HUNGARY 385Hortobágy and
Hortobágy
National Park h
Hortobágyi Nemzeti Park
183 km (114 miles) E of Budapest.
@ n Pásztor múzeum, Petőfi tér 1,
Hortobágy, (052) 589 321.
Hortobágy National Park Tel (052)
589 170. # 8am–4pm daily. & 8
7 0 - = http://www.hnp.hu
Established in 1973, this
was the first national park in
Hungary and remains the
largest, stretching over 820 sq
km (317 sq miles) from Lake
Tisza to Debrecen. It was
added to UNESCO’s World
Heritage List in 1999. The vast
plain, known locally as the
puszta, meaning “empti ness”,
is the nesting site of as many
as 152 bird species, includ ing
great bustards, herons, storks
and spoonbills. Up to 342
different bird species have
been spotted here in
migration, including tens of
thousands of screeching
cranes, which can be seen in
late September.
The park is also home to
cattle, horses, buffalo, and
Hungarian long-haired sheep,
which continue to be herded
by semi-nomadic farmers as
they have been for centuries.
The 300-year-old Hortobágy
Máta Stud Farm riding centre,
located inside the park, is
Hungary’s best. It organizes
riding performances by the
Csikós (Hungarian cowboys),
as well as riding lessons for
visitors through out summer.
While much of Hortobágy
National Park is open to
visitors all year round, some
parts have limited access. The
park’s administration and
A pair of storks in Hortobágy National Park, Hortobágy
visitors’ centre is in the
tiny but charming village
of Hortobágy itself.
Here, the 17th-century
Hortobágy Csárda restaurant
serves Hungary’s national
dish, goulash (gulyás leves),
which originated in the puszta.
A small Shepherds’ Museum
(Pásztor múzeum) offers a
fascinating insight into the life
of the puszta shepherd.
The unique Nine-Arch
Bridge (Kilen clyukú Híd),
built between 1827 and 1833
to designs by Ferenc Povolny,
crosses the Hortobágy river
and once formed part of
the main road from Budapest
to Debrecen.Hortobágy Máta
Stud Farm
Czinege J utca 1, Hortobágy.
Tel (052) 369 092. # 8am–8pm
daily. & 8 riding lessons.
E Shepherds’ Museum
Petőfi tér 1, Hortobágy. Tel (052)
589 321. # Mar–Apr: 10am–4pm
daily; May–Sep: 9am–6pm daily;
Oct–Dec: 10am–2pm daily.
¢ Jan–Feb. &Szeged j
170 km (105 miles) SE of Budapest.
* 97,000. £ from Budapest.
@ ª Roosevelt tér. n Tourin form,
Dugonics tér 2, (062) 488 690.
_ Szeged Open Air Theatre Festival
(mid-Jul–Sep). http://www.szeged
portal.huThe fourth largest city in the
country, Szeged straddles the
Tisza river less than 20 km
(12 miles) from the point
where Hungary, Serbia and
Romania meet. Completely
destroyed by the spring floods
in 1879, Szeged was entirelyTwin-towered Neo-Romanesque
Votive Church, Szegedremodelled and its avenues,
squares and variety of architec-
tural styles are testimony to
enlightened town planning.
Today, the city is an important
centre for the salami and
paprika trades.
Constructed between 1913
and 1930, the grand Neo-
Romanesque Votive Church
on Dom tér contains several
ornate frescoes and the third
largest organ in Europe. In
front of it stands the Demetrius
Tower, built between the 12th
and 13th centuries, while
behind it is the single-towered
Serbian Orthodox Church.
Founded by Serb immigrants
in the 1700s, it contains a mag-
nificent iconostasis engraved
in pear wood.
To the west, beyond the
university, are two notable Art
Nouveau buildings. The elab-
orate Reok Palace, was
designed by Ede Magyar
Oszadszki for local merchant
Istvan Reok in 1907. In the
Jewish Quarter, the New Syn-
agogue, built between 1900
and 1903, has a grand dome
and a marble tabernacle cov-
ered with gold leaf.
Szechenyi tér, has a pond
com memorating the devas-
tating 1879 flood. Further away
is the Neo-Baroque National
Theatre on Déak Ferenc utca,
which stages ballets, opera
and perfor mances by the
Philharmonic Orchestra. The
Old Synagogue, in the Jewish
Quarter, bears a plaque dis-
play ing the level of the flood
waters. The Art Nouveau-style
New Synagogue, built between
1900 and 1903, has a grand
dome with a marble taber-
nacle covered with gold leaf.