Ajka offers a variety of starting points for a trip: Csónakázó-tó in Városliget, reminders of the mining and glassmaking traditions, churches, and options for enjoying water and exercise. On an island in the lake stands a bronze bust of the writer Fekete István, surrounded by sculptures of characters from his animal stories. This brings together the lakeside landscape and a specific literary connection.
Kristályfürdő and seasonal bathing options
Kristályfürdő offers outdoor pools with recreational features as well as an indoor pool, a sauna and a steam bath. The seasonal water park has six heated pools, a water surface area of 1,700 m² and a range of recreational features. Children’s pools, a paddling pool and family-friendly services round out the facilities. For planning your visit, it is helpful to distinguish between the seasonal water park and the other bathing and wellness options mentioned.
Mining and glass: Ajka’s industrial history
The Bányászati Múzeum preserves a machine house, a shaft house, exhibition rooms in a blacksmith’s workshop and underground storage rooms. It is part of Hungary’s first open-air technical heritage site. From September 2010, the museum was renovated and developed into a European-standard interactive technical history exhibition venue. If you are planning a visit, check current access arrangements and exhibitions in advance.
Glassmaking is also part of the city’s industrial history: the Ajka Kristály glass factory began operating in Ajka in 1878, after the glassworks in Úrkút was relocated there. Ajka Kristály continues to use traditional mouth-blown techniques and makes both original pieces and cut, colored glass objects. Mining and glassmaking thus represent two distinct, but equally tangible, aspects of local industrial history.
Churches, a museum and minerals
Ajka is home to a Baroque Reformed church built in 1783. In Tósokberénd, the parish church at Szent István úti was completed in 1808 in the Late Baroque style. These dates offer two distinct points of reference for the history of religious architecture: one church dates from the late 18th century, while the other was completed at the beginning of the 19th century.
The Városi Múzeum és Fotógaléria preserves the memory of the years Borsos Miklós, Fekete István and Molnár Gábor spent in the city. At the mineral, rock and fossil cabinet, you can see well-known minerals from around the world, including ajkaite, named after Ajka. The two places have different focuses: one on people associated with the city, the other on minerals, rocks and fossils.
Walking trails and cycling routes
Ármin-völgyi Parkerdő is Ajka’s recreational forest. Its marked walking trails are 17.5 kilometers long in total. The cycling route around Kab-hegy offers a different scale: it is about 40 kilometers long, with maps and signposts along the route, as well as rest areas, including two shelters offering protection from the rain. The approximate 40-kilometer distance refers to this cycling route, not to the walking trails in the forest park.
The Ajka–Csingervölgy urban cycle path is 1,460 meters long and has a rest area. The Ajka–Csingervölgy cycle path project improves cycling access to the Bányászati Múzeum and the world’s first Kriptongyár; it also connects the urban cycling network with the cycle path at Kab-hegy. Check current route conditions before setting out on a cycling trip.
More places and experiences
Among the trees in Kaszinó Park, there is an experience trail connected to the city. The former building of the world’s first Kriptongyár in Csingervölgy opened as a Multicultural Experience Center in April 2023. The renovated building and its surroundings provide space for contemporary international visual arts events and community events. If you are planning a visit, it is advisable to check current access arrangements and the program.
Ajka’s options range from seasonal bathing to industrial and cultural history, marked trails and cycling routes.
Discover more destinations
Kislőd, Úrkút, Somlószőlős, Városlőd, Nagyalásony, Somlóvásárhely, Magyarpolány, Halimba
For the broader travel overview: Ajkai.
