Mogyoród

Mogyoród is a relatively small village with about 6000 inhabitants. However the settlement has beautiful location with the best panorama in the Gödöllő Hills. Its unique wine cellars and other cultural values, as well as Hungary’s most advanced racing circuit make Mogyoród a priority destination in the surroundings of Budapest.

Mogyoród is a municipality in Pest County, located close to Budapest, to the northeast of the capital along the M3 motorway, in a valley of the Gödöllő Hills. The name of the village is related to the hungarian word “mogyoró”, which means hazelnut and the ancient hungarian word “mogyoród” meant: “reach in hazelnuts”. Nevertheless these days there are only very few native hazel bushes in the area of the settlement. As a curiosity one is located in the court of the parish.

Due to its fortunate location Mogyoród was already inhabited in the ancient and medieval times as well. There was an outstanding historical event here in 14 March 1074, that called the “Battle of Mogyoród”. Árpádian princes, Géza and Saint Ladislaus I won a decisive victory over king Solomon of Hungary (I. Salamon), who was supported by the german emperor. With this victory the princes abolished the feudal dependence of the emperor.

In the memory of the event Saint Ladislaus I deployed benedictine monks in Mogyoród and founded an abbey here, this place is called today “Klastromdomb” (abbey hill). The first written records of the village are related to this battle, on the pages of Chronicon Pictum (also known as Chronica Hungarorum). The site of the former abbey is now a park with a monument.

In the following times the village was not among the significant settlements in the region, the people were dealing with agriculture (mostly wheat and grape) and with livestock breeding. In 1241 the mongol invasion reached Mogyoród and decimated the population. The 16th century brought Turkish rule and slow depopulation for the settlement. Later, after driving out the turks the people slowly came back to the village.

Religion and tradition is very significant in the life of the people of Mogyoród. The most important person in the history of the village was king Saint Ladislaus I, who has two main memorials here: a bronze statue on the square named after the king and a wooden one in the lookout tower on the Somlyó Hill (aka Gyertyános Hill).

Szent László lookout tower and chapel

Thanks to its good natural conditions the surrounding of Mogyoród is perfect for shorter or longer excursions, hiking, horse riding or in wintertime even for sledging.

One of the highest peaks of the hilly country is Somlyó Hill (Somlyó-hegy or Gyertyános, 326 m). Here stands the Szent László (Saint Ladislaus I, king of Hungary, 1040-1095) lookout tower and chapel, build in 2001, designed by hungarian architect Imre Makovecz. The tower gives a stunning view on the surroundings, the gentle hills, the villages, and the Hungaroring race circuit as well. In clear weather conditions even the main attractions of Budapest – eg. Gellért Hill, Buda Castle, etc. – can be seen from here.

Saint Michael church

One of the main sights in Mogyoród is the Roman Catholic church, that is built up using the original stones of the medieval monastery and dedicated to St. Michael archangel. The wooden sculpture on the main altar is made in the 18th century by Károly Bebó hungarian sculptor. The baroque calvary on the cemetery hill is built in the same time. This oval layout building contains a circle shaped chapel, the three crosses held the statues of the crucified Christ and the two thieves.

Events, traditions

On the main square there is a statue-fountain that refers to the cultural traditions of Mogyoród. It represents a couple dancing Hungarian folk dance, and was inaugurated in 2006 (made by Lajos Józsa). The village house was founded in 1995, at the local village day, so called “Szent László Hét” (“Saint Ladislaus Week”). It has a permanent local history exhibition with rich collection. Szent László Week is an important event in the life of Mogyoród, among others it offers concerts, child and culinary programs for all visitors.

Wineries, viticulture

This event series also contains the “Apátsági Pincenapok” wine festival, it enriches the cultural life of the village since 2006.

There are approximately 300 wine cellars in the volcanic tuff rock. One of them is supposedly already have existed in 1074, the time of the “Battle of Mogyoród”. During the festival a lot of wineries open their doors wide to the visitors and offer full wines for tasting.

Hungaroring

Beside the historical sights the most popular attraction in Mogyoród is admittedly the Hungaroring racing circuit, home of the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix. For the few days of the race event this village with only several thousand inhabitants becomes a colorful, multinational hundred-thousand people city. At the opening year, in 1986 this race was the first Formula-1 Grand Prix in Central and East Europe (and this is the only one in this region even today).

Hungaroring also has a driving technique center, furthermore there are other major car and motor racing events here.

Aquarena aquatic park

In the summertime Aquarena water amusement park is a great opportunity to get refreshed. It is located close to Hungaroring race track and has the most slides among the aquaparks in Hungary. It has beautiful environment, the slides take advantage of the local terrain and blend into the hillside slopes almost in a natural way.