A Circle by Bicycle in the Heritage of Rétköz

The cross-country tour of Rétköz winds its way through the landscapes of a bygone water world and the Nyírség, embracing exciting heritage sites and attractions.

Those who embark on the heritage tour of the Middle Ages may get to know the memories of bygone eras and a vanished landscape. The purpose of the bike tour is to explore the western half of the Upper Tisza region, the landscape stretching north of Nyíregyháza and Nyírség, which also represents a geographical and ethnographic landscape. Rétköz was the kingdom of water until the 19th century. In the past, the Tisza’s thousands of smaller veins intertwined the area, and shaped the landscape into a marshy, boggy region, and dictated the daily lives of the people living there. Farming could only be carried out on hillsides protruding from the meadow, and fishing played a prominent role. After the drainage of the waters, the former bog villages were transformed into agricultural settlements and the ancient way of life typical of the landscape ceased to exist. The former Rétköz hardly differs from Nyírség today.
The 92-kilometer cross-country heritage circuit starting from Nyíregyháza runs through a bygone water world and the landscapes of the Nyírség, almost all the way along a bicycle path – touching Nagyhalász, Ibrány, Paszab, Tiszabercel, Gávavencsellő, Balsa, Szabolcs, Tímár, Rakamaz, Tokaj and Nyírtelek. The distance can be reduced by 11 kilometres if Tokaj is omitted.

Nagyhalász – Csuha-Kállay Mansion

The mansion building was erected by Tamás Csuha from Eördöghfalvi at the end of the 18th century. It was originally a simple building with a rectangular floor plan, two tracts, and was remodelled around 1830 in a classicist style in the fashion of aristocratic castles. In the 1860s, through the husband of Vilma Csuha Eördöghfalvi, it became the property of the Kállay family, who owned the castle until 1910. Unfortunately, almost nothing remains of the mansion’s original furnishings, but the building was renovated and has been used for cultural purposes since the second half of the 1990s.

Ibrány – Calvinist Church

The Calvinist church at the highest point of the town had been built in the 14th century and was rebuilt in the Gothic style around 1517. The church was constructed without a tower, so a wooden bell cage stood next to the church for centuries. The 37-meter-high, three-storey tower we see today was built between 1843-1847. Notable among the late Gothic style features are the buttresses, the gate and windows on the south façade of the nave.

Paszab – The House of Weavers

At Paszab, one could get to know one of the most beautiful folk art treasures of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, the works of Paszab weavers. The products of the weaving house, which revives the treasures of old folk weavings, were introduced to the general public at the exhibition held in Budapest in 1940, but achieved the greatest success at the 1957 World Exhibition. The looms, the original Paszab woven fabrics and valuable ethnographic objects were housed in the House of Paszab Weavers.

Tiszabercel – The Pump Station

The oldest steam-powered pumping station in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county is located in Tiszabercel. Rétköz is a low-lying, water-logged area, so the forced coexistence with water meant a daily struggle for existence and livelihood. Locks were built to regulate the Tisza before the pumping station, but these were often washed away by the powerful current of water. The construction of the steam-powered pumping station began in 1895, and was completed in 1903. The goal was to be able to deliver the water flowing through the main inland canal to the Tisza even when the Tiszabercel lock was kept closed. The plant operated continuously until 1968, and was last started in 1970. It was proclaimed a monument in 1983.

Gávavencsellő – Dessewffy Castle

Dessewffy Castle, built in the second half of the 18th century, is located on Toldi utca 26, Gávavencsellő, and is one of the most beautiful Baroque monuments in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county. The original core of the building is a late Baroque mansion from the second half of the 18th century, next to which another classicist-style building was erected at the beginning of the 19th century. The two buildings were built in 1898, based on the ideas of Miklós Dessewffy, enlarged and expanded in neo-baroque style. The local government sold it years ago, and its new owner installed a disco in one of the wings of the building, but today only ruined traces of the nightclub can be found. The building of the castle is currently not being used, but even in its dilapidated state, it shows its former splendour.

Szabolcs – Earthwork

The Szabolcs earthwork is the largest intact earth fortification in Central Europe, is located in the centre of the settlement. At one time, a moat 7 meters wide and 3 meters deep ran along its eastern side, essentially turning the earthen fortress into an artificial island separated by a canal, and the fortress was only accessible through a drawbridge. The fortress is 280 m long and 140 m wide, covering and area of 33,000 square meters, covered mostly by grass. The triangular fortress had gates on three sides.

Szabolcs – Calvinist Church

The importance of Szabolcs in the Middle Ages is proven by the fact that in 1092, a council was held here under the leadership of our King Saint Leslie. At the church council and legislative assembly in Szabolcs, presided over by the king, he promulgated Code I, which strengthened the power of the church. The church was built in the 11th century, making the Szabolcs Calvinist Church one of the earliest built churches in the region. In the Middle Ages, the sanctuary was decorated with frescoes, which probably disappeared during the centuries of the Reformation. Today, only a few unrecognizable fragments of frescoes depicting apostles or saints remain. The comprehensive archaeological research and restoration of the church began in the 1970s, with the aim of restoring the medieval spatial layout. Thanks to the restoration, it is now one of the most beautiful and earliest medieval monuments in the region.

Rakamaz – Turul Memorial

Between 1955 and 1974, many archaeological finds were unearthed in the area of Rakamaz. These findings testify that this land once served as the resting place of a high-ranking person, belonging to a prince. In the mid-1950s, they came across one of the most beautiful and famous finds from the times of the Hungarian Conquest (896). On the breast of a female skeleton lay two palm-sized silver discs. A bird of prey (eagle) with outspread wings interwoven with plant elements can be seen within the peripheral band of the disc pair. The bird is holding two smaller birds in its talons and a branch with leaves in its beak. According to the most obvious assumption, the Rakamaz eagle is nothing more than a representation of the legendary turul bird, believed to be the ancestor of the Árpáds. They also believed that the eagle sits at the top of the tree of life, and brings the souls of newborns down to earth from there.

Nyírtelek – Military Memorial Park

Nyírtelek became nationally known through the battle of Királytelek. In October 1944, Soviet forces were pushed back here, preventing the encirclement of more than 100,000 Hungarian and German soldiers, thereby significantly contributing to the temporary recapture of Nyíregyháza. The park in Nyírtelek is a spectacular memorial to this, where the list of the heroic dead of the Battle of Királytelek, the history of the battle and a vivid map can be seen. The two missiles on display: a Vega-M and a Krug (2K11) anti-aircraft missile.