Treasures of Zamárdi

 Itinerary

•  From the railway station, follow the S mark heading southeast, crossing main road No. 7.
• At the Red Cross, continue straight on Szőlőhegyi street (Roman road). This section is unmarked.
• After the Donkey Stone, at the corner of Kő-hegyi vineyard, reach the S mark again, turn left to reach the Kő-hegyi lookout.
• At the Iron Cross, keep right, after a few meters turn right on the Z+ mark.
• After crossing the S+ mark, where the Z+ mark turns left, continue straight on the unmarked path towards Szántód.
• Kossuth Lajos street leads to the Szántód railway station.

 Detailed about the route

 Zamárdi

Findings from Neolithic to the Copper, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and from the Celts and Romans have been unearthed in the Zamárdi area. The material from the Avar cemetery is particularly diverse and likely one of the largest and richest cemeteries in the Carpathian Basin. The settlement's name appears in several Árpád-age documents. The earliest mention is King Stephen III's charter from 1171 as Zamard; from the 13th century as Somárd, Somárdi; and from the 18th century as Szamárdi. The original village was Egyházas-Zamárd, which was destroyed by Turkish invasions in the 16th century. Resettlement began in the 1730s initiated by abbots Grassó Vilebald and Lécs Ágoston from Tihany, and by 1774 the village church was completed. The southern railway line built in 1861 spurred regional development, and the bathing life flourished from the 1910s. In 1913, the Balatonzamárdi Bath Association was formed, showing notable growth from the 1930s. Development toward mass tourism began in the 1960s, visible in several buildings and plot formations. Zamárdi received city status in 2008.

The House and Open-Air Museum of Old Times

Starting southeast from the railway station on the S mark, cross main road No. 7. Turn right from Honvéd street onto the Main street. At No. 83, behind a twig fence, is the village's folk house built in 1847. Its builder, Benedek Friesz, was born in Zamárdi in 1819, descendants of serfs resettled by abbot Lécs Ágoston of Tihany. The residence included a 2-acre plot with a 25-meter deep well, poultry and pigsties, and a cellar. The main building had two rooms, a kitchen, pantry, stable, and barn. Behind the yard were vegetable and fruit gardens and a home garden. According to Zamárdi's 1847 land register, the house and meadow covered 6.5 acres, and the arable land 11 acres. The main occupations then were grain farming and animal husbandry; family farming ended in 1959 with the founding of the cooperative. The building was purchased by the Zamárdi Council in 1974, and its original furnishings restored by the Somogy County Museum in 1976 using authentic period materials. The building shows early 19th-century style with a typical Balaton pillar porch house, 80–100 cm thick walls made with swallow nesting (rammed) technique. Its archaic feature is that all rooms open onto the pillar porch.

The Red Cross

At the corner of Main street and Szélescsapás road, on the initiative of the "Rosary Society," stands the Red Cross carved from Balaton Uplands red sandstone, erected in 1897 by public subscription. It once served as a stop for the Andocsi pilgrimage. Behind it rises the millennial memorial, a sculpture by Tibor Szervátiusz. The artist personally selected the stone block from the quarry on the northern side of Haraszt Hill above Süttő. The hard and durable freshwater limestone, formed from the Upper Miocene to Pleistocene, contains many fossils and plant remains. It is a preferred building stone used for refurbishing the Parliament, Matthias Church, and St. Stephen's Basilica. The monument, unveiled on August 19, 1996, depicts the Turul bird from the famous Rakamaz comb, with an inscription of the second stanza of the Hungarian anthem. The two smaller stones bear the dates "896" and "1996."

The Donkey Stone

Proceed straight on the unmarked Szőlőhegyi street (Roman road); after 600 meters, reach the Donkey Stone lying in the Kiserdő forest. What we see here is a small replica of the stone seas of the northern shore. The block formed from well-sorted sand and gravel deposited in the shallow delta mouth of rivers flowing into Lake Pannon. The lake’s waves and currents spread this large amount of material, forming ripple marks, later cemented by siliceous solutions at its current location.

Tradition says two "prints" on a smaller nearby stone come from the time when the child Jesus traveled here on a donkey with the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, and the animal nipped a tuft of grass growing on the rock's side, hence the name Donkey Stone. The footprints of Jesus and the donkey's legs remain as depressions preserved on the stone. Explanations also suggest it was thrown here by the Tihany volcano, left by the flood, or brought by returning Crusaders from the Holy Land. The most probable theory is that it was an ancient sacrificial hill. Archaeologists found small goddess statues and idols nearby, as well as a stone axe fragment and bone arrowhead not far from the fields.

A resting place with benches and tables surrounds the small stone sea.

The Kő-hegy Lookout

At the corner of Lookout vineyard, reach the S mark; turn left to climb the only 176 m high Stone Hill, named after the stones protruding from the ground. Like many other parts of Zamárdi, the Celts and Romans inhabited the hill. The Celts' urn cemetery excavated finds are kept in the National Museum while the Romans built villa estates at the western foothill.

After a right turn in the street, we reach the Kő-hegyi lookout, built on the site of a beautiful pressing house belonging to the Tihany Abbey's Stone Hill vineyard, which stood here until 1948. The distinctive tower was realized through municipal investment, donations from residents, and financial support from the National Cultural Heritage Ministry and the Ministry of Economy; it was inaugurated in 2000.

31 stairs lead to the lookout; from the top, a full panorama awaits us. Looking west towards the western end of Lake Balaton, the tower of the Saint Christopher church in Szántódpuszta can be seen among the trees, followed by the port and hotels of Balatonföldvár. Behind them lie the hills of Balatonboglár, then the hills of Fonyód, and finally the range of the Zala Hills. Looking north, the imposing massif of Badacsony, Örsi and Csönge, Fülöp Hill, and Küszöb Ridge follow, with Gulács and on clear days the Keszthely Mountains stretching at the lake's northwest corner. Further on, Zánka is visible with the towering Hegyestű to its northwest and Fekete Hill, as well as the Balatonakali area. Before the ranges of the Balaton Uplands extends the Tihany Peninsula into the lake, then Füred and the eastern basin of Balaton. On the southern shore, the Zamárdi church and the hotels of Siófok draw our attention. Looking south, the outer Somogy hills stretch in waves.

The Iron Cross

From the lookout, continue southeast. At the corner of Kereszt vineyard, reach a beautiful stone crucifix. After a relay station, enter the forest, where keeping direction on a wide dirt road, after 1.4 km at the end of the wide clearing called Tatárcsapás, we encounter the so-called Iron Cross, erected in 1896 by Zamárdi village and the Tihany Abbey in memory of the thousand-year-old homeland. Standing on Zamárdi's highest point, the cross has a masonry base and is made of wrought iron. Originally, four lime trees surrounded it, of which two remain today. Locals visit annually on Epiphany in the footsteps of the Three Wise Men. Then children search for the symbolic Bethlehem manger. A well-arranged shelter and fire pit await under the black pines next to the cross. To the left of the rest area, across the road, stands the memorial stump for Zamárdi hiker László Szabó, who died young.

The Iron Cross Forest Reserve

Continuing a few meters from the rest area, turn right on the Z+ mark, entering the Iron Cross Forest Reserve. The forest reserve is a forest area consisting of a strictly protected core area and a surrounding protection zone under conservation status. No human activity is allowed in the core area to ensure the undisturbed natural forest processes, which many scientific studies also focus on. They typically feature diverse forest structures, rich and special wildlife, and natural forest dynamics. In Hungary, the forest reserve network started in the 1990s and now includes 63 such areas. The Iron Cross Forest Reserve's 31.5-hectare core supports zonal lime-loving oak forests, with species like turkey oak and downy oak. As admixtures, drought-tolerant flowering ash, field maple, and Amelanchier are characteristic. Among protected species, the white bird's-nest orchid and great burnet, which produces citrus-scented essential oils, are noteworthy. In the 86.4-hectare protection zone, non-native black and Scots pines form homogeneous and disturbed stands, where the spread of an invasive species, the tree of heaven, causes significant nature conservation problems. Establishing forests with indigenous deciduous species capable of serving as protective forests instead of these stands is the primary goal.

Forest Wave to Szántód

From here, begin a pleasant descent. Turning right at a game lookout, reach the asphalt forestry access road connecting Szántódpuszta and Ságvár through oak and downy oak forest. Walk about 300 m right, then at the curve's far end turn left onto a clearing. Follow a steep but short section to the high seat, then skirt the fenced area at level. The next important junction is the crossing at 9 Hill, with a sign informing about Somogy Hills' wildlife.

Continue straight, soon passing an enclosed orchard. Further on, a beautiful view opens in front of the yellow-colored cellar towards the Tihany Peninsula. At the intersection with the S mark, enjoy nice views of the surrounding hills. Until 1997, the village was part of Zamárdi, so it is the youngest settlement around Lake Balaton. Its main attractions are the ferry and Szántódpuszta, where an agricultural history exhibition and various programs await visitors.

Where the Z+ mark turns left, continue straight on the unmarked path towards Szántód; during descent, enjoy the panorama. In the built-up area, at the start of Kossuth Lajos street, find a small park with a statue of the former governor, shaded benches, and a playground. The far end of the road leads to Szántód railway station.