Bodrogkeresztúr
This ancient, attractive village on the river Bodrog has several great artisan wineries – which organise the excellent “All Saints’ Merriment” (HU: Mindszent Havi Mulatság) open winery festival in early October, the first Tokaj wine vinegar manufacturers and even a Motor Museum (that may have closed).
A thriving folk dance community, active local organisation Bodrogkeresztúr Jövőjéért Egyesület in this attractive linear village extending up the sunny vineyard hillside to bordering the tree-lined river Bodrog stocked with fish. One of the greatest stork populations around. One beloved stork Fülöp even overwintered here for several years after surviving the first when he was unable to migrate after being injured and kept close to a warm chimney! Now deceased, he is immortalised in wines and winter running races.
The 800-year-old church has recently been renovated.
Already settled in the Bronze Age, a slightly more recent claim to fame is that the more Pezsgő (Hungarian sparkling wine made using Champagne techniques) is produced here than anywhere else in the region. So, bubbles all around!
Bodrogkeresztúr and the Jewish cemetery are also important pilgrimage sites on the trail of wonder rabbi Reb Steiner Saje.
Highlights
Events
“Winter Run” (HU: Fülöp Különc) – 5-km up the hill and back. The first was organised in February 2017.
“All Saints’ Merriment” (HU: Mindszent Havi Mulatság) open wineries (usually) on the second Saturday on October where, as well as wine tastings, guests can enjoy tasting the great foods (some baked in the wood-fired ovens), live music (jazz, pop, rock, blues, funky, acoustic guitar, traditional folk), handcrafts, photo and art exhibitions, and performances. And the dance house in the evening is a great opportunity to see how folk dance lives strongly in this community as people of all ages dance till they drop.
Activities
Stay and wine taste at the Füleky (Winery) Mansion and Tokaj Nobilis Winery and Guesthouse.
Discover the Tokaj wine vinegar factory and its museum.
Take a boat trip or hire a canoe to explore the river Bodrog and its oxbows before it flows into the Tisza at Tokaj.
Taste jams, cordials and more at Csicsörke or Ízes Örömest.
Climb the hill, past the cemeteries, for a super view over the floodplain.
The bike path to Tokaj is (nearly) finished making for a much easier and pleasanter ride along the magnificent river Bodrog to its confluence with the larger Tisza at the foot of the Tokaj hill.
Or, as you wander along the main street, imagine days gone by when carriages clattered through the gateways into the impressive merchant houses.
Eating and drinking
Lebuj offers traditional Hungarian food and a good range of Tokaji wines in a classic setting near the river. Sturdy wooden tables, plates on the wall, impressive tile ovens for cooler days, or the busy terrace overlooking the river for al fresco dining.
Newcomer on the high-end culinary experience is riverside Dereszla Bistro.
