Hiking in Baktalórántháza Forest

Walk along the Most Spectacular Hiking Trail of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, and Discover the Reservation Forest at Baktalórántháza, in the Heart of the Nyírség Region!

The stretch of the road between Ófehértó and Baktalórántháza is one of the most beautiful sections of the hiking trail named Zsigmond Móricz, a prominent prose writer of Hungary, marked in red along the line. The first step of our tour is the impressive roman Catholic church of Ófehértó, where extremely rich mediaeval murals emerge from under the later layers of plaster. Follow the red signs across the forest all the way to Fenyves Hotel, on the edge of Baktalórántháza. There we may admire the forest of hornbeams and oaks. At Baktalórántháza we should not miss the Roman Catholic church of the town. The church is decorated with mediaeval murals. Another sight is the Dégenfeld Castle Museum opposite the church.

The Roman Catholic Church of Ófehértó

The Roman Catholic Church of Ófehértó is one of the most exciting historic relics of the Nyírség area. It was probably built by the Báthories in the 14th century. It is hard to imagine today that in the Middle Ages the inside of the church was covered with murals. On the northern wall of the church a large painting shows the fight between St George and the dragon. To the right of the painting, immediately next to the triumphal arch, a large-size image of a female saint is seen, and on the two sides, scenes from the life of Jesus are painted.

The Roman Catholic Church of Baktalórántháza

Until a few years ago, nobody had any idea that the church of Baktalórántháza hides some of the most exciting murals of the region. Out of the paintings, the most outstanding one is the mural depicting the coronation of King St Leslie. The carpet-like texture of unplastered brick wall of the church offers an interesting sight.

Dégenfeld Castle

The Degenfeld Castle is in the embrace of the forest. The Barkóczy family built a single-storey hunting lodge in the first third of the 17th century. It was later enlarged to be a castle. In the mid-1800s, the Dégenfeld family considerably transformed the building. The castle is now an interactive castle museum.

Baktalórántháza Forest Natural Reserve

The forest that covers an area of 311 hectares was made into a nature conservation area in 1977 in order to protect the forests of hornbeam and English oak, and oak with Lily of the Valley as undergrowth. The area is not merely a forest; it is a special community of plants and animals the preservation of which is of prime importance from the aspect of environment protection. The fallen, decaying trunks of old trees offer an excellent place of living for a number of insects. The typical birds of the forest include black woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, black stork and honey buzzard. As for mammals, there are bats, dormice and pine martens.