Cover Photo © Credit vilagutazo.net/Attis Photo
Cover Photo © Credit vilagutazo.net/Attis Photo

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Explore Rudabánya and the deepest lake in Hungary

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Travel Tips For Rudabánya

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Turquoise, crystal-clear water, steep cliffs and a sea of rough rocks - these are not the typical features of a Hungarian landscape. Yet, there is such a place within the borders of my country, a natural wonder that combines the beauty of the sea areas of the Mediterranean. By my current article, I'd like to help you to explore Rudabánya and its unique and scary quarry pond, which actually is the deepest lake in Hungary!

 Photo © Credit to iStock/yorkfoto
Photo © Credit to iStock/yorkfoto

The deepest standing water in Hungary

Located 22 kilometers from the miraculous nature of Aggtelek, Rudabánya is famous for its local excavations and the ten-million-year-old Rudapithecus hungaricus, an ancient ape, which was found here many years ago. However, beyond the excavations, the once flourishing mining town has further many attractions worth seeing. Out of these, the most beautiful is the quarry pond, which can be found at the former open-cast iron mine, that was closed in 1985 officially. This geological pearl is about 300 meters long, and its average width is 80 meters. The lake's biggest depth is close to a whopping 60 meters, owing to which it has been recorded as the deepest standing water in Hungary - awakening the sense of fear in many people here, even with swimming being forbidden all year round!

Photo © Credit to vilagutazo.net/Attis Photo
Photo © Credit to vilagutazo.net/Attis Photo
Rudabánya
Rudabánya
Rudabánya, 3733 Magyarország

A popular movie-shooting location

Due to its special spectacle, Rudabánya is a popular place for filming. If you want, it can be a tropical beach, but it can also imitate a spectacular, desolate and deserted island at night, making it a unique movie-shooting location. Although the lake is a private property, you can visit it freely with only one condition - requesting a reservation at the Mining History Museum. With their permission, you are allowed to drive on the private road leading to the lake and park directly on the beach.

Resisting its crystal-clear water can be really tasking, but as I mentioned above, bathing is not allowed regardless of the season and weather conditions. This restriction is based on the lake's extremely cold temperature and the suddenly-deepening shoreline, not to mention the deadly rocks hidden under the water. I suggest you visit the lake in autumn or spring when it doesn't tempt you to bathe. Still, a spectacular view of coastal plant life is even more impressive than during the summer.

Photo © Credit to vilagutazo.net/Attis Photo
Photo © Credit to vilagutazo.net/Attis Photo

Further unmissable attractions nearby

If you are done with enjoying the lake's panorama, don't you go home without visiting the rest of the city. In the Middle Ages, Rudabánya was a mining town. Therefore, locals built a cathedral-sized, 33-meter-long Lutheran church in the early Gothic style. The specialty of the church is the 18th-century painted wooden ceiling, that was renewed by the restoration in the 1970s.

Another one from the city's further unmissable attractions nearby the pond cave is the Mining History Museum, which has been collecting thousands of documents, maps, photos and objects over the past half of a century, relating to ore and mineral mining in historic Hungary. In the museum, you have a chance to glimpse the prehistoric crushed and polished stone tools, potteries, age-old metalworks, chisels, medieval wedges and hammers. This way, you will not just have a chance to explore Rudabánya and the deepest lake in Hungary, but also get the opportunity to have a slight image of how our ancestors lived once.

Mining History Museum, Rudabánya
Mining History Museum, Rudabánya
Rudabánya, 3733 Magyarország
Lutheran Church of Rudabánya
Lutheran Church of Rudabánya
Rudabánya, 3733 Magyarország

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The author

Vivi Bencze

Vivi Bencze

Hello, my name is Vivi and I'm from Hungary, always excited to explore as many places as I can. I live in Budapest and my motivation is to make you explore Hungary the way I see my country.

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