Bajna: Cross, Calvary and Strudel Tradition

Bajna can be explored through a range of themes: historic landmarks, an annual custom and a well-known strudel recipe. The dates on the monuments point to different periods; Bajnai rétes adds a culinary tradition to the history of the town.

Historic landmarks in Bajna

Sándor Paulina had the large cross on Őr-hegy erected in 1856 to mark her marriage to Metternich Richárd. The Csimai Calvary stands on the outskirts of Bajna. The Sándor family had it built in 1732 and restored in 1872, 1897 and 1928. It stands on the site of a village church that was destroyed during the Ottoman period. The two sites relate to different historical contexts: the cross is associated with a marriage, while the Calvary is linked to an earlier church site and several restorations.

Customs and local food culture

Every year on 30 April, young people light a bonfire on Őr-hegy as part of a small celebration. If you would like to plan your trip around this date, check in advance whether the celebration is taking place that year.

Bajnai rétes (Etus néni rétese) is a strudel recipe well known in Bajna, enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. Together with the historic sites, it adds a culinary point of interest to the picture of Bajna. In this way, concrete historical dates and local food culture sit side by side in Bajna.

More to explore in the wider Komorn-Gran destination

The wider Komorn-Gran destination offers its own landscape and cultural themes in addition to those specific to Bajna. The Gerecsei Tájvédelmi Körzet is a nationally significant, individually designated landscape protection area in Komárom-Esztergom, covering 8,676 hectares. In the Gerecse, alongside the predominant Triassic limestone, there is also Jurassic limestone, which is particularly rich in fossils. The protected area and the geological history give the landscape theme in Komorn-Gran different facets.

The cultural history of Komorn-Gran includes the Majki Kamalduli Remeteség, a Baroque monument complex with seventeen cell houses, a church tower and a monastery. An exhibition there presents the general and Hungarian history of the Camaldolese order. The Remeteség is open Tuesday to Sunday: from 1 April to 31 October, 10:00 to 18:00, and from 1 November to 31 March, 09:00 to 17:00. Check the opening hours before your visit, as they may change.

In the wider Komorn-Gran destination, the Brigetio Öröksége Látogatóközpont houses a permanent interactive archaeological exhibition featuring finds from the excavations at Brigetio. The Monostori Erőd is a military monument within the Komárom fortress system. Exhibitions and staged scenes illustrate the periods of the Monarchy, the World Wars and the Soviet occupation. The Komárom fortress system is located on the territory of the two Komároms and is on UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. The historical themes in Komorn-Gran thus range from the history of religious orders to archaeological finds and military history.

Stud farm and digital orientation

At Bábolna Nemzeti Ménesbirtok in the wider Komorn-Gran destination, carriage rides to the nearby arboretum are available in two carriages drawn by Shagya Arabian mares; advance booking is required. A guided visit begins with the stud farm history exhibition and continues in the Ménesudvar. The “Fogat bemutató, ménfelvezetés” programme features four-, five- and two-horse teams; visitors can try these historic modes of transport for themselves. Advance booking is required for the programme.

For the Duna-Gerecse tourism area, 19 virtual walks are available to download in Hungarian, German, English and Slovak; they work offline. As the app’s availability may change, check in advance if you would like to use the walks.

Discover more destinations: Leányvár, Nagysáp, Dág, Tokodaltáró, Dorog, Csolnok, Kesztölc, Epöl.

Back to the wider travel overview: Dorogi.