The southwestern arc of the Káli Basin

Itinerary

• Starting from the train station, we follow the K+ sign, which passes by the Saint Anthony of Padua Chapel.
• Turning right on the K sign, we visit the Salföld Major and the Theodora spring.
• At Kékkút, after the bottling plant, we cross the road and follow the Theodora nature trail (KT sign).
• After the stonecutters’ washing house, we continue straight on the K sign.
• In Kővágóörs, after the bus stop, we turn right onto the P sign leading along Dózsa György Street.
• On the side of Fülöp Hill, we switch to the P▲ sign, which leads to the Millennium lookout tower and a viewpoint.
• Rejoining the P sign, we reach Révfülöp train station.

Detailed description of the hike

Badacsonyörs

The name Örs probably originates from a tribe or personal name. The settlement is first mentioned in a 13th-century deed. Soon after, it was divided into parts called Nagyörs or Boldogasszonyörs and Kisörs; then in the 16th century, Szőlősörs, inhabited by serfs, appeared as a part, when the nobility's Nagy- and Kisörs separated from the old Örs settlement. Szőlősörs was owned by the Choron family from 1548 to 1627, then became part of the Esterházy estate in Devecser; its name last appeared in 1738 when it united with neighboring Kisörs, which was also Esterházy family vineyard at that time. The new settlement Kisörshegy was granted village status in 1904, and was known as Kisörs-szőlőhegy until 1949.

In 1905, Dr. Gyula Folly began developing the settlement’s probably best-known attraction, the Folly arboretum (accessible via the P sign). In 1909 the northern railway line of Lake Balaton and in 1941 the main road no. 71 also reached the settlement, which gave a strong impetus to the Badacsony area.

Departure from the station

We cross the main road no. 71. At the corner stands the romantic guesthouse named Vánkos, reopened in summer 2017, where you can start the hike with coffee and homemade cakes. Following the K+ sign, we soon reach the Saint Anthony of Padua Chapel. Unfortunately, the large horse chestnut tree in front of it had to be cut down in 2019, but the white acacia towering on the other side is still healthy. The chapel was built in 1816 without tower and bell, for which the faithful had to wait until 1887 and 1921 respectively. The smaller bell of the Badacsonytomaj church built in 1757 and purchased the year of the chapel's construction was put in its tower. The bell’s cost was collected by the mountain guard: farmers had to pay 2% of the yield or its price. Due to the building's deterioration, mass could no longer be held there in 1897, so it was renovated in 1899. The interior was consecrated in 1976 by Erzsébet Udvardi. It is decorated with paintings entitled Saint Anthony Preaching to the Fish and Three Kings in front of the crib of Jesus. The chapel’s feast is held on Saint Anthony’s day (June 13) or the Sunday before or after.

In front of the chapel, we turn left onto Kisörshegyi Road, offering views of Badacsony, Gulács, and the skirted Saint George Hill behind. After about 1.5 km we reach the K sign, turning right we begin climbing in a limestone-avoiding oak forest with sparse undergrowth and black pine plantings covering the hilltop.

Walk through Csönge Hill

Along the way, conglomerate rocks forming the hill emerge, and after 3 hairpin turns, we reach the saddle between Örsi Hill and Csönge Hill, where we turn left. We begin a gentle descent through the coppiced forest. Passing near the top of Csönge Hill stand red boundary stones from 1925, protruding from the red soil. Shortly afterwards, we reach the most beautiful conglomerate rocks touched by our route from which the peak of Tóti Hill peeks behind the foliage.

This section reveals a late Permian (about 250 million years old) formation of the Balaton Uplands consisting of a lower layer of coarse-grained conglomerate, whose reddish sedimentary rocks (mainly sandstone and conglomerate) accumulated in an ancient river bed, carrying its sediments to a shallow sea covering the northeastern parts of the Transdanubian Central Range at that time. Due to the semi-arid climate then, the deposited sediments exhibit reddish and purple-red coloring because of hematite and limonite oxidized iron ore minerals coating sand grains and pebbles in the gaps. This rock, usually found at great depths elsewhere in the area, surfaced along the tectonic faults due to tectonic forces. Grain size decreases upwards in the sequence, ranging from cobbles up to 15 cm up to fine-grained sandstone, showing the formation’s diversity.

As the path steepens, the soil's lighter color becomes noticeable, caused by leaching effects of precipitation washing out iron minerals from the upper soil layers. We leave the forest and reach an uncut goldenrod clearing, from where the towering Tóti Hill and Gulács are well visible. Crossing this, we reach a wide country road bordered with long rows of vineyards on one side and the beautiful Káli Basin on the right. We turn slightly right on the wide road to find bee-eater and other species’ nests in its embankment. After admiring the beautiful view over the Káli Basin, we cross the road and follow our sign by passing to the left of an acacia patch before entering the forest about 50 m before the end of the vineyard rows.

Arrival at Salföld

Passing older trees on the sandy road, we reemerge at the edge of vineyards near Aligvári Major, then circle the strictly protected Cseres Hill. The small peak owes its strict protection to the rare Atlantic flora element, the dwarf broom (csarab or locally csarap), which used to live on the hill’s former wooded pastures but is now endangered by overgrowth.

Leaving the forest, we see the small gravel and sand quarries at the edge of the basin at Salföld and at the foot of Rendesi Hill. The Kisörs quartz sand is sediment from the ancient Pannonian Lake. The professional name is noble sand, referring to a collection of quartz grains with over 99% purity, used for making white glass and important as an additive in foundry casting molds.

Our trail leads to a wide gravel road running to Salföld Major, where the national park administration established a demonstration site in 1997, showcasing a farm’s life and several native domestic animal breeds. Besides, visitors can enjoy carriage rides, equestrian shows, herb gardens, agricultural machinery exhibitions, and playgrounds. South of the major stands the village church dedicated to Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, built in 1769, but only the sanctuary and two-thirds of the nave were finished then. The tower and the building took their present form in 1843; the larger bell dates back to 1648.

Salföld

Salföld originally included the settlements of Ábrahám, Alsó- and Felső-Kőkút. In the Árpád era, it was called Salkőkút after Sal from the Atyusz clan, its best-known owner. The village inhabited by Hungarians developed until the Turkish era, then was destroyed similarly to other villages in the 16th century, resettled only after 1711. The new community inhabited by Hungarian serfs began rapid development in the 18th century. It also included Ábrahámhegy with large vineyards; thus, by 1890, the village had 613 residents. The local economy’s most profitable branches until the mid-20th century were animal husbandry and viticulture. Due to the 1973 development concept, significant emigration occurred as the village was outside the priority zone considered the Balaton lakeside area, causing the population to drop from 243 to 77 in 20 years. This partly explains the relatively untouched village landscape.

Continuing from Salföld, we follow the K sign. Alongside the major’s fence on the left is a trough with a Kalligaro motif. Angelo Calligaro, born in South Tyrol in 1862, first emigrated as a stonemason apprentice to Nagykanizsa, where he spent thirteen years, then founded a cement and artificial stone factory in Tapolca in 1907, operating near the city’s old cemetery. He was a public figure in Tapolca in the first half of the last century and a long-time member of the trade association. Several of his products can be found in the area, with wells probably the most prominent. Typical motifs include pitchers, vases with bouquets, and a goose, while the fourth side bears inscriptions of "Kalligaro A. Cement Factory Tapolca" and the year of manufacture.

The hike soon continues along a wide gravel road, with beautiful views to the Hegyestű on the right and an acacia hedge on the left. Before reaching the asphalt, we pass the white cross of priests Adrienn Komáromi from Salföld-Kékkút (1951-58) and Bernát Komáromi mission brother, from where the tower of Kékkút’s nearby church is visible.

Kékkút

Crossing the road, we soon arrive at the neighborhood called Kütyü in Kékkút. The village’s history begins in the 3rd millennium BC and, as the road from Italy to Aquincum wound here, there was a significant Roman settlement in the 1st century AD, evidenced by the foundations of an early Christian basilica discovered at the village boundary. Its name first appears as Kukut (Kőkút) in the 1333-1334 tithe register; along with other basin villages, Charles Robert exchanged it in 1341 with the bishop of Veszprém Meskó for Tátika Castle. From then until 1913, it was under church authority. After Turkish conflicts, it slowly repopulated; its church dates from 1716. Until the late 19th century, with about 250 residents, it mainly sustained itself by farming, livestock, and crafts.

One attraction on Main Street is a folk house ensemble showing ancient forms, consisting of a 1799-built, reed-roofed, open side-porched, three-room wooden house with stable. This is the oldest folk monument of the area. About 300 m from it lies the late Baroque Saint Demeter Church, built in 1760 on the site of the village’s medieval church. After renovation, it was blessed in a farewell mass by Archbishop Gyula Márfi of Veszprém in 2018. A neat, landscaped churchyard spreads around it.

Continuing in the same direction, we leave the village and after 900 m reach a spring on the right side of the road.

God's gift

The Theodora spring flows at the meeting point of two major faults where Permian red sandstone and Lower Triassic layers meet. The thermal water created by the mixing of two groundwater layers was traditionally the favorite drink of Empress Theodora, wife of Emperor Justinian. The spring’s name means "God’s gift" in Hungarian. At the source, in 1907, the Lang Mayer and Son brewing company first built a bottling plant and marketed the medicinal water as “Kékkúti Anna spring water.” In 1909, Lajos Tolnay, a tinsmith from Tapolca, purchased the plant and won the best mineral water title at the 1912 Paris International Trade and Economic Exhibition. Following several new owners, it was nationalized in 1949. In 1976, the Badacsony region winery filled 25,000 bottles daily and by 1985 exported to Hong Kong, West Germany, the Soviet Union, and Italy. The Kékkúti Mineral Water Ltd formed in 1990 changed shareholders several times and in 2016 became Szentkirályi-Kékkúti Mineral Water Ltd, owned by Alessandro Pasquale and Levente Balogh.

We pass in front of the bottling plant, and before the bend switch to the Theodora nature trail (KT sign) on the opposite side of the road. From the grass, there's a beautiful view of Kopasz Hill and the Mindszentkállá beneath it. At the Time Trail nature trail signs, we turn right and, after a dense but short blackthorn section, cross the Sásdi Creek feeding the Burnót Creek. On the far side, we continue left and about 200 m later turn right towards Kővágóörs, whose church towers rise above the trees in several places. We cross the meadow and walk nearly one and a half kilometers along the basin floor, stopping frequently to admire the surrounding villages and hills. Soon Badacsony appears behind the tower of Salföld’s church and Csönge Hill. We cross the Burnót Creek which springs at the foot of Henyei Hill as Dobogó Creek and continue towards Kővágóörs.

The Kővágóörs washing house and the washing

Walking between a meadow and a blackthorn strip after the left-hand S bend, we glimpse Kővágóörs’s over 200-year-old archaic washing house, used until the mid-1940s. Such buildings are unique to this region of Hungary. The house built on the banks of the washing Séd is fed with water constantly at +18 °C. It was also an important community space where women usually washed once a week, on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. The saying went, "Whoever wears clothes washed on Friday may be struck by lightning!" Therefore, washing was prohibited not only on major church holidays and Sundays but also on Fridays, especially Good Friday, as well as on Saint Lucy's Day, All Souls' Day, and others.

Inside the house, two planks were laid crosswise and lengthwise; dirty clothes were placed on one, clean on the other. Women primarily washed with soap made from rendered lard from pig intestines. This was made by adding soda and potash lye to the fat, then slowly cooking it for hours until the lard dipped with a feather lost down. The soap was poured into molds and, after solidifying, cut thinly with wire. Linen and bedding were boiled at home with soap, then only rinsed in the washing house, while other clothes were soaped and hammered there, piled, and pounded. The twisted, pulled clothes were taken home and smoothly ironed, then placed in the cupboard.

Next to the washing house was a slaughterhouse operating on Saturdays (when no washing took place). Only its wall remnants remain today. Curiously, two Roman tombstones were once used as tables inside.

Passing by the Rózsa-Horváth or Mosóházi cross erected in 1900 at the bend of the main road, we enter Kővágóörs via the K sign, a village organized around the turn of the 10th-11th centuries.

Kővágóörs

The village is first mentioned in a 1263 charter as Örs. Its former settlement centers were Ecséri, Kisörsi church ruins, and the evangelical church. The small noble, curial settlement was crossed by a royal road, bringing development in peace times but also leading enemies here during wars. For example, Kővágóörs was depopulated several times during the Turkish invasions and the Rákóczi uprising, from which it only resettled around 1720. Afterwards, it showed lively development, becoming the seat of the county deputy in the 19th century. Since Révfülöp belonged to the settlement then, it conducted active trade with the southern shore of Lake Balaton and developed a skilled artisan class. It had its own train station and ship port, and a district doctor also operated in the village. Today, with less than 800 inhabitants, it became a market town with over 2100 residents by World War I. It is notable that houses are always oriented northeast-southwest regardless of lot orientation. In 1943, Révfülöp was detached, after which agriculture became the main source of income.

At the corner of Jókai Street stands a beautiful manor with vineyard-decorated façade. Following the sign for about half a kilometer, we reach the Heroes' Well World War memorial and behind it the pair of Nagyboldogasszony Church and the evangelical church.

The history of the two churches was quite adventurous: The first authentic mention of the parish of Örskál appears in the 1333 papal tithe register but was destroyed during the Turkish invasions. Soon after, by 1605 it had a Protestant congregation. After the church was rebuilt by both denominations between 1774 and 1794, after long disputes, it remained under the Evangelical church. Its story is well depicted by János Sági in 1902: "… they had no church. Therefore, they summoned the Protestants to immediately leave the church… But the Protestants stood at the church door and pushed the Catholic faithful back. Eventually, they fought. Clubs, knives, and small axes appeared. The Catholic faithful realized they couldn't take back their church. But why quarrel with that heretical crowd? After all, there are enough stones here, in Kővágó-Örs! They collected the needed money, united for work, and built a new church, but not in the other part of the village. No, they built it just twenty steps in front of the Lutheran church… The church is still there today. It contemptuously turns its back on its brother." The Catholic church built between 1773 and 1802 with the help of Archbishop Károly Esterházy of Eger is also called dactemplom by locals.

Up to Fülöp Hill

At number 24 Jókai Road stands the former evangelical high school building. After the bus stop, we turn right onto the P sign along Dózsa György Street, which continues straight at the end of the double acacia grove when the asphalt road turns right. From here, Fülöp Hill is clearly visible. Leaving agricultural areas, as we enter the turkey oak forest, the red sandstone forming Fülöp Hill from the Permian period opens up on the water-eroded path between the vineyards. Our path truly begins to rise from here. Turning onto the P▲ sign, it’s worth walking out to the edge of the vineyard at the left bend before the summit, from where you get a magnificent view of the Tapolca basin’s witness hills with the extended plateau of the Keszthely Mountains in the background. After a 700 m walk through the limestone-avoiding oak forest, we reach the Millennium lookout tower, which probably burned down from lightning on 2 February 2020. The damage assessment for the building has already been completed; renovation works are expected to be finished by autumn 2021.

From the lookout, to the northeast behind the Tihany Peninsula, the eastern basin of Lake Balaton is visible. Facing south, almost the entire southern shore is visible, then on the northern shore, Badacsony, with Örsi and Csönge Hills in front; Gulács, Tóti, and Saint George Hills; in front of them, Cseres Hill, Kütyü Hill, Sabar and Mogyorós, finally closed by Csobánc. Behind them lies the long dolomite block and northern basalt edge of the Keszthely Mountains, interrupted by the 413 m high basalt cone of Tátika. According to the renowned geographer Jenő Cholnoky, "From Fülöp Hill at Révfülöp opens one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. There are higher mountains, larger waters, but places where the multitude of volcanic cones meets the broad water mirror exist only possibly at the Brazilian coasts near Rio de Janeiro."

To Révfülöp

A somewhat steep wooden stairway from the lookout leads down through the forest to upper Révfülöp Nyaló, while rejoining the P sign. Along the way, we also pass a viewpoint with a bench. After the red sandstone wall, our sign turns right towards main road 71, on which turning left brings us to Révfülöp train station, the endpoint of our hike, after 300 m.