Mindszent stn. – Szarvas (AK-05)

Itinerary:

During the route we must follow the K marker all the time.

• We cut through agricultural areas in a zigzag from Mindszent, then cross the Ludas stream.
• After a long straight, we cross the main road 45.
• Through Ördögös, Tompahát and Őtompahát we reach Nagymágocs.
• We arrive at Árpádhalom along a dirt road.
• We approach Gádoros on a several-kilometer straight section, then continue north to reach Eperjes.
• With a long hike we reach Szarvas, the end of the section.

Detailed description:

Mindszent–Nagymágocs

We start the fifth section of the Alföldi Kéktúra from the Mindszent railway station, where we find the first stamp location inside the station building, at the ticket offices. We reach the K marker at Napkelet street, where following the main road we head towards Szegvár. Mindszent lies on the bank of the Tisza, at the mouth of the Kurca creek. The population, originally involved in fishing, resettled here after the Turkish invasion, its current structure was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. If time allows, it is worthwhile to make a detour to the main square, where the Local History Collection presents the most important historical tools of Southern Great Plain fishing. Walking along the plane trees in front of the Town Hall, we can admire the Art Nouveau Bank Palace building.

Leaving Mindszent, we soon leave the main road and begin our wanderings in the Körös-Maros region. Our path leads among cornfields, sunflower and wheat fields. On this stretch, we traverse some of the most fertile agricultural areas in our country. The average aranykorona value of the soils here is over 25, while the national average is 19. This unit of measure, dating back to the 1850s, indicates the agricultural potential of the arable lands, considering the cultivability, fertility, and location of the area.

After an hour and a half walk, we reach an abandoned agricultural site, then shortly cross the Ludas stream. Such channels will be recurring elements in the following kilometers, as one of the main methods of the 19th-20th century water regulations was the draining of marshy, flood-affected lands and taming rivers with embankments. This aimed to increase agricultural efficiency and provide flood protection for inhabited areas. However, today’s conditions also highlight the downside of our ancestors’ work: due to human-induced climate change, rainfall distribution has become less predictable, and the groundwater level in the otherwise drought-prone Southern Great Plain has significantly dropped. Currently, several initiatives in our country try to mitigate agriculture’s vulnerability to climate change by water retention and reintroducing old floodplains.

After crossing the main road 45, it is worth looking south, as a small hill stands out from the landscape beside the road. The so-called Ludas mound, a burial mound, is accessible by a short detour and offers a good view over the surrounding plain from its top. Such mounds are an integral part of the Great Plain landscape: today the name refers to any man-made elevation formed before the modern era. Contrary to their misleading name, they have no connection to the Cumans; most date back to the Bronze Age and served as burial sites or former settlements. Unfortunately, many of these archaeological monuments have been plowed under or scattered. Several legends are connected to the Ludas mound: according to folk belief, witches from Szeged and Vásárhely gathered here on Saturday nights. In an 18th-century witch trial, one accused is recorded to have said: "At the Ludas mound, I gave my body and soul to the devil."

After crossing the main road we soon reach the Ördögös area, where we find the second stamp of the Alföldi Kéktúra on an information board. Passing through the airy settlement, behind a fence we can see a bell tower standing at the Ördögös farm. Shortly after, we leave the paved road and find ourselves among fields again. Our path is bordered to the north by the Kéktói forest and to the south by an artificially irrigated meadow. After a narrow two-hour walk, we enter the road to Derekegyház and finally reach Tompahát, where the next stamp location is on the wall of the general store. From here, a short walk leads to the Furioso Senior Memorial Park. This famous horse was brought in the 1850s from Count György Károlyi’s stud farm to Mezőhegyes, where the Furioso-Northstar, better known as the Mezőhegyesi half-breed horse breed, was bred. Originally bred for military purposes, it is now an excellent show jumper and a gentle training horse in older age.

Continuing the walk through Őtompahát, we reach Nagymágocs in about 2 hours. First, we pass the manor steward’s house of heritage value, which now hosts a local history exhibition. Turning left onto Szentes road, we see the neoromanesque Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Aloysius, built in 1883 with support from Alajos Károlyi. After a short walk, we find the Nagymágocs stamp location at the gate of the park surrounding the Károlyi castle.

The Károlyi family expanded their estates in the Great Plain from 1722 onwards, holding significant lands in today’s Csongrád-Csanád and Békés counties. The Nagymágocs estate was an extensive manorial farm. In 1896, Alajos Károlyi’s daughter, Zsófia Károlyi, married her second cousin, Count Imre Károlyi. Both having close ties to Nagymágocs, they built their family castle here in an eclectic, Neo-Baroque style based on Viktor Siedek’s plans. The building was equipped with the era’s most modern electric lighting and hot water system; in the attic, a several-ton hot water tank still exists, which supplied the building with properly pressurized bathwater. The noble family possessed the castle until the front passed in World War II. After emigrating, the building became unmanaged, and its valuables were scattered. Nevertheless, the 40-hectare English park survived, so its statues and flora can still be admired today. The castle served various functions during the stormy decades of the 20th century and has operated as a social home since 1954. As a public institution, parts of the park, the pond, and the building are freely accessible. If time permits, it is worth walking around, admiring the ancient trees. The sharp-eyed can also find the resting place of the count’s favorite dogs.

Nagymágocs–Eperjes

After stamping, we head back towards the center of Nagymágocs. Passing through the large village, we can refresh ourselves at a catering venue or replenish our food supplies. For a longer stretch, we walk on asphalt until we reach Szendrey Major beyond the borders of Nagymágocs. This settlement part, consisting of several farm buildings, was named after Ignác Szendrey, father of Júlia Szendrey and the Károlyi estate’s estate manager. Interestingly, for a while, Zoltán Petőfi, the son of Sándor Petőfi, was also raised on the large estate. Here we return to a dirt road, passing fields, acacia groves, and a farmhouse, we reach Árpádhalom.

In Árpádhalom, an old, cooling avenue welcomes us on the village’s main street. Soon, we reach the Károlyi-Berchtold castle, built by Ferdinanda Károlyi, the second daughter of Alajos Károlyi, around the turn of the century. Both the building and the adjoining park are freely accessible but more modest in splendor than its Nagymágocs sibling. Continuing along Dózsa György street, we also reach the wooden-framed Sacred Heart Church built by the countess's commission. An Art Nouveau building might seem surprising in a rural settlement, but it is also a good example of the widespread influence of the Károlyi family in the area. On the wall of the general store opposite the church, we find the Árpádhalom stamp location. Here we are roughly halfway through the section – if we want to rest, the Árpádhalom Tourist Hostel can be a good choice.

As we approach the intersection of the Orosháza main road, the K marker leads straight on. Before continuing on the route, a 1.2-kilometer detour on the K+ marker lets us visit the community's namesake, the mound on its border, surrounded by the main road. Climbing to the top, we find a life tree designed by Imre Makovecz in 1989, in somewhat worn condition.

From Árpádhalom, following the K marker on a several-kilometer, straight section, we approach the large village of Gádoros. Before the settlement, we temporarily cross the border of Békés and Csongrád counties and see the farms around Gádoros. After passing the village railway station, we find the next stamp on the grille door of the Árbarát general store. We walk along the Main Street, then leave the large village behind along Mártirok Street.

After a narrow two-hour hike, we reach Eperjes, where we stamp again at the information board in front of the Saint Ladislaus Church. In Petőfi street, opposite the church, we find the village grocery store, where it is advisable to replenish supplies because there will be no opportunity for the next 20 kilometers. On the outskirts of Eperjes, we can see the Király Lake, a popular fishing spot with local anglers. Across the lake, a well and some Hungarian Grey cattle recall what this landscape might have looked like in the past.

Eperjes–Szarvas

Leaving the village behind, we begin the longest and last continuous section of our hike. First, for an hour and a half, we walk straight along a channel among fields and meadows. As far as the eye can see, plowed fields and narrow rows of trees stretch, barely broken by anything to the horizon. Looking at the many agricultural areas, one might wonder how this region looked before modern human interventions. The nearby Cserebökény puszta with its former floodplains and saline steppes give a clear answer. In this protected natural area managed by the Körös-Maros National Park, there are still wet meadows, temporary and permanent marshes, and saline steppes. In the time of the conquest, the peoples settling here mainly practiced extensive agriculture, using these open areas mainly for grazing or mowing. The 19th-century water regulations drained these lands and cut off the marshes' connections to the Körös River here as well.

With a lengthy, meditative walk, we reach the Dögös-Kákafok channel, another example of the mentioned human interventions. We cross the M44 motorway on a bridge, and the town church towers of Szarvas already appear on the horizon. Crossing main road 4401, we arrive at the Szarvas-Békésszentandrás backwater of the Körös, also called the Kákafok backwater. It meanders 29.2 km between the two settlements, making it one of the more significant standing waters of the Great Plain. Its fresh water supply is ensured by a connection to the Körös. The K marker follows the charming backwater through the Bikazug farmstead. Occasionally, we spot secluded fishing spots where it is worth sitting down and enjoying the varied waterside landscape.

The last stamp of the section is found at the gate of the Csáky-Bolza castle, which is also the entrance gate to the Körös-Maros National Park Körösvölgyi Visitor Center. Outside the visitor center stands the castle building; in its park, the Anna Grove, we can discover a nature trail and the animal park. The castle itself can only be viewed from outside (the national park directorate operates inside), but the permanent exhibition at the visitor center itself offers an interesting program. At the animal park, we can learn about fifty Carpathian Basin animal species. Canoes and bicycles can also be rented here if we wish to explore the backwater or its surroundings from another perspective. The area offers numerous cycling routes, and it is also worth spending a few days exploring the town of Szarvas.