In Neuburg, rock formations, fossils, villages and museums tell stories from very different eras. Geological discoveries range from basalt shaped by weathering to traces of a prehistoric world destroyed millions of years ago. Alongside these are living settlement traditions and exhibitions on literature, archaeology and industrial history. The region can thus be explored through specific places and their individual stories.
Geology between basalt and fossils
The Boszorkány-kő geological trail lies in the Karancs-Medves Landscape Protection Area, established in 1989 and currently covering 6,928.6 hectares. The trail illustrates basalt volcanism from 2.4 to 5.2 million years ago. You can see different rocks from a small fissure volcano: sediment inclusions torn up from deep underground, curved lava plates and basalt columns formed by weathering. The stops explore not only the volcanic origins, but also the diversity of rock formations.
Another chapter in Earth's history is preserved at the Ipolytarnóc Fossils Nature Reserve. Protected since 1944, this world-renowned fossil site preserves evidence of a prehistoric world destroyed by a volcanic catastrophe 17 million years ago. Finds include shark teeth, petrified trees, leaf impressions and fossil animal tracks. The reserve is also a gateway to the cross-border UNESCO Global Geopark Novohrad-Nógrád. Those interested in natural history will find a different way to explore Earth's past here than on the basalt trail.
Museums, literature and industrial history
The Pásztói Museum presents exhibitions in a Baroque Cistercian monastery building rebuilt in 1717–1718. Special displays include a medieval glassworks with a smithy. Designed as an open-air exhibition, it is considered a unique industrial heritage monument in Hungary. Architectural history and craft production come together here in a single museum complex.
Literary themes feature at two other sites. The Madách Imre Memorial House in Csesztve presents a permanent exhibition on the history of the Madách family, with a focus on The Tragedy of Man. In Horpács, the Mikszáth Kálmán Memorial Museum's permanent literary history exhibition is titled “MIKSZÁTH”. The two houses have different emphases: one focuses on a literary work, while the other explores literary history under the museum's namesake.
The Kubinyi Ferenc Museum is located in Szécsényi Castle Park. Its permanent exhibitions cover archaeology and natural history, alongside the Körösi-Csoma Memorial Exhibition and an exhibition on the history of Szécsény Castle. Mining history is also represented: Salgótarján's underground mining museum was established in the preserved tunnels of the József incline shaft, excavated in 1937. It opened to the public in 1965 as Europe's second museum in an original mine.
Living traditions and outdoor routes
The old village of Hollókő is a Palóc settlement in Nógrád County in northern Hungary and a consciously preserved, living example of rural life before the 20th-century agricultural revolution. The focus here is not a single exhibit, but a settlement whose significance lies in the enduring connection between place and traditional ways of life.
Religious history can be discovered in Mátraverebély-Szentkút and Szécsény. Mátraverebély-Szentkút was solemnly declared a national shrine by Cardinal Primate Erdő Péter in 2006, during the pilgrimage for the Assumption of Mary. Szentkút can be reached from Route 21 via Mátraverebély, followed by a five-kilometre access road into the Szentkút Valley. In Szécsény, the Franciscan Church and Monastery can be visited on a guided tour. According to tradition, the Rákóczi Hall is associated with Francis II Rákóczi having slept there during the 1705 Diet. The Petőfi sétány offers another connection between historic sites: the walking path links Somoskő and Salgó castles.
There are also several ways to explore the region's geology. The Geocsodák House offers interactive exhibitions and lectures on geology, as well as more than 30 accessible hiking trails with information boards, which you can explore on your own or with a hiking guide. The Eresztvényi Visitor Centre is located in a forest beside a playground; from there, you can enjoy a panorama of Salgó Castle. You can choose between exhibitions, marked themed trails and walks, and plan your discoveries according to your interests.
Discover more destinations: Pásztó, Bátonyterenye, Salgótarján, Balassagyarmat, Rétság, Szécsény, Heves, Esztergom.
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