A special hiking tip near Sárvár: Hungary’s only wandering region

Sárvár’s surroundings offer much more than the Thermal and Wellness Spa or the Nádasdy Castle. Sitke, with its unique guesthouses and romantic apartments, provides secluded and romantic accommodations while serving as the western gateway to a magical region that has shifted on maps over time. This area is the duality of Kemeneshát and Kemenesalja.

According to an old map, Kemenesalja’s boundary stretched from the valley of the Lánka Stream to Ostffyasszonyfa and Sitke. Some descriptions include nearby Vásárosmiske and Gérce as part of Kemenesalja.

There was a time when Kemeneshát disappeared from maps of the Sárvár area. A 19th-century publication mentioned only Kemenesalja, whose southern boundary extended to Vasvár, a historic former county seat, offering unique attractions like the Kneipp trail and the only surviving monastery of the Pauline Order in Hungary.

Kemenesalja’s size and position have varied over centuries. At times, it extended beyond the Rába River to the Őrség region.

Révai’s Great Lexicon identified Celldömölk, just 15 minutes from Sárvár, as Kemenesalja’s center. This triangle-shaped area, excellent for cycling tours, lies along the Rába River’s right bank. Its borders were marked by the Marcal River and the Cser, connected by an imaginary line through Sitke.

At the turn of the 20th century, other maps depicted Kemenesalja starting south of Vasvár and ending at the Farkas Forest near Duka. By the 1950s, military maps divided Kemenes into longitudinal sections, distinguishing Kemeneshát’s rolling hills from Kemenesalja’s flat plains. By the 1990s, Kemenesalja had disappeared from most maps, leaving only Kemeneshát stretching to Sárvár.

For visitors staying in our charming apartments, the region offers countless opportunities for exploration, from discovering the unique volcanic landscape to enjoying the peaceful beauty of nature. Whether cycling through picturesque vineyards or indulging in local gastronomy, every corner of this dynamic area tells its own story.