M
Máta Stud Farm
Staged it may be, but the 1½-hour puszta show at the 300-year-old Máta Stud Farm, 3km north of Hortobágy village, is a real slice of Hungary. You get to…
Getty Images/iStockphoto
Great Plain
Like the outback for Australians or the Wild West for Americans, the Nagyalföld (Great Plain) – also known as the puszta – holds a romantic appeal for Hungarians. Many of these notions come as much from the collective imagination as they do from history, but there’s no arguing the spellbinding potential of big-sky country. The Hortobágy region is where the myth of the lonely pásztor (shepherd), the wayside csárda (inn) and Gypsy violinists – kept alive in literature and art – was born. The horse and herding show at Hortobágy National Park recreates this pastoral tradition, while Bugac is one of the best places in Hungary to learn about life on the plain. The Great Plain is also home to cities of graceful architecture and history. Szeged is a centre of art and culture, Kecskemét is full of art nouveau gems and Debrecen is the 'Calvinist Rome’.
Explore Great Plain
- MMáta Stud Farm
Staged it may be, but the 1½-hour puszta show at the 300-year-old Máta Stud Farm, 3km north of Hortobágy village, is a real slice of Hungary. You get to…
- CCity Hall
The sandy-pink, stepped-roof city hall (1895) was designed by Ödön Lechner. With a mixture of art nouveau/Secessionist and folkloric elements, Lechner…
- MMuseum of Hungarian Naive Artists
Arguably the city’s most interesting museum and one of the few of its kind in Europe, the Museum of Hungarian Naive Artists contains works with lots of…
- CCalvinist College
North of the Great Church stands the Calvinist College, built in 1816 on the site of a theological college dating back to the mid-16th century. Downstairs…
- NNew Synagogue
The recently renovated art nouveau New Synagogue, designed by Lipót Baumhorn in 1903, is the most beautiful Jewish house of worship in Hungary, if not the…
- OOrnamental Palace
Dating from 1902, the masterful art nouveau Ornamental Palace features multicoloured majolica tiles decorating its 'waving' walls. The palace contains the…
- GGreat Church
Built in 1822, the iconic Great Church accommodates 3000 people and is Hungary’s largest Protestant house of worship. The nave is rather austere apart…
- BBird Park & Clinic
Get up close with ailing feathered friends as they convalesce at the Bird Park & Clinic. Walk through the ‘hospital’ section of this sanctuary (including…
- RReök Palace
The Reök Palace is a mind-blowing green-and-lilac art nouveau structure, built in 1907, that looks like a decoration at the bottom of an aquarium. It’s…
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Great Plain.
See
Máta Stud Farm
Staged it may be, but the 1½-hour puszta show at the 300-year-old Máta Stud Farm, 3km north of Hortobágy village, is a real slice of Hungary. You get to…
See
City Hall
The sandy-pink, stepped-roof city hall (1895) was designed by Ödön Lechner. With a mixture of art nouveau/Secessionist and folkloric elements, Lechner…
See
Museum of Hungarian Naive Artists
Arguably the city’s most interesting museum and one of the few of its kind in Europe, the Museum of Hungarian Naive Artists contains works with lots of…
See
Calvinist College
North of the Great Church stands the Calvinist College, built in 1816 on the site of a theological college dating back to the mid-16th century. Downstairs…
See
New Synagogue
The recently renovated art nouveau New Synagogue, designed by Lipót Baumhorn in 1903, is the most beautiful Jewish house of worship in Hungary, if not the…
See
Ornamental Palace
Dating from 1902, the masterful art nouveau Ornamental Palace features multicoloured majolica tiles decorating its 'waving' walls. The palace contains the…
See
Great Church
Built in 1822, the iconic Great Church accommodates 3000 people and is Hungary’s largest Protestant house of worship. The nave is rather austere apart…
See
Bird Park & Clinic
Get up close with ailing feathered friends as they convalesce at the Bird Park & Clinic. Walk through the ‘hospital’ section of this sanctuary (including…
See
Reök Palace
The Reök Palace is a mind-blowing green-and-lilac art nouveau structure, built in 1907, that looks like a decoration at the bottom of an aquarium. It’s…
Guidebooks
Learn more about Great Plain
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