Following in Hubert's footsteps and not withstanding his two merciless reviews of the two eastern Hungarian world heritage sites, I combined a visit of Tokaj with a visit of the Puszta, i.e. Hortobagy. Now, in German comparing a place to the Puszta is never a compliment. It evokes flatness and dullness and general boredom. So, even discounting Hubert's review, I wasn't hoping for much.

Interestingly, the Hungarians have marketed the Puszta quite strongly to tourists. Hungary was already a tourist destination for western tourists before the Iron Curtain came down. Visits to the mystical Puszta were then (and still are) popular day trips for visitors to Lake Balaton or Budapest. Just google Puszta Day Trip. You get to see the traditional Hungarians living authentic traditional lives, riding traditional horses, sitting in traditional carriages... A true authentic experience.

To make sense of the Puszta, I think it's worth to go back a bit in history to the founding of Hungary. Hungary forms the western most part of the Eurasian steppe: the Hungarian Plain. The Eurasian steppe was for millennia ruled by horse nomads with wave upon wave entering Europe. There were the Scythians, the Huns, the Goths, the Avars, the Bulgars, the Mongols and many more.

These horse nomads would run into two problems over time. First and immediate, the mountains of central Europe (Carpathians, Alps) were not suited to horse archer warfare. Second, they would lose their edge over time and either the settled people such as the Byzantines would beat them back. Or a new horse archer clan would show up and replace them.

Two exceptions to this rule are the Bulgars and the Magyars. While the Bulgars settled in Bulgaria (and we can thank them for the Madera Rider), the Magyars settled in Hungary and kept the country ever since. At their heart, they were a horse archer/nomad, warrior people and I think this image is part of the national psyche. As such, the Puszta with it's supposedly original way of life is a national symbol of Hungary's origins.

I stress national symbol. I am not convinced this type of site should be on the list to begin with. It's nationalistic myth building akin to the Walhalla or the Lorelay in Germany. And frankly, the entertainment of the Rhine around the Loreley or the Danube around Walhalla seem higher. At the end this is a boring grass plain with heavy agricultural use, the type of which I can see in Northern Germany plenty.

The best part of the site might be the plants and animals living in the area. And I was briefly inclined to award 1 Star for birding (not that I care or know much about birds) or the landscape. But then I realized that this is a purely cultural inscription, so nature does not play a role in evaluating the site. As such, I have to concur with Hubert.

Getting There

Buses and trains run between Debrecen and Füzesabony/Eger. The buses stop along the main road, the train runs further North (1km or so). If you want to visit the fish pond, the train is the better option.

At the fish pond, you can take a steam engine. Walking along straight roads in the dull Puszta is not a very enticing prospect. Unfortunately, the train was already sold out when I came.