Pákozd
In the southwestern part of the Velence Mountains, at the feet of Sár Mountain is Pákozd, a town of 2500.
Recommended tours
We can walk around in the atmospheric forest of Sár Mountain and Pogány Rock and see the rickety rocks.
The Trail Z+ follows the Bella Stream and reaches the artificial Lake Bella surrounded by shadowy trees.
At the Y junction we should choose the right branch of Trail Z. Leaving the forest we can see the the hummocky landscape with the rickety rocks lying on the plains. The area of the rocks is a nature preserve since 1953. The rocks look like if they were put atop each other by human hands but it is a natural phenomenon.
The trail goes up to the top of the mountain to the Pogány (Pagan) Rock constituting of huge granite bricks. This is a trail junction. The graffiti on the rock are from the Red Army as this was a training ground for the army. There is a nice panorama of the surroundings from here.
Below, at the meeting of Trails Z and P+ is the Oroszlán (Lion) Rock, a group of granite rocks. To the north, on the other side of Trail P+ is the Cube, a granite rock seemingly defying gravity.
From the Oroszlán Rock going on Trail SaZv we can descend to the most impressive rickety rock, the Pandur Rock where we there is a beautiful sight of granite rocks, hills and forests. There is a steep, rocky trail coming down to the hill. After a several hundred years old oak tree there is Trail S coming from the left. On the granite study trail (Zv) we can visit the Kis-Cipó and Gomba Rocks.
Trail Z coming from the Pákozd rickety rocks to the west leads to the Pátka Reservoir, Trail P+ goes to the north through the Hurka and Bodza Valleys to the Angelika Spring.
From the village center of Pákozd we can walk to Dinnyés on Trail P+ going to the south. Following this trail we can see the shore of Lake Venice, the collected reed waiting to be transported, the „gate” of the Bird Reserve, the research station of the Danube-Ipoly National Park.
Attractions
The Roman style altar of the village’s Roman Catholic church is from the 13th century, the building itself is Baroque. Its current features are from 1720 when it was rebuilt. There is a Roman grave embedded in the church’s wall.
In the southern part of the town, in Templom Lane is the Baroque Reformed church built in 1713.
In Petőfi Street and Rákóczi Street the visitor can see traditionally built thatched houses.
In the park on the corner of Budai Street and Honvéd Street is the old memorial of the Revolution of 1848-49 – the first memorial of the event.
The new memorial of the revolution, a large obelisk can be found on the Mészeg Mountain, it was erected in 1951. From the lookout tower next to the memorial, we get a nice view of the reedy Lake Venice and its shore with a forest, to the south the Szúnyog (Mosquito) Island which is now a peninsula, and the plains of Mezőföld.
Next to the obelisk is the Battle of Pákozd Memorial Museum which presents an exhibition with copies of the documents, weapons, uniforms of the time and shows the history of the events.
There is an arboretum on the Sukoró side of Mészeg Mountain with forests and parklands, opened in 1990. In the building at the entrance there is a Landscape Museum, next to it along the street is a mineral exhibiton. In the nice, natural area of the 96 hectares large arboretum there are around 250 species of trees and plants. Along the street there are roofed resting places, benches, smaller lookouts and next to the lake sourrounded by reed we can find a fireplace, a playground and a sportsground for relaxation. From the lookout tower on the mountaintop there is a scenic view of the Velence Mounntains and Lake Velence.
The exhibition of the Landscape Museum shows the flora and fauna of the region, the geohistory and geology of the mountains, and the everyday life of the foresters and traditional fishermen of the town.
The Don Memorial Chapel is paying tribute to the soldier who fell at the Don River during World War II. Inside there is the tomb of an unknown soldier.
On the „peninsula” at the end of Mészeg Mountain lies the Szúnyog Island. Here awaits visitors the thatched fish restaurant built on the spot of an old fisher’s house. At the end of the island is the boat station which is the final station of Route P coming from Nadap.
To the northwest of Pákozd, between Tompos Mountain and Bella Stream is a 170 m long pit, which was once a fluoride mine.
History
The earliest archaeological findings from the city are from the Paleolitchic, and a Neolithic burial ground have been found. There was a forted settlement at Pákozdvár in the Bronze Ages. Until the Roman conquest, Celts inhabited the area.
Pákozd’s name probably comes from the Old Polish „Pakost” last name. In the Middle Ages, it was the largest settlement around Lake Velence. It was first mentioned in writing at the end of the 12th century by scribe Anonymous in his Gesta Hungarorum („Deeds of the Hungarians”). It was a property of the episcopate for centuries.
During the Ottoman Wars it belonged to Fehérvár. A battle took place here in 1593 where the Hungarian armies defeated the Ottomans.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Pákozd became densely populated. The most famous battle of the Revolution of 1848-49 took place here, the Battle of Pákozd where the troops of the Croatian Ban Josip Jelačić had to flee from the the Hunarian armies lead by Lieutenant-General János Móga.
29 September, the day of the battle became a national symbol, it was celebrated as the Day of National Defense until 1992.