National Parks in Hungary

Fertö-Hanság National Park

The Fertö-Hanság National Park was established in 1991. Its total area (33,087) is in two countries (Hungary and Austria). The major part of its territory is situated in Hungary. The area of Lake Fertö and Hanság, with its marshes, moors and bogs, is known as a brilliant island of nature by the western gate of Hungary. It is one of the last surviving sites of, not only valuable wildlife, but an especially attractive landscape too, including many traditional folk, cultural and historical monuments. The Fertö-Hanság National Park in Hungary includes the hills along the western shore of Lake Fertö, and the Hungarian part of the lake, in which 88 per cent is covered by reeds, the puszta areas on the southeast lakeshore, and the area of Hanság and Toköz, a region of small lakes and wetlands; and the fields along the River Répce. Since 2002 Lake Fertö is part of the UNESCO World Heritage programme.

Interesting places: The wildlife of Hanság exhibition in Öntésmajor; Nagycenk Narrow gauge Museum Railway

Duna-Ipoly National Park

The Duna-Ipoly National Park, involving the wooded ranges along the Danube Bend and the relatively untouched part of the River Ipoly Valley, was established in 1997. Its total area covers 60,314 hectares. The uniqueness of the region derives from the interaction between three different main landscape forms such as river valleys, mountains, and the lowland, which meets here and possesses varied, untouchable and somewhat mixed natural wealth. Besides the territory of the National Park, the directorate manages protected landscape areas and nature conservation areas. The Szenas Hill, belonging to the Buda Protected Landscape Area, was declared as a European Diploma Site in 1995. Most of its sites are in Budapest or its proximity.

Interesting places: Szemlöhegy Cave; Pál-völgy Cave; Sas Hill in Budapest; Arboretum in Alcsutdoboz; Regional Folklore House in Ocsa. Narrow gauge railways in Kismaros and Nagybörzsöny and Budapest

Duna-Drava National Park http://www.ddnp.hu/

The establishment of the Duna-Drava National Park had to be prepared for several years so that the requirements of the 1991 Resolution of the Parliament were met. It had originally aimed at being a cross-border national park with the former Yugoslavia. The national park was eventually established in Spring 1996 on the Hungarian side only. With a total of more than 49,000 hectares, it consists of large separate units along the Danube from the River Sio to the natural border and along the River Drava. Most of Southern Transdanubia is a holly landscape, in which the Mecsek and Villany Mountains rise like islands in the sea. The protected areas comprise a wide range of habitats from open water surfaces through various types of deciduous forests to dry rock grasslands and sandy grasslands.

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