The shortest round trip to the Írottkő, from the Hörmann-spring parking lot
The shortest approach to Írottkő from the Hungarian side along the Írottkő educational trail.
Írottkő or as they used to call it Szálkő, is the highest point of the mountains of Kőszeg, the whole Western Hungary and Burgenland. The lookout tower on the hilltop, built in 1913, is now located in two countries at the same time. In clear weather it is possible to see the Lake Balaton, the Hills of Bakony or the Schneeberg and the Rax Mountains in Austria. The peak got its name from a former milestone near to it, i.e. „írott kő” = “written stone”. From the Hungarian side the fastest way to get there is from the Hörmann-well parking lot. From here, the lookout is just 2-2.5 km along the blue bar sign - approx. 40-45 minutes. On the way we follow the Írottkő Educational Trail, which presents the 16 Hungarian settlements of the Írottkő Naturpark. We can return to the parking lot also with smaller slopes, but on a pleasantly sloping road: on the blue bar and then on the blue cross sign. 5.4 km, 2 hours, level rise: 251m
Térkép
Látnivalók
1. Hörmann-well GPS: 47.358645 / 16.459962
It is the highest spring in the Mountains of Kőszeg, 713 m above the sea level. Its original name was Csarmas-well, where the Csarmas brook came from. In the 18th century it got its current name from the tragically destined castellan of Kőszeg, Mihály Hörmann. In the autumn of 1620, Hörmann secretly admitted the insurgents standing on the side of Gábor Bethlen to the castle of Kőszeg, because of this the imperial troops later took revenge. According to legend, Mihály Hörmann fled to the cave at the Csarmas-well, but he was also found and executed here: he was skinned alive.
2. Írottkő Lookout Tower GPS: 47.352782 / 16.433706
The highest point and lookout point of Transdanubia and Burgenland. Írottkő or as they used to call it Szálkő, is the highest point of the mountains of Kőszeg, the whole Western Hungary and Burgenland. The lookout tower on the hilltop, built in 1913, is since 1922 located in two countries at the same time. In clear weather it is possible to see the Lake Balaton, the Hills of Bakony or the Schneeberg and the Rax Mountains in Austria. The peak got its name from a former milestone near to it, i.e. „írott kő” = “written stone”. It can be approached from several directions on hiking trails. About 40 meters from the lookout tower, in an Austrian area, there is this rock formation that also gives the name of the peak, on which the engraved letters C B E can still be seen today, which may have marked the boundary line of the Batthyány and Esterházy estates (Confinia Batthyányana Esterhazyana). In the 14th century it is mentioned as Fenyőhegy (Pine Hill), which refers to the typical fir pines of the area. Until 1891, the Árpád Lookout Tower, and after its collapse, from 1913, the Írottkő Lookout Tower rises on the top of the mountain. It can be freely visited since 1990.
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