Pölöske: Castle History and Lakeside Landscape

Pölöske combines a multifaceted history with a landscape shaped by water, wetlands and winegrowing. The town offers a range of themes to explore when planning a trip: traces of its former castle and stud-farm history, memorial sites and the lakeside landscape. Each of these tells a distinct chapter in the town’s history, and together they paint a fuller picture of Pölöske than any single attraction could.

Castle, Stud Farm and Memorials

The castle of Pölöske was captured and set alight by the Turks in 1664 after several unsuccessful sieges. It was soon recaptured and restored; in 1702 it was demolished on the orders of Leopold I. Today, a dense, scrubby forest grows over its remains. The sequence of capture, restoration and later demolition gives the castle’s history several clearly distinct stages.

Teleki Castle is also part of the town’s history. Its estate included two large, two-storey granaries with hipped roofs, a small roadside chapel and a large former breeding stud farm. The history of horse breeding also includes Count István Széchenyi, who founded a stud farm in 1855; horses were also brought in from England for it.

The 1664 Heroes’ Memorial commemorates the Pölöske fighters who died in the struggle against the Ottomans, as well as the heroes of Zala’s border fortresses. A war memorial in Pölöske bears 101 names. The two forms of remembrance highlight different things: one recalls the fighting and the border fortresses, while the other preserves the names of the fallen.

Lakes, Birdlife and Vineyards

The open waters of the Pölöske Lakes are dotted with larger and smaller islands. Reeds line the shores, alongside a marshy wetland area. These features shape the character of the lakes and set their shorelines apart from those of a simple open body of water. Various species of wild duck and wild goose can often be seen at Lake Pölöske; however, wildlife watching is a nature experience, not a guaranteed sighting.

Viticulture is also part of the town’s character, though the land is put to different uses. Vineyards in Kishegy and Öreghegy are still cultivated. At the same time, the younger generation is increasingly using the wine cellars in the hills as weekend homes. Much of the grapevines have been uprooted; mostly, table grapes are still grown for personal use. Thus, cultivated vineyards remain alongside a changing landscape where many of the remaining vines no longer serve the purpose of traditional winegrowing.

Nearby: the Sohollári Valley

The Hét Vezér memorial site, with its memorial posts, lies in the Sohollári Valley between Bak and Pölöske. Nearby are two groups of spruce trees about a hundred years old that are under nature protection; on the other side of the road stands the hunters’ memorial tree. These places bring together memorial markers and distinctive trees, adding a regional context of their own to the memorials in town.

The Sohollári Arboretum, established in 1972, surrounds the hunting lodge in the valley. Its landscape includes a small artificial lake with an island in the middle. For years, the arboretum has hosted the central opening event for the hunting season in Zala; its most important part is a Hubertus Mass. St. Hubertus Chapel was consecrated in 2001 and built specifically for the opening events of the hunting season.

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

View the broader travel guide: Pacsai.