Čeláre: Manor Houses, Church and the Ipeľ

Čeláre combines manor-house history and church art with a canoe route on the Ipeľ and a hiking route over Hrozný vrch. When planning your stay, you can choose different areas of interest: historic buildings, landscapes and nature watching, or a route that passes through several named places.

Manor Houses and Church Art

The Luisézny Manor House in Čeláre was built around 1770 by the noble Prónay family. Čeláre is also home to the badly deteriorated ruins of the Prónay Manor House. In Kirť, the surviving part of the manor house is designated a protected cultural monument. Also preserved there is the accommodation wing of a Baroque castle, which Count Keglevich used as a hunting lodge.

The manor-house complex in Kirť includes a large English-style park and a small zoological garden. Numerous trees brought from distant countries grow in the park. The manor house, park and zoological garden thus showcase different aspects of the complex: historic buildings, a distinctive park and its planting.

The Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Čeláre is a Baroque-Classical church dating from 1797. Its main altar is in the Neo-Rococo style and features a central image of St. Michael from the late 18th century. Both the church’s architectural style and the design and date of the altarpiece are relevant to its art-historical context.

The Ipeľ and the Hilly Landscape

A canoe route on the Ipeľ runs from the harbour in Bušince to the football pitch in Čeláre. It is 6 km long, takes about two hours and is rated difficulty level 4. Canoeing offers views of floodplain forests and meadows; water birds and fish can also be observed. Check the current route operating information before setting off.

The northern and northeastern parts of Čeláre lie in a hilly landscape formed from Neogene deposits. Steeper slopes and acacia groves are part of this landscape. Together with the floodplain forests and meadows along the canoe route, they offer different ways to experience nature: the river landscape from the water and the hilly terrain in the northern and northeastern parts of the village.

Hiking Route and Historic Traces of Winegrowing

The “Popri Ipli” hiking route leads from Bušince via Hrozný vrch, Čeláre and Kirť, where the Keglevich family manor house is located, to Kováčovce. Hrozný vrch is 281 m high; the route then descends to Čeláre. Check trail conditions before your hike, as they can change.

The two routes offer different reference points for planning: the canoe trip has a stated length and approximate duration, while the hiking route can be understood from its course through several places and over Hrozný vrch. The canoe trip focuses on travelling along the river and observing the floodplain landscape, while “Popri Ipli” centres on the route’s sequence of places and its high point.

Historically, agriculture in Čeláre was accompanied by winegrowing. A 19th-century wine cellar adds to this aspect of local history. Winegrowing and the cellar point to two different aspects: a former agricultural activity and a building from the period when winegrowing was part of local history.

Discover more destinations: Dolná Strehová, Ďurkovce, Obeckov, Kamenné Kosihy, Dolné Príbelce, Ľuboriečka, Veľké Straciny, Horná Strehová.

For the regional travel overview: Veľký Krtíš District.