VKG 2024: Szadvár - Derenk

We start the route in the village of Jablonov nad Turnou and take the state road towards Hrušov (red Slovak Karst Cycle Route 029). After a while, we turn left onto the yellow cycle route 8715, enter the forest, and ascend to the Starý les saddle, which is also the state border with Hungary. After a short descent, we arrive at the Vidomáj junction. First, we head left to Szadvár Castle - near the gazebo under the castle, we continue left and after a while we reach the entrance gate (photo1). We recommend touring the castle ruins, it is really worth it (definitely don't miss the almost endless stairs...). After the tour, we return to the Vidomáj junction and continue to the other side - to the vanished village of Drienky (Hungarian: Derenk). Along the way, foundations of buildings with descriptions appear. After depopulation due to plague, the village was settled by Gorals from the Polish-Slovak border area, but during World War II they were involuntarily expelled and the village definitively disappeared. A walk among the foundations of buildings, orchards, and the local cemetery has an indescribable atmosphere... The chapel and one larger, very interestingly and sensitively reconstructed building (the former school, photo2) have been preserved - it houses historical photographs and information about the vanished village. Return by the same route, the more demanding can descend to the Hungarian village Szögliget and return via Aggtelek, Domica, Plešivec, and Silica.