A Bicycle Tour in the History of Nyíregyháza

Discover the cultural and natural heritage of Nyíregyháza, its emblematic buildings and parks while riding a bike!

A great number of people arrive at Nyíregyháza to see one of the largest zoo parks of Hungary, even of Europe, and to visit the famous holiday resort of the city, Sóstógyógyfürdő and its spa complexes. We recommend that they should also discover the city and its cultural and natural heritage, emblematic buildings and parks, on a bike tour that is nearly 40 km long.

The tour starts from the heart of Nyíregyháza–Kossuth tér [square]–and runs through Hősök tere [Heroes’ Square], Bessenyei tér, Benczúr tér, and Luther tér, so that we may see the prominent buildings of the city centre. After our circular tour of downtown, we head for Sóstógyógyfürdő. En route, we find a number of sights around the University of Nyíregyháza (Bencs villa, botanical garden, Jewish cemetery). Along the leafy paths of Sóstó Forest and the bicycle track we reach Sóstógyógyfürdő, where the Nyíregyháza Zoo, the Sóstó Village Museum, the Aquarius Spa, the swimming lake and the bath house attract tourists.

We ride around Lake Sóstó, seeing the representative historic buildings of the district. Leaving Sóstó behind, we pedal towards Libabokor, and arrive at Nyírtura, a village next to Nyíregyháza. At Nyírtura, it is worth visiting the Calvinist church, built in the 15th century. Its late Gothic gateway and murals are spectacular. The last section of our tour is the bicycle track between Nyírtura and Nyíregyháza, and we arrive at downtown Nyíregyháza.

Kossuth tér

Kossuth tér is the heart of Nyíregyháza, with its terraces, ice cream parlours and restaurants. The square is the venue of festivals and other events all year round. In the middle of the square we find the statue of Lajos Kossuth, erected in 1912. The square received its name from Kossuth, whose statue is the starting point of our tour.

The oldest building of the city centre is the City Hall. When the railway reached Nyíregyháza in 1858, the role of the town in the area became more important, and the courthouse, as well as the county administration moved to Nyíregyháza from the former county town, Nagykálló.

A part of Kossuth tér is named after József Samassa, and its curiosity is that there is only one single building at this square: Our Lady of Hungary Co-cathedral, built in neo-Romanesque style. The elegant decoration of the church interior is impressive.
Hotel Korona, where world-famous composers Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály made visits, and the Takarékpalota [Savings Palace] building, whose ground floor is currently occupied by a bank, also define the image of the city centre. It is worth checking out the customer area of the bank, accessible from Rákóczi utca, with its roof covered with stained glass.

Hősök tere
The dominant building of Hősök tere [Heroes’ Square] is the County Hall. On its façade, we may see the statues depicting king St Stephen (left) and Chieftain Szabolcs, who settled with his people in the area (right) in two wall niches. In front of the entrance there are busts of two prime ministers: Menyhért Lónyay on the left and Miklós Kállay on the right. A little away from the building, on the left, the statue of Ferenc Kölcsey, the poet of the Hungarian national anthem stands.

There are further two important sights on the square: one is a work by Zsigmond Stróbl Kisfaludi, a monument to the heroes of the First World War, and the other is a tram car, commemorating the times when trams used to run in Nyíregyháza (1911-1969).

The Cultural District
The oldest squares of Nyíregyháza are Besenyei tér and Benczúr tér. The two squares constitute the core of the cultural district of the city that is now taking shape. The area is full of sights, the statues of poet Mihály Váci, poet and famous swordsman György Bessenyei and author Gyula Krúdy are found here among others.
Bessenyei tér is also home to Nyíregyháza’s gem, Zsigmond Móricz Theatre. Next to it is Szindbád, a theatre history event space created from the building of the former officer’s club, named after Szindbád, a protagonist in Krúdy’s novels.

The Kállay house is the theatre’s immediate neighbour. In the house Prime Minister Miklós Kállay lived when he was lord chief justice of the county. He was Hungary’s Prime Minister from 1942 to 1944. In the building, you can see the priceless Kállay collection, and get to know the city in the context of a local history exhibition.

The Jósa András Museum, which is currently under renovation, is located on Benczúr tér. It boasts an archaeological and ethnographic collection renowned in Europe, but it also has a very significant historic, fine arts, literary history, and numismatic collection. There is also a statue of Gyula Benczúr on the side of the museum, as well as Zsigmond Strobl Kisfaludi’s work, The Birth of Venus, which the artist gave to the city as a gift. The original is made of white marble and can be seen in Santa Barbara.

A little further on, we may see Rózsakert Open-Air Stage, which opened in 1955. Its rose garden made it the most beautiful among outdoor stages in the country.

Bencs Villa

Heading towards Sóstógyógyfürdő, one can see a row of villas on Sóstói út that probably best preserves the city’s prosperous, turn-of-the-century atmosphere. The wealthiest citizens of Nyíregyháza built homes in this area. Among the villas, Bencs Villa (Sóstói út 54) stands out for its beauty. The villa was built by a former mayor of Nyíregyháza, Kálmán Bencs.

Sóstó Forest

The lung of Nyíregyháza is the 371-hectare Sóstó Forest, embracing the city. This is one of the few surviving original forests of the region. With its hiking trails, forest gym, playground and barbeque places it is an attractive area for those who are fond of outdoor activities all year round.

Sóstógyógyfürdő

Sóstógyógyfürdő is the gem of Nyíregyháza, and a significant part of the visitors to the city travel to the Nyíregyháza for the attractions that are found at Sóstógyógyfürdő (Nyíregyháza Zoo, Sóstó Village Museum, Aquarius Spa and Park Bath, swimming lake).

Sóstó Lake

Already in the 18th century, locals were eager to visit Sóstó for its medicinal waters. The lake got its name–sós, that is, salty–from sodium carbonate that was so abundant that people swept it up on the shore of the lake and used it for making washing soda in the nearby soda factory. In 1957, they drilled in the area, looking for oil and natural gas, but found hot water. Thermal water at 49-50 degrees came out of the nearly thousand-meter-deep well. Today, there are three spas in Sóstó: the open-air Park bath, the indoor adventure spa and the swimming lake called Tófürdő on the waters of Sóstó Lake.

Nyíregyháza Zoo

Nyíregyháza Zoo, Hungary’s most visited zoo outside Budapest is located in Sóstó. It has already won the title of Europe’s best zoo three times in its category. In the animal park that occupies more than 30 hectares of oak forest, 5,000 specimens of 500 animal species live in close-to-natural enclosures.

Sóstó Village Museum

The Sóstó Village Museum, built on the edge of the Sóstó Forest, is Hungary’s largest regional open-air ethnographic museum, which presents the diverse folk architecture and housing culture of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county within a unified framework. The residences and farm buildings furnished with original furniture and household equipment reveal the atmosphere of a small village from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries to the visitors.

Bujtos Lakes

At the end of the tour, we pass by the Bujtos lakes as we pedal towards the city. The lakes were created by the water collected in the former clay pits belonging to the local brick factory. Today, they present a completely different image, as it has become one of Nyíregyháza’s most popular recreational and social spaces, where one can meet a lot of runners and cyclists.