Discover Kisvárda

Kisvárda offers several distinct reasons to visit: a memorial walk dedicated to Bódi László “Cipő,” the castle as a historic monument, an annual theatre festival, and a 470-metre running track at Vár-tó. This brings the city’s cultural history together with a practical opportunity to exercise. If you are planning to travel for the festival, check the dates of that year’s edition before making your plans.

Cultural history in Kisvárda

The Bódi László “Cipő” Memorial Walk commemorates the singer and songwriter who had close ties to Kisvárda. The memorial walk is located on Mátyás király utca and was established on 14 October 2023. It links the memory of the musician to a specific place in the city.

Kisvárda Castle has been part of Hungary’s national heritage since 1990 and is an architecturally and historically significant monument. It is currently closed to visitors due to renovation work. When planning your trip, it is therefore important to distinguish the castle’s historical significance from whether it can currently be visited: it is part of Kisvárda’s cultural identity, but cannot currently be included as a visitable attraction.

Festival and running route

The Határon Túli Magyar Színházak Festival was first held in 1989 and has taken place in Kisvárda every year since. Around 40 productions are staged over the ten days of the festival. Most take place at Művészetek Háza; other venues include Várszínpad and Kamaraterem. Kamaraterem opened in 2002 for the festival. The duration and approximate number of productions give a concrete sense of what to expect from this cultural travel opportunity. If the festival is the deciding factor for your trip, check the dates of that year’s edition.

Another way to spend your time is to use the running track around Vár-tó. The Rekortan-surfaced route goes all the way around the lake and is 470 metres long. Its manageable length makes this exercise option very different from a multi-day cultural programme. When planning your trip, you can choose between focusing on the festival and the city’s history or taking a short lap around Vár-tó.

In the wider destination of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg

Beyond Kisvárda, the wider destination of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg also offers cultural and historical attractions. The Vay-Ádám Museum Collection of the Hungarian National Museum is housed in the Renaissance Vay Castle in Vaja. Báthori Castle in Nyírbátor houses a permanent exhibition and a panopticon depicting members of the Báthori family in period surroundings. The two sites offer different experiences: in Vaja, a museum collection is housed in a Renaissance castle, while in Nyírbátor, the castle is home to an exhibition and a panopticon.

The region’s story also encompasses landscapes with a distinctive history. The Bátorligeti Ancient Moor, covering about 53 hectares, is strictly protected and preserves especially comprehensively various stages in the vegetation and landscape history of the Alföld plain. Near Csaroda are Nyíres-tó and Báb tava, distinctive peat bogs whose formation dates back to the Ice Age. Together, these examples showcase different features of the wider destination: a museum and castle, a protected wetland, and the long development of the landscape.

Discover more destinations: Tiszakanyár, Dombrád, Fényeslitke, Döge.

Return to the destination overview: Kisvárda.