Visit to Holloko: Day Trip from Budapest

Far from the tourist swamped city of Budapest, in the lap of Cserhat Mountains north-east of Budapest lies this little picture perfect village of Holloko. We drove from Budapest for a day’s outing to this little village in Palócland. This tiny village, Holloko Hungary has a unique blend of natural and manmade countryside was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

A scenic route, we didn’t realize how quickly we covered the 100 km stretch between Holloko and Budapest. The greenery around got denser as we approached our destination. The terrain around was more mountainous and the sights of sheep and cows grazing in the hillsides made us halt at a couple of places to freeze the scenes digitally. Finally when we saw a huge raven as the road forked in to two we realized we were on right track.

Legend of Raven of Holloko

Sighted this huge raven as the road forked in to two, on our way to Holloko. It is a picture perfect village, in the lap of Cserhat Mountains north-east of Budapest, Hungary.

(Date was : 9/5/2011) The Raven is a significant character in the legend that surrounds this village of Holloko. My daughters who are never tired of hearing stories, begged to hear this legend just once more.

The old village of Holloko is inscribed in list of UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987.

And I narrated the story:

The lord of a castle away from Holloko abducted a pretty maiden. However the maiden’s nurse didn’t sit quiet, she had the blood of loyalty and gratitude running deep in her veins.

Interestingly the maiden’s nurse was a witch. She schemed with a devil to rescue this damsel in distress. The kind and helpful devil organized his minions.

All of them disguised as ravens. One by one the ravens took the stones of the lord’s castle away, in the process the castle of Holloko was built on the top of a huge rock. Holloko means ‘raven stone’ and that is how it got its name too. Locals welcome ravens in this region even today.

Raven of Holloko, the rescuer, surely deserves to be photographed, my daughters decided.

Raven in Village and Fort of Holloko Hungary

Raven in Village and Fort of Holloko Hungary

Village and Fort of Holloko

Trek to Holloko Fort and Castle

The arrangement for tourists at this site was fantastic. Proper directions for parking, small eateries, a small outlet for souvenirs and we also got proper route directions from the parking manager there. The village is best toured by foot. The path lured us constantly, we moved on at a crawling pace deliberately taking in deep breaths of the forest scent, and reading the sign posts all along the route. Soon we were at the gates of Holloko castle.

The castle, a thirteenth century landmark is now in ruins. The family that owned the territory started to build a castle here upon the command of the famous Hungarian King VI. Bela. History lessons on the castle read thus:

“The castle was occupied by Turkish troops in 1552 and was only freed in 1683 by a Polish king. But after this the castle was abandoned and no one took care of the building.”

In spite of its ruinous state the tour through the castle interiors gave a good kingly feeling. Going up and down the castle stairs, from room to room was exciting. The views from over the crumbling walls of the castle were breathtaking. The Bukk National Park spread down below seemed to be painted with all shades of green. The houses of the Holloko village are visible from here.

There is a small museum inside the castle which displays various weapons of medieval era and the lifestyle followed by the people of Holloko. A section here is dedicated to huge dolls; these are placed amongst the furniture there which added life to the scenes depicted.

Village Pallocs

Next we headed towards the village, Pallocs. The inhabitants of this village have a unique tradition and culture. Their architectural styles are unique and so is their language. The village we were told has burned several times. Each time it was rebuild with wood and reoccupied. The inhabitants it seems never obeyed the existing law then of not using timber.

The original houses usually had three main rooms in them: the pantry, the kitchen and the bedroom. A stable was built outside for smaller animals. The straw roofs were supported by columns on both sides and also had long verandas along the building. The original building materials are no longer used. What we got to see are the houses that were rebuilt in 1909, in their original form, after a huge fire completely devastated the village. This time they were rebuilt with brick walls and tiled roofs.

It is evident that efforts are on to preserve this ethnic groups’ identity. The same atmosphere that was prevalent before the agricultural revolution of twentieth century has been recreated. There are just 60 to 70 houses neatly built and fenced on either side of a single street. Yes we were amazed; a village with just a single street and it still retains the old world ambiance. At the center of the village is the village church of 1889, a beautiful white washed structure with wooden belfry.

Some of the houses have been converted to museums dedicated to various themes.

Paloc Doll Museum Holloko

The doll museum and the pottery museum had such a magnetic charm that we found it difficult to tear ourselves away and move on. The designs and embroidered patterns on the dresses and the intricate pottery work speak volumes about the immense talent in the locals there. Not many people reside here and it seemed as if many scenes were straight out of a movie set, with actors taking pains to convey the culture they are proud of.

As we walked out of history in to the twenty first century, scenes of the conservation of this traditional village flashed across my mind. They seemed to hold more meaning. Hungary is doing a great job of preserving this piece of history; it is educational both for young and old.

How to get to Village and Fort of Holloko

Hire a car if your budget permits, a good GPS will guide you till the final point. We took the motorway M3 till Hatvan, then along the main road turned off onto Route 21 in the direction of Salgótarján until the junction for Hollóko. From here, it was a 17 km drive.

There are bus services from Budapest; it takes two hours each way. Public transportation is available on daily basis.

Tour time for the site: Three to four hours is sufficient time to cover the entire site unless you plan to do research there.

When to visit Village and Fort of Holloko

Of course spring is the best time, but if you wish to some traditional colorful folk customs and costumes, Easter time would be the best.

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