Zalalövő – Rádiháza (DDK-04)

Itinerary:

During the route, we must follow the K marking all the way.

• Starting from the southern end of Zalalövő to Kustánszeg, we follow a strongly undulating, hilly route mostly through forest paths.
• Upon reaching Kustánszeg, we can get acquainted with Göcsej, and it is worth taking a detour to the lake.
• We pass through several smaller settlements and parts of settlements.
• After Petrikeresztúr, we touch the Patóhegyi Wine House Village.
• In the center of Zalatarnok, we turn south.
• We proceed on a paved road up to Szentkozmadombja.
• Along arable lands and forest strips, we reach the Rádiháza railway station.

Detailed description:

Zalalövő - Kustánszeg

As we leave the city district of Pörgöl in Zalalövő and already see and hear the truck traffic of Road 86, which replaces the long-promised Gdansk-Trieste European corridor, pay attention because there have been recent changes here. You have to climb up a hill in the forest on a field road, and on the top, from the bend of Road 86, walk about 100 meters eastwards along the road to the first bus stop. Here we turn southeast towards Nagyfernekág. Nagyfernekág shows the characteristics of dispersed settlements and seems to be an independent village but is actually part of Zalalövő.

The Zala Hills here follow a dissected, strongly undulating surface, with misty valleys, but the heights of the hills do not exceed 300 meters. We go up a hill for a long time and down into marshy, swampy valleys here and there. After Nagyfernekág, we cross a shrub-bordered meadow and then return to the forest. A few farms break only the peace of the forest over long kilometers. Looking around from the small clearings, the hills seem endless; after the densely built-up region of Őrség, the endless calm of the Zala Hills begins. Nothing but leaf-covered paths, trees, birds, occasionally a deer, roe deer, or distant wild boar tramping. After 16-17 km, farms and houses begin to become denser, but the forest still dominates; the first cultivated areas barely appear: this is already Göcsej.

After Őrség, Göcsej is the second important ethnographic region touched by the South Transdanubian Blue Trail. The dispersed settlements here are replaced by the similarly hilltop built 'szegek' - according to some assumptions, the name comes from plots cut out of forest corners (Kustánszeg, Vargaszeg, Kereseszeg, etc.). Until the 19th century, like Őrség, the region was considered backward and isolated due to poor quality clay roads, thus preserving many archaic features. Smoky houses were common here, but a characteristic Göcsej house was also the pitched thatched roof house, although today these can mainly be seen in the Göcsej Village Museum in Zalaegerszeg. Due to many trees, plank-built construction was widespread. Of course, today's 'szegek' are not located on the sites of those several hundred years ago, as the old ones were destroyed during the Turkish wars, and newer ones were created. While the people of Őrség and Hetés (a small ethnographic area on the Slovenian-Hungarian border) exercised border guard duties, the Göcsej people were their rear guard and helpers.

However, in the 20th century, the development of Göcsej differed from that of Őrség. The most important milestone was the discovery of oil around Kiscsehi-Budafapuszta, and from the 1930s, thanks to large-scale oil extraction, emigration decreased, and the local population gained work and income. The sight of the nodding oil pumps (pumpjacks) is still typical. Because of this, villages began to transform earlier, traditional peasant farms disappeared, and brick buildings and later cube houses appeared. Except for one or two old farmhouses, only economic buildings retain something from the world before the 20th century.

Comparing the two ethnographic regions, by the end of the 20th century, the much more isolated Őrség was able to capitalize on its untouched character. While tourism avoids Göcsej, Őrség became popular; there they were able to revive some earlier dying crafts (pumpkin seed oil pressing, basket weaving, pottery), keeping traditions alive and lovable and making the landscape romantic. The small-village microregion of Göcsej also has every chance for this, as nature and cultural history are present.

Kustánszeg - Rádiháza

Leaving Kustánszeg, after cultivated fields and shrubs, we arrive at Kislengyel. On the other side of the road are grazing cows, sparsely built hillsides, a small bell tower, and tall spruce trees that make the landscape charming (provided you stand with your back to the very rusty oil pump at the village border).

After Kislengyel, we climb a hilltop where the once larger Kereseszer stood, but now the forest has reclaimed the ridge, leaving only a few inhabited houses. We walk down to the paved road and then head south through Barabásszeg. The landscape becomes noticeably gentler. The waves of the hilly railway after Zalalövő become flatter and longer. We proceed on a ridge between pastures and fields until we reach Petrikeresztúr. We quickly pass through the small village and then cross the Nagylengyel stream, climbing up to the Patóhegyi Wine House Village. A feature of southern Göcsej is that away from the inhabited settlement there are no buildings in certain 'szegek' areas but vineyards instead. Over time, wineries and a few permanently inhabited houses formed the so-called wine house villages. One of the most beautiful examples is the Patóhegyi Wine House Village, where most renovated houses now operate as apartments, but real wine houses can also be seen.

After the vineyards, we descend to Zalatarnok, where we cross Road 75. From here, the system of north-south valleys becomes noticeable, which puzzled Hungarian geomorphologists for a long time: tectonic (earth movements), erosional (water wash), or deflationary (wind-abraded) valleys? According to current views, the valleys are of deflation origin from the Ice Age. Even those not delving into scientific reasons notice that if you follow the route north-south - as after Zalatarnok - you walk almost flat, while if the route is east-west, the road undulates up and down.

We proceed on a paved road to Szentkozmadombja, from where the hills flatten completely, and we reach the Rádiháza railway station along a long straight road. The station has the route section boundary stamp location.