Page 189 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Hungary

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startling masks was originally
devised to scare off the Turks –
but it clearly didn’t work.
4 Duna–Dráva
National Park
Road Map C5. @ to Bárányfok
from Szekszárd. £ narrow-gauge
railway from Bárányfok to Pörböly
(regular service May–Sep only).
Gemenc Excursion Centre, Bárányfok:
(20) 566 80 76. Boat tours (summer):
(74) 49 14 83.
This 500-sq-km (193-sq-mile)
game reserve in the Gemenc
Forest is Hungary’s largest
floodplain forest. A national park One of the many wine cellars on Baross Gábor utca in Villány
since 1996, it is covered with lakes
and fens, and dotted with 5 Villány wines predominate around
numerous islands. On many of 21 km (13 miles) southeast of Pécs. Villány; whites, around Siklós
these can be found old willow Road Map C6. * 2,800. £ from (see p188). Visitors can sample
trees, high oaks and poplars, Pécs. @ from Budapest. _ Red Wine local wines at the wine cellars
lilies of the valley on the forest Festival (first week of Oct); European on Bem József utca or Baross
floor, and wildlife including Wine Song Festival (late Sep). Gábor utca. Four of the town’s
egrets, bald eagles, herons, vintners have been awarded
black storks and stags. Hunting A village of wine cellars, Villány the title of “Wine Maker of
is restricted to certain areas. is the starting point of the the Year”: Gere, Tiffán, Bock
Most of the park is pro tected, 14-km (9-mile) Villány–Siklós and Malatinszky.
and there are four ways of Wine Route, the first to be set The village of Villány kövesd,
visiting: on a nature trail from up in Hungary in 1994. Wine 4 km (2.5 miles) northeast on
the park’s main entrance, near has been made here since the road to Pécs (and not strictly
Bárányfok; with a guide from Roman times, and a small Wine on the Wine Route), is even
the Gemenc Excursion Centre Museum, housed in one of more spectacular than Villány,
at Bárányfok; by narrow-gauge the village’s traditional white- as its many wine-cellar cottages
railway from Bárányfok to washed wine cellars, tells the are set on a split-level terrace.
Pörböly; and by organized boat story of local viticulture. Every The village’s Batthyány cellar,
trip. The nature trails vary in year the village hosts a Red built by Italian artisans in 1754,
length from 2.5 km (1.5 miles) Wine Festival, dedicated to is one of the venues for per-
to 40 km (25 miles). There is promoting Villány wines, formances and events during
also a cycle trail, and bike hire, including Kékoportó, Merlot, the annual European Wine
canoe hire, horse riding and Blue Franc and Cabernet; red Song Festival, held in autumn.
carriage drives can be arranged.
The Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács is one of the most important battles in
Hungarian – and European – history. On 29 August 1526, the
Turks, having just achieved victory in the Battle of Belgrade, faced
one final obstacle before reaching Buda: the Magyar garrison at
Mohács. The Turks, however, outnumbered the Magyars three to
one, and after a day-long
battle they achieved victory
by nightfall, killing at least
two-thirds of the estimated
25,000 Hungarian soldiers at
arms. The young Hungarian
King, Lajos II, was killed during
the battle. The Turks captured
Buda soon after, and ruled
Hungary for more than 150
years. To this day the battle is
remembered as one of the
An idyllic spot in the Duna–Dráva greatest Hungarian tragedies. The death of King Lajos II in battle
National Park

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