Points of interest

Szeged Gate

Szeged gate

The main entrance to the National Historical Heritage Park was built as a present from the city of Szeged. The pillars of the glass cupola – designed by architect István Kiss – are adorned with the works of graphic artists from Szeged. On its internal walls sculptor Valéria Tóth’s 76 m2 bronze relief depicts “The feast of the new bread”.

Szekler (Székely) Gate

Szekler gate

The original of the richly ornamented Szekler Gate near the main entrance was made in 1913, and was reconstructed and brought here from Fenyéd (Hargitha county, Romania) in 2008, with the help of Franciscan monk Csaba Böjte, as a present from ethnologist Piroska Kovács. Handiwork of traditional gate makers from Máréfalva, the restored festive entrance is opened on national holidays and on the day of the “Feast of the Statue”, inviting all Hungarians home to this meeting place, where they can “order the whole business of the realm” from time to time and strengthen their feeling of national unity. As such, the Szekler Gate is not only an entrance, but a symbol as well: that of togetherness, unity, solidarity, perseverance and renewal.

Lakeside

“Then, having set forth, riding for a day, they camped beside the small mountains /parvos montes/, and riding from there along the Turu (Túr) river they arrived at the Tisza, and crossing the Tisza river at the harbour of Dorogma /Drugma/, they obtained there by the grace of Duke Árpád a great land….” (Anonymus)

The dam keeper\'s house on the lakeside resembles one built in 1893 in Dongér, and it was constructed with the help of the Lower-Tisza Water Management Directorship. The museum house presents the history, documents and instruments of flood prevention along the Tisza river. The lights and sounds of “The Flood of 1879” diorama illustrate the devastating event which literally washed away the whole city of Szeged: of the 5723 houses only 265 remained.

Walking along the serene lakeside, visitors can see equipment used for driving logs down the river from the Carpathian Mountains, as well as a memorial to log processing along the Tisza. The various stages of boat construction can also be seen, and past the fishing barge, on the other side of the lake, guests can step into the thatched roof hut of a fisherman from Martély.

Fishing is allowed in the Park for holders of a valid permit purchased at the Main Entrance. Fish such as Hungarian common carp, Crucian carp, brown catfish, Northern pike, and grass carp or white amur can be found in the lake.

The Bell Tower and “The Sound of Szer”

In 1993, Katalin Vályi’s archaeological excavations of the monastery courtyards have revealed furnaces and a pit dug in the building grounds, suggesting that a bell was cast on site. The findings dating from the Árpád era included pieces of the clay mold as well, which made it possible to reconstruct the inner part of the coat that was next to the metal, revealing the size and the shape of the original bell.

The mold was restored, and the bell was cast again in 1997, but this first replica remained silent. The successful recasting of the bell occurred ten years later, in 2007, and “The Sound of Szer” was anointed in honor of Magna Domina Hungarorum (Our Lady of Hungary). After centuries of silence, the bell of Szer tolls again, and is calling us to remember and celebrate ever since.