourses flowing from the Sötét-völgyi forest. Its most common fish species are carp, catfish, grass carp, bream, crucian carp, as well as pike-perch and pike. A leisure center operates on the lakeshore, whose greatest attraction might be the peninsula and the small island extending deep into the lake, accessible via bridges.

Reaching the asphalt road, we turn right and following the K+ mark, we delve deeper into the valley. After 1.5 km, our mark sharply turns left and bypasses the Sötét-völgyi children’s camp. After crossing the forest, we reach a clear-cut area where a steep climb leads out of the valley. It is slippery in rainy weather! Soon we reach a gate, which after passing through, please close behind you at the owner's request to prevent extensive wildlife damage in the vineyards! From here, we continue on a gentler road to the next gate, enjoying beautiful views of the surroundings on the way.

Szarvas gorge

Continuing on the K mark, we reach the entrance of Szarvas gorge connecting the Bodzás and Bati-kereszt vineyards, probably the most famous loess path of the hills. The loess is a layered carbonate sediment made of mainly quartz grains, formed in the so-called periglacial belt on the southern edge of the Pleistocene ice sheet in the cold steppes. It was transported and spread by wind over about 13 million square kilometers of dry land on Earth. Around Szekszárd, we find dry land loess as the falling dust settled on grassy steppe and bonded among vegetation. Its characteristic vertical capillary system enables it to form steep walls with falling flakes. Its unique forms are mainly shaped by precipitation. Loess paths form because vehicles, humans, and animals crush and loosen the original surface structure of the loess, so the top layer is easily washed away by water, creating linear erosion.

Although Szarvas gorge is neither the longest nor the deepest of such formations in the area, together with its environment it forms a mosaic that is very valuable from a nature conservation perspective. The 2–3-hectare loess pasture meadow there hosts several rare plants, including the rare ash-leaved broom, wild strawberry, and small-headed ant thistle. The species-rich groves of cherry plums, forest roses, and dry grasslands harbor other species. During archaeological excavation in 1959 by Gyula Mészáros, mammoth bones were found in the gorge.

Bati-kereszt lookout

Leaving the deep path, we walk along the neatly cultivated vineyards to the left to the Bati-kereszt made in 1887. The mysterious name originates from the Turkish word “bâta” meaning swampy place or pond. The medieval settlement was depopulated at the end of Turkish rule. The term “báta” is still used in the Sárköz region for naming swampy areas.

A short unmarked path behind the cross leads to the Bati-kereszt lookout. The tower, built from laminated glued wooden elements, stands at 280 meters above sea level. From the 15-meter high viewing platform, facing east, we see the vineyards surrounding Szekszárd and the geodetic measuring tower on Cserhát Hill. To the north lies the Tolnai Hills and South Mezőföld behind the valley of Völgységi stream. In clear weather, Paks and Kalocsa are also visible in the distance. To the west and southwest, the Völgység and Eastern Mecsek hills can be seen. The southern hilly region is covered with vineyards and forests. Finally, our panoramic view to the southeast closes with the Tolnai-Sárköz and the Gemenc forest. Under the lookout are a grill and covered resting shelter.

Returning to the K mark, we continue among vineyards with occasional beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. Following the Kerék Hill vineyards, we reach the forested top of the hill from which we easily descend to the border of Szekszárd, where we turn left on the K↺ mark.

Loop to Szűcsény gorge

At the end of a climb a little more than 1 km long, we enjoy a beautiful view towards Faddi-tető and the city. At the saddle of Cserhát Hill, we turn right on the K↺ mark into the scenic Ferenc-völgyi gorge. At its end, another panoramic section follows, then we continue descending towards the city. Soon, we reach the lower section of Szűcsény gorge. This is the most spectacular and largest such loess formation in the area. One interesting feature of the gorge—like several other local gorges—is that until the first half of the 20th century, besides cellars dug into the loess, the poorest also carved cave dwellings into the walls. Around Szekszárd, about 100 cave dwellings were known, housing several dozen people. Their value was even higher then, sometimes costing up to 400 crowns, which corresponds to about 700–750 thousand HUF in today’s value. Even in 1993, there are records of such cavities being lived in on Kerék Hill, alongside 25–30 abandoned dwellings. In Tolna County, such dwellings began to be eliminated after a landslide in 1927, which claimed the lives of eight occupants in Regöly.

City walk

Leaving the deep path, we turn left on Bocskai Street and soon reach the K mark, passing by the Kelemen–Babits house. In Babits Mihály’s birthplace, a museum was established in 1967, whose exhibition was opened by Gyula Illyés. In 1983 it was converted into a memorial house. On the pink marble plaque on the house wall are works by László Csányi and György Letenyei. In the yard of the Copf-style house, built around 1780, stands Pál Farkas’s sculpture titled Babits Mihály Sitting. At the next corner, we find Benedek Nagy’s Saint Ladislaus statue, erected in 2001, then we arrive to Béla Király Square.

Béla Király Square

The square houses the statue of King Béla I, whose throne is guarded above by two sitting falcons and below by two lions. The statue, unveiled in 1986, was made by sculptor Márta Lesenyei. On the opposite side of the square rises the secession-style facade of the town hall, neighboring Central Europe’s largest single-nave church, the Church of Our Lord’s Ascension, also known as the Downtown Church, built between 1802 and 1805, as its predecessor burned down in 1794. In 1925, it was again devastated by fire, during which the roof structure and tower burned. The damage was caused when, during a morning mass, three children went up to the attic either to roast bats according to some sources or to smoke out pigeons according to others. Its last renovation was between 1983 and 1992. In front of the copf-style church stands a Baroque-style Holy Trinity statue, erected in 1763 in memory of the plague epidemic that devastated the city between 1738 and 1740, and moved to its current place in 1828. The pedestal features statues of Saint Roch, protector of plague survivors; Saint Sebastian, protector against diseases (especially the plague); and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, protector of purified souls. The chronostikon inscription shows the year 1740.

In 1061, Béla established a Benedictine abbey in the village, whose ruins can be found in the inner courtyard of the classical style old county hall designed by Jakab Stann and Mihály Pollack, inaugurated in 1836. Around the abbey stood a castle built after the Tatar invasion, described by Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi as a four-cornered stone building fortified with eight towers and surrounded by a low moat. The county hall building houses the Tolna County Archives, some offices of the Mayor’s Office, Tolnatáj Television, and several exhibitions of the Mór Wosinsky County Museum, such as the Franz Liszt memorial exhibition. In its outer courtyard stands the Wine Well created in 1994 by László Szatmári Juhos and Péter Baky, a playful sculpture showing Dionysus and a lady in a wedding on a wine barrel, while the deity offers wine from a jug to his beloved. Not far from it stands the bust of István Bezerédj, the first noble lord in Hungary who concluded a hereditary redemption contract with his serfs after 1836. The statue’s peculiarity is that due to lack of funds, it was temporarily made of aluminum in 1942 and erected at the entrance to the County Hall, where it remained until 1970. At the southeast corner of the courtyard, we find the replica of the 18th-century county coat of arms, the original of which is displayed in the western wing of the Mór Wosinsky County Museum.

Arrival at Garay Square

Following our mark, we reach Garay Square, formerly called Zöldkút Market, renamed in 1881. At the end stands a well on whose site the statue of Ferenc Szárnovszky was unveiled on June 5, 1898. The statue was made by the foundry on Avenue de Chatillon in Paris. On the eastern side of the pedestal stands a female figure personifying the genius of poetry, offering a laurel wreath to the poet. On the western side is a relief depicting a scene from Miklós Köllő’s The Veteran. The city and county coats of arms were designed for the north and south parts of the pedestal, but they were eventually decorated with the titles of some of the poet’s works. Perhaps anticipating that by our time many would sadly know János Garay only as a "one-work" poet, forgetting his notable works such as the prose collection Sketches with a Pen, the ballad and legend collection The Árpáds, and not least the poetry series Balaton Shells.

The endpoint of the tour is guided all the way to the train station (and bus station) by the K mark.