The Bükkalja has so much to offer to the visitors that we could write a book about it. In the previous blog posts I have covered different thematics, but there are a few topics that I did not want to force into any of them. So on this page I list a few places that are worth a visit if you are travelling around the area.
De la Motte Castle in Noszvaj
The late baroque castle can be found in the center of Noszvaj. It was built between 1774 and 1778 and was named after a french marquis, who married the owner of the castle, Vécsey Anna. The castle can be visited, and you can enjoy a bit of France in the middle of a Bükkalja village. The castle is decorated with interesting frescoes and baroque furniture, it’s also a popular wedding location.
Hór-völgy (Hór valley) and the cave man
The Hór-völgy is rated among the most beautiful valleys of Hungary. You can find the entrance by the road between Cserépfalu and Bükkzsérc, together with a visitor center, cave man museum, restaurant, playground for the children and bike rental possibility. After an easy hike you need to climb up to the Suba-lyuk cave, which became world famous in 1932. That’s when the bones of a young woman and a small child were discovered, who lived here 60-70.000 years ago. You can see the copies of the bones in the museum, and you can learn about the life of the cave men who lived here thousands of years ago.
Near the trail to the cave you can see a relief showing the cave man’s family. I have a special connection to the sculptor, Borsos István, as he was not only a talented artist, but also a great teacher and a wonderful person. He used to teach me drawing and art at grammar school, and he was also the director of the school.
Traditional Hungarian houses
We loved driving around the villages of Bükkalja, looking for beautiful traditional Hungarian houses. These narrow and long houses are usually whitewashed, the small front facing the street. Generally these houses were built of mud bricks, but as this area was so rich in stones, even less wealthy people had the chance to live in stone houses.
Unfortunately, just like in other parts of the country, many of these houses disappeared and new, modern, bigger buildings replaced them. But these houses have been experiencing a renaissance during the past decade, more and more people buy them and renovate them, thus saving them for future generations. They are especially popular among artists. I love these houses and I was very happy to see some beautiful examples in the Bükkalja region.
These houses are usually very long, with a porch running on the side facing the courtyard. In the typical house there used to be 3 rooms, which you could enter from the porch. There was no door between the rooms. The first room was usually the sleeping room, it had windows towards the street as well. These rooms were big as the entire family slept here together, and it was not unusual to have 10 children. So the family had all the beds and their furniture in this room. Furniture was simple and made of wood. There wasn’t much decoration on the walls, maybe some religious objects. The room was heated with a beautiful beehive oven.
Most of the family life was happening in the kitchen. They were preparing the meals in an oven or on a stove. There was a kitchen cabinet for the dishes, and a dining table with chairs. When you walk into a house like this, always make sure to look up, as many of them still have the large wooden beams, a valuable detail.
The third room was the storage room, where they kept the food, all their tools and everything that could not fit in the room.
Richer families also had an extra room, the so called tisztaszoba (clean room). This room was used for special occasions only, it was always very clean, with nicely decorated, carved or painted furniture, paintings on the walls, bedding piled up on top of the bed, covered with beautiful linen.
If you visit one of the village museums of the area, you can see how people lived in these traditional Hungarian houses.
Lakes
You can find some nice lakes in the area, with perfect spots for a picnic or a nice walk. The lakes at Noszvaj-Síkfőkút are a popular destination for natives and visitors alike. This place is said to have the best quality air in Hungary. During the summer you can rent a rowboat or a pedal boat, great with kids as well.
The lake near Bogács is a fishing lake, but as long as you are not disturbing the fishermen, you can also sit down on a bench, relax and enjoy the tranquility.
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