Nyékládháza's main tourist attraction is its large fresh-water lake system

Nyékládháza's main tourist attraction is its large fresh-water artificial lake system, inviting thousands of tourists in the summer months. Arriving from the Great Plain, main road no. 35 is almost like a bridge separating the two biggest lakes: Lake Gólem and Lake Debreceni through a couple of miles, the two parts of Lake István are connected with Lake Gólem. Leaving all those fascinating lakes you immediately drive on a flyover, catching sight of the first longitudinal range of Bükkalja and a whole panoramic view of our town. The range is called Szőlőhegy by the locals, meaning "Hill of Grapes" as there are lots of vineyards up there. The artificial lake system has three smaller members next to the railway line between Budapest and Miskolc: Lake Öreg ("old"), Lake Középső ("middle") and Lake Egészségügyi ("health"). You can see several pictures of the lakes and panorama from the top of Szőlőhegy if you visit the gallery Lakes   or the page Panorama. 

The lakes of Nyékládháza from satellite (courtesy of Google Earth)

The formation of the lakes

The lake system was formed as a result of ballast-digging. The first private gravel-pit was opened in 1917 at the place where you now find the oldest lake, Lake Öreg. The gravel and sand of excellent quality was found at a depth of 8 m, it was accumulated by the river Sajó and the stream Hejő in the glacial periods. The lakes are made up by subsoil water and are connected with the river-system of Hungary's second biggest river, Tisza. The exploitation was continued at the place of today's Lake Középső and Lake Egészségügyi, then Lake István, Lake Gólem and Lake Debreceni followed alongside main traffic road no. 35. The exploitation is still being continued at the eastern part of Lake Gólem and Lake Debreceni. The total surface of the lakes is about 450 hectares at present, the depth ranges from 8 to 20 meters. The exploitation is expected to be finished by 2030 when the total surface of the lakes will exceed 750 hectares, providing a true paradise for water sports.

Excellent water quality, water sports,  fishing places

The lakes are of excellent fresh-water quality by the Hungarian Standard, perfectly suitable for bathing, swimming, rowing, paddle-boating, canoeing, surfing, sailing and even diving because of the deep and clear water. The sandy and pebbly beaches of the lakes are occupied by hundreds of holidaymakers in the summer months, they put up tents and bring caravans to facilitate a longer stay too. The lakes are also popular among anglers as several kinds of fishes are found in the lakes: carp, pike, busa, bream, pike-perch, trout etc. There are fishing places all along the shores: moles, stages and even landing-stages to facilitate angling from boat too.

Holiday homes, beaches

There is an extended area of holiday homes alongside Lake Gólem, Lake István and Lake Öreg, with altogether 785 plots with weekend cottages. At summer weekends the number of holidaymakers reaches 5000 people here who are able to use all the beaches free. There are popular long sandy and pebbly beaches with crowds if you like, but you can also find secluded places if you prefer intimate settingsas there are several small islands and peninsulas all over the lakes.

"Hill of Vineyards": Szőlőhegy

The other main tourist attraction of our town is Szőlőhegy, alias "Hill of Vineyards". It has always been the place to grow grapes and produce wine for centuries, so you will find vineyards with small traditional cottages all over the place, as well as wine-press housesand wine-vaults with a variety of fine wines. The panorama you get from the top of Szőlőhegy is just stunning! You will see all the town with the neighbouring villages and all the surrounding lakes with their blue water. You will love the countryside with nice fields and orchards, and if the air is clear you can even see Tokaj's volcanic cone-shaped mountain, also famous for its great wine production. People seem to like the place so much that they tend to choose Szőlőhegy to be their home, so you will also find nice family homes beside all the holiday homes and weekend cottages of people living in bigger towns like Miskolc or Tiszaújváros. In winter Szőlőhegy invites you for sledging when its nice slopes are covered with snow.

Tips for trips and excursions from Nyékládháza

Nyékládháza is in such a good geographical position that you can get to all the famous places in Borsod County and the neighbouring counties in less than one or two hours! If you enjoy visiting national parks, go to Bükki Nemzeti Park to get to know the natural beauty of Hungary's second biggest mountain range, Bükk. Another national park can be found in Aggtelek with its big and spectacular limestone caves. Visit the region's biggest city Miskolc which boasts with one of the nicest surroundings of all Hungarian towns:Lillafüred in a nice valley with its limestone caves, the beautiful Hotel Castle and a lake where you can boat or paddle-boat if you like,Miskolc-Tapolca with Europe's only spa in a cave, Diósgyőr's nice castle with all kinds of cultural programmes. You can visit all the historic towns of the county: Eger, Sárospatak, Tokaj, Ónod, Szerencs just to name a few. You can find the remains of a lot of medieval castles and fortresses in the mountains: Boldogkő, Füzér, Regéc, Dédes, Füzérkő. If you want to get to know original Hungarian folk art, go to the nearby folk art centre, Mezőkövesd. The National Park of Hortobágy is world-famous for its special flora and fauna, as well as the great Hungarian "puszta". And there are several health-resorts and spas for you to visit: Mezőkövesd,Hajdúszoboszló, Bogács.

Investments needed for further development

As the gravel and sand is still being exploited in the eastern parts of the big lakes, there are only few places to accommodate tourists. We need all kinds of hotels, motels, pensions and campings to be built, and the beaches should be made more organized too, offering sunbeds and parasols, cubicles, public lavatories and different water sports equipment. Also restaurants and more snack bars are needed to be built to satisfy all demands.

Hot springs to be utilized to make a tourist paradise

All the needed investments could be faster recovered if the 60 °C hot springs near the lakes were also utilized. The holiday season could be extended over the whole year, not just the summer months. A spa or a wellness hotel could be built next to the lakes inviting people to spend their time in a more healthy way during their holidays. Nyékládháza could be made a real paradise for tourists who are attracted to big fresh-water lakes offering all kinds of water sports, like to spend their free time in a healthy way, want to taste the specialties of Hungarian cuisine including our famous wines, enjoy the originality of rural environment while taking trips to famous nearby sights. There are so many possibilities to choose from!

Paths to be built around the lakes, water sports equipment to be lent, sports grounds to be built

The first step should be to build paths all around the lakes where tourists could go walking, cycling or even riding a horse. There are several sights nearby the lakes: the monument of the Muhi Battle against the Tartars in 1241, the neighbouring village Ónod with its historic past, and of course Szőlőhegy with all its vineyards, traditional wine houses, wine-vaults and nice weekend cottages with wonderful panorama. At the same time, all kinds of water sports equipment should be made available for borrowing, which would attract a lot more people who do not possess such equipment: boats, surfing and diving equipment, paddle-boat, kayaks, canoes and even sailing boats. Sport grounds should be built too.