Nagykapornak: Remetekert and the Ciklámen Nature Trail

Nagykapornak can be explored through several themes, but one particularly distinctive landmark is Remetekert on the outskirts of the village. This consecrated pilgrimage site combines religious significance with woodland themes and a long history. The Ciklámen Nature Trail of the Balaton Uplands National Park passes through Remetekert, adding a natural history and forestry perspective to its religious character.

Remetekert: Forest, Trail and Pilgrimage

The trail’s stops introduce a forest reserve and areas that illustrate selection forestry and clear-cutting. In this way, forest conservation and different forms of forest management are presented as distinct themes side by side. The trail thus offers a second way of experiencing Remetekert alongside the pilgrimage: it draws attention to the relationship between forests and their use.

As a consecrated pilgrimage site, Remetekert is also the setting for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. A report from 2026 describes it as an annual communal celebration with prayer and reports that pilgrim numbers are rising. A report from 2020 describes a bell tower and several sculptures by woodcarvers that were visible at the time; it also locates the Mária-forrás, a spring, in the forest below the pilgrimage site.

History and Architecture

Remetekert also has a layered past. The village of Boldogasszonyháza once stood on the site of present-day Remetekert but was destroyed during the Ottoman period; Remetekert remained a pilgrimage site. Hermits lived there until the 18th century, when Joseph II prohibited the hermit way of life there. Thus, a former settlement, the hermit tradition and the continuing pilgrimage stand side by side as distinct historical layers. The church of the Benedictine Abbey of Nagykapornak offers another historical perspective: it was converted into a single-nave Baroque church in the 18th century. The church’s construction history adds a concrete architectural feature to the local religious themes.

Zala as a Wider Context

The wider travel destination of Zala offers further landscape and cultural themes. The Zalai Borvidék (Zala Wine Region) developed on the slopes and plateaus of the Zalai-dombság hills and on the northwestern slopes of the Keszthelyi-hegység mountains; it comprises two wine-growing districts and 38 settlements. Its spread across several types of landscape and the number of settlements demonstrate the regional scale of the wine-growing area.

The Kis-Balaton, Zala’s largest body of water, offers a different landscape perspective. The strictly protected area covers 14,745 hectares and is the setting for István Fekete’s classic novels Tüskevár and Téli berek. Here, landscape conservation and literature come together as two distinct themes of Zala. The Festetics kastély in Keszthely is also part of the cultural overview: it is Hungary’s fourth-largest palace and has 101 rooms. Lake Hévíz adds another natural highlight; it is considered the world’s largest biologically active natural thermal lake.

The Azáleás-völgy in Zalaegerszeg’s Alsóerdő is also a spring attraction for day-trippers. At the Kotsy-vízimalom in Zalaszántó, visitors can see a working 390-centimeter overshot waterwheel mechanism.

Discover more destinations: Misefa, Zalaigrice, Pölöske, Zalaszentmihály.

See the wider travel overview: Pacsai.