In the Footsteps of Hermits and Royal Saints Section II
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Walking pilgrimage tour on Saint Mary’s Way
- Duration: 5 days (4 nights)
- Date: at any time for groups or individuals
- Route: Fehérvárcsurgó – Bodajk – Majkpuszta – Tata (Hungary)
- Distance: 52 km (~17 km/day)
- Difficulty: 2/5 (easy)
- Price: from € 260
Short description of the pilgrimage
We depart from the first Hungarian shrine, Bodajk, which was often visited even by Saint Stephen I, first king of Hungary and his son Saint Emeric (Imre), and where several miraculous healing occurred in the last centuries. Going through the romantic Vértes Hills we get to the highlight of the tour: the Camaldolese Hermitage. Our walking ends near Tata, where we go by car. This town is one of the loveliest ones in Hungary, full of lakes and springs.
You can continue the pilgrimage on Mary’s Way in our St Mary’s Tour Section III. In this case the final destination is Esztergom, the medieval Royal Centre of the Kingdom of Hungary, and has been the archbishop’s residence of the Hungarian Christianity to the present day.
Click and scroll down for more information:
- A 5-day walking pilgrimage across the beatiful Bakony and Vértes hills in Central Hungary: silence, peace, time for discover
- Székesfehérvár – the first capital of Hungary with the grave of Saint Steven (first Hungarian king)
- Camaldolese Hermitage in Majkpuszta
- Tata – Hungarian Town of Waters
- Interesting tour guidance at 3 places:
Székesfehérvár, Majkpusstzta, Tata - Pilgrim passport and certificate
- …all this in a small group of fellow pilgrims
Day 1
- Lunch: Three-course meal (Székesfehérvár)
- Dinner: Three-course meal (restaurant of the Károlyi Castle Hotel)
Accommodation in Fehérvárcsurgó:
- Károlyi Castle Hotel
In the elegant and luxurious hotel developed in the castle the Károlyi Counts, you can become a part of the 19th Century Hungarian Aristocracy.
Day 2
- Buffet breakfast
- Lunch: Packed lunch on the way
- Dinner: Three-course meal (in the restaurant of the Hotel Öreg Prés)
Accommodation in Mór:
- Hotel Öreg Prés
A good quality medium size family run hotel, which consists of a new hotel wing and four old peasant houses, ideal to reveal the German tradition and architecture of the town.
Day 3
- Buffet breakfast
- Lunch: Packed lunch on the way
- Dinner: Three-course meal (in the restaurant of the accommodation)
Accommodation in Oroszlány:
- Pension Czermann
A modest accommodation in the downtown of Oroszlány, classic example of the communist period architecture.
Day 4
- Buffet breakfast
- Lunch: Packed lunch on the way
- Dinner: Three-course meal (in the restaurant of the hotel)
Accommodation in Tata:
- Hotel Kristály Imperial ****
This luxorious hotel is one of the oldest in Hungary dating back to 1770. The hotel has a unique, 240 m2 wellness centre with a jacuzzi, swimming-pool and several saunas.
Day 5
- Buffet breakfast
- Lunch: Three-course meal (restaurant in Tata)
| Basic package: €260 | All inclusive package: €490 | |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | Pensions and guest houses; in double rooms (mainly) with bathroom |
Good quality hotels and pensions; in double rooms with bathroom |
| Single supplement | €60 | €150 |
| Catering | Modest breakfast + warm dinner | Breakfast + warm or pre-packed lunch (depending on availabilty of a restaurant) + warm dinner |
| Guidance | At 3 places: Székesfehérvár, Majkpuszta, Tata | At 3 places: Székesfehérvár, Majkpuszta, Tata |
| Luggage shipment | Yes | Yes |
| Accompanying car | Yes | Yes |
| Accompanying person | Pilgrim host, who drives the accompanying car, gives all the necessary information and arranges everything, but doesn’t walk with you. Spoken languages: Hungarian and English, German, French or Italian. |
Pilgrim host (see basic package) + hike leader, who walks with the group leading all day. Spoken languages: Hungarian and English, German, French or Italian. |
| Wine tasting in Mór wine region | no | yes |
| Admission fees | no | yes |
| Info pack & map | no | yes |
| Traveling to Bodajk and traveling from Tata | no | transfer from Budapest airport |
| Insurance | no | no |
The prices apply for a group of at least 10 persons.
Of course you can also mix the two packages (e.g.: you want the basic package, but with a transfer from the airport and wine tasting). In this case please contact us, and we will calculate you the best price possible.
We will be waiting our guests at the bus stop in Bodajk (direct coach from Budapest) or at the railway station in Székesfehérvár in the previously agreed times, and then take them to their accommodation, where they can have lunch.
After lunch we go to Székesfehérvár, where we get to know the former coronation centre of the Hungarian kings with a tour guide (ruins of the coronation church, bishop’s palace, cathedral, ecclesiastic museum, Cistercian Church). Late in the afternoon we go (back) to our accommodation in or around Fehérvárcsurgó.
Latecomers may join the program during the afternoon. Practically they are supposed to arrive at Székesfehérvár.
Distance: 14 km | Elevation difference: +320 m, –220 m
In the first section of this day, our way leads in the romantic Gaja-gorge valley, and after an hour walk we reach Bodajk. According to the tradition this is the first Marian shrine of Hungary, where Saint Stephen I, first king of Hungary, his son Saint Emeric (Imre), and his tutor Saint Gerard of Csanád came several times to pray 1000 years ago.
From here we go onwards to Csókakő where, after a small climb, we can take pleasure in the imposing ruins of the Csókakő castle, built after the Mongolian attack in 1241-42. Our accommodation is a little further, in Mór, to where we will arrive by car.
Distance: 21 km | Elevation difference: +400 m, –440 m
We will cover the longest daily distance of our pilgrimage this day, which goes through forests and hills all the way, far from civilization and roads. Therefore, it will not be possible to get into the escorting car during the day.
At the beginning of our pilgrimage we have to overcome a 300 meter level difference in order to go through Szentgyörgyvárpuszta and arrive in Oroszlány afterwards.
In the present day, the medieval settlement is mainly famous for its coal mines during the Socialist era, thereby having changed the previous identity of the village. The destination of our excursion is the Camaldolese Hermitage in Majkpuszta, where once the Camaldolese hermits, who made a vow of silence lived.
Our accommodation will be in a typical town from the communist time Hungary: Oroszlány.
Distance: 17 km | Elevation difference: +500 m, –500 m
After seeing into the secrets of the Camaldolese hermits, we advance through the hills where the Holy Roman Empire’s army braking into the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary suffered a catastrophic defeat in 1051. Allegedly, the soldiers, while escaping, threw away their armors (vérts), hence the name of the Vértes.
During our trip we can catch a glimpse of the abandoned cemetery of Körtvélyespuszta, which is being slowly taken back into its possession by the forest. Then, after leaving behind the cliffs of the Mária-szakadék (Mary’s gorge), we get to the intersection of Mary’s Way where we take a turn towards Esztergom. We finish the day’s section at Tatabánya (Felsőgalla) from where we get to our accommodation in the town of Tata by car.
We can get to know the historic monuments of Tata on the last day: the castle, built at the end of the 14th century and taken back by the Habsburg troops from the Turkish by using a petard in 1597. Then we have a walk in the city decorated with Baroque beads and built on the shore of a lake (Eszterházy-Castle (from outside), Parish Church, Calvary, Water Mill, English Park, Belfry, Capuchin Church).
We end our pilgrimage with a farewell lunch, but we can feel already in the moment of leaving, that we are pilgrims all along our lives…
We take our guests to the railway station anytime they want during the day.
Dear Pilgrims,
I’m Balázs and I’ll be your leader in the second section of our pilgrimage on the St Mary Way (In the Footsteps of Hermits and Royal Saints).
First we visit Székesfehérvár, where the Hungarian kings were crowned in the past. During our pilgrimage we discover the romantic Gaja-gorge valley and the oldest Marian shrine of Hungary at Bodajk. One of my favourite place is the Camaldolese Hermitage in Majkpuszta where once the Camaldolese hermits, who made a vow of silence lived.
At the same time we have great opportunity to contemplate during our pilgrimage walking across the deep forest and plashing streams of Vértes Mountains.
See you soon in Székesfehérvár!
Balázs Ullrich
Our professional partner:
The Mary’s Way Association
“Central Europe’s Pilgrim Way”