FEOL – Let’s get to know the settlements of Fejér

You can watch our video about Csókakő HERE!

At the junction of Látóhegy and Pusztacsóka there is a hill where human bones and skulls were found. This area could have been the castle – the first mention of which dates from the end of the 13th century – and the predecessor of the village during the Árpád era. At that time, the name Csókakő applied only to the castle, the settlement was called Váralja. In the course of its centuries-long history, the castle has changed owners countless times, and was also a royal estate several times. Its castle was depopulated at the beginning of the Turkish era, and the castle was occupied three times by the Turks. After the last siege in 1602, it was held for 85 years. According to some records, in 1687, when it was liberated, 68 soldiers, 97 women and 39 children left the castle, whose military role was then permanently terminated.

However, the castle still stood and had new owners, so for example Lipó I donated it to Archbishop György Széchenyi of Kalocsa in 1678 for HUF 15,000. The decline of the fortress, which was rebuilt several times, with an irregular floor plan, and internal towers, began with a lightning strike in the 1800s, and since its then owner, the Lamberg family from Mór, did not repair the damage and left it alone, the castle slowly fell into disrepair, its ruins in the 20th century. became life-threatening by the turn of the century.

Interestingly, its first archaeological excavation took place at the end of the 19th century. The only remaining medieval stone castle in Fejér County was declared a monument in 1953. In the 1960s, another excavation was started, but after a few years it was abandoned. Only the Society of Csókakő Castle Friends, founded in 1995, breathed new life into the building, which has now been largely restored. This is therefore the biggest attraction of Csókakő, whose reputation is further enhanced by the Csókakő Castle Days, which have been organized for more than twenty years, to which people from more distant settlements also come.

You don’t have to go far from the castle to see the other prides of the village, the public works: Miklós Horthy’s bust on Nagy-Magyarország square, as well as the carved wooden figure of a soldier, the Guardian of the Carpathians, next to it. At the end of the summer, the statue of the Returning Soldier was inaugurated on the street leading to the cemetery above the graves of the 42 Hungarian soldiers who died a heroic death in World War II. At the end of World War II, the Soviet “liberators” were shot while resting.

When visiting Csókakő, we cannot forget about the wines either, since grapes and wine have been made in the area for a long time. Juices made mostly from the white varieties characteristic of the landscape are put into barrels. The Szent Donát Wine Order, which was founded in 2001, set its main task to popularize and spread their good news, whose flagship wine is Csókakői Ezerjó. They have also held gatherings in the 300-year-old Zichy cellar, the exterior of which was renewed not long ago, but the two-nave, vaulted interior is still the original.

If you don’t count the road leading between the wine cellars to the neighboring Csákberény, the Csókakő sack village, at a sufficient distance from the noise and exhaust gas air of the busy road 81. The sight of the dense canopy of the surrounding forests, which are darkly green above the village from spring to autumn, radiates tranquility. The panorama from the castle is beautiful. As we get lost in the church towers and red-roofed houses of the neighboring settlements, and then our gaze sweeps over the village from above, we can really feel that we have arrived.

Traditions must be known and respected

This time, our paper asked three people to tell us why they like living in this village.

Éva Bócz is proud that her family’s roots go back to the Árpád era and that her great-grandparents already lived in this settlement, Csókakő. Perhaps that is why he considers it important to know, respect and pass on traditions, which play a key role in the long-term survival of the village. In his opinion, with the medieval castle and a piece of Vértes, Csókakő is one of the most beautiful settlements in the country.

Pál Sörédi spent his childhood in Csókakő, went to school there, and later taught there for nearly four decades. Apart from his family, another reason for his attachment is the castle, his great love, which he has done a lot to save and renovate in the past 26 years. He also highlighted the well-arranged houses of the village and the enjoyable, fiery Csókakő wine, which is made from grapes grown on the slopes of Vértes.

As young married women, Rezsőné Vass and her husband traveled the country with the Landscapes, ages, museums booklet and collected stamps. This is how they got to Csókakő, which they immediately fell in love with. At first they only bought a holiday home in the settlement, later they moved there as well. Aunt Tucika – as Rezsőné Vass is called – introduced the village and the castle to the visitors as a tour guide almost from the beginning, and thanks to this she herself learned a lot about the village. He says that Csókakö has an incredibly good atmosphere and has received a lot of love from its residents over the years.