Írott-kő – Egyházasrádóc (DDK-01)

Itinerary:

Throughout the route, follow the K marking.

• From Írott-kő to Bozsok, the K winds through the forest, passing by the Kalapos-kő.
• In Bozsok, after the small bridge, turn left between two houses.
• We reach the Olad district of Szombathely.
• We pass through the Park Forest.
• We reach the Ják Church through the Ják Forest.
• We reach Egyházasrádóc through an agricultural area.

Detailed description:

Írott-kő – Bozsok

The Rockenbauer Pál South Transdanubian Blue Trail is the entire route and starts from the highest point of Transdanubia, the lookout tower at Írott-kő, located on the Austrian-Hungarian border. The bastion-like structure was newly built in 2009. From here, the other end of the route, the Szekszárd railway station, is more than 500 km away, passing through 84 settlements and three distinct ethnographic regions.

After leaving the clearing at the top of Írott-kő, our path leads through beech forests, although due to the relatively wet climate for Hungary, coniferous forests are also typical. The landscape across Western Transdanubia often features mixed forests of conifers and broadleaf trees. The mountain range is unique in the country as it consists of metamorphic rock, partly transformed quartzite and partly transformed limestone, specifically marble. However, it is not to be exaggerated; this is not the Hungarian Carrara. Occasionally, rock formations can be seen but these are not common.

We mostly travel on forestry roads, through beech woods. For several kilometers, the K marking follows the Iron Curtain trail along the border. Although the inaccessibility of the border was not romantic or uplifting, and today there is nothing marking the border line between the two countries, it may still be interesting for many to walk along this previously inaccessible path as a memento of a short period in our history.

Our route descends into the Dark Valley, and upon leaving it, we see the first rock formation. Interestingly, the route only intersects these "stones" since 2013, with the most distinct form being the expressively named Kalapos-kő.

Another descent leads us to the vineyards of Bozsok, marking the farewell to the mountainous atmosphere, as we reach the outskirts of Bozsok amidst holiday homes and vineyards. This area, once a much more significant wine region of Kőszeg-hegyalja before the phylloxera plague of the 1880s, today belongs to the Sopron wine region. Due to the increasing demand for Hungarian and especially Sopron wines, vineyards have been recovering here since the 1980s.

Bozsok, apart from some rusty wrecks at garden edges, with its densely built main street, now more closely resembles the villages of Burgenland, Austria, than other villages in Vas county. The reason is simple: until 1946 it also had a German majority, and viticulture began to decline following their departure.

Bozsok – Egyházasrádóc

In the middle of Bozsok, we turn left from the main road past a charming farm building and continue the route, which actually starts the true South Transdanubian Blue Trail here. If we compare it to a musical composition, Alpokalja was the overture with its beech forests and shady vineyards, laying the atmosphere foundation for South Transdanubia's alternating quickening and slowing waves.

Leaving Alpokalja behind, we reach a plain. From here to Szombathely, we will walk 90% through forested areas with welcoming clay soil. The route itself does not go through the city center; Olad district was only annexed to Szombathely in 1950. Currently, a typical urban suburban patchwork dominates; a mixture of former peasant farms, weekend houses, and houses owned by wealthier layers apparently relocating from nearby Austria, as indicated by the many Austrian license plates, shape the view.

We reach the highest point of Szombathely, the concrete tower of the Oladi lookout. This closed lookout, resembling a gray panel element, is constantly battling graffiti artists. From the top, you can catch a glimpse of the city with the Vasi Open Air Museum village featuring reed and straw-thatched houses prominently in the foreground. From here, we continue towards the Park Forest and the third stamping place, the Park Forest Rest Area, which is also the terminus of local bus line 26.

Heading south, we walk past weekend gardens towards Nárai. After leaving the garden area, the Blue Trail briefly follows the hiking route named after Saint Martin, Szombathely's most famous native. Our path does not enter the village; just before it, we cross the main road and first travel through agricultural land, then through intensively managed forest areas—meaning clear-cutting, young forest, clear-cutting, young forest.

The soil here is less clayey than before Szombathely, thanks to the loess layer beneath the soil. Soon we arrive at Ják, a beautiful village in Vas county, known not for its location but for its Árpád-era church, one of the most beautiful and iconic examples of Romanesque architecture in Hungary. The church is famous mainly for its ornate main entrance with a narrowing, arched portal, but its squat towers and typically monumental form are easily recognizable from afar. Construction began at the beginning of the 13th century and was consecrated in 1256. Like in other areas with stormy history, it was damaged multiple times but always rebuilt. Its last transformation took place between 1896 and 1904 according to the designs of Frigyes Schulek. The next stamping place is in the parking lot beside the church.

After leaving Ják, our route mostly leads through agricultural areas to Egyházasrádóc. We pass renovated farms, new processing plants, and shiny metal silos and storages visible from afar. In Egyházasrádóc, one of the Blue Trail stamps is found on the wall of the Pub beer house on the main street, where the first stage of the route ends. The long-distance bus between Szombathely and Körmend stops at the pub, but those traveling further by train should walk along the main street (Kossuth Lajos Street) to the train station, noticeable to hikers because it was not built according to the usual MÁV standard designs; with its stone edges and shuttered upstairs windows, it looks as if it were brought from the Wekerle estate in Budapest to this village in Vas county. There is also a stamping place here.