Tolna

Tolna

The Danube creates a wild forest in Tolna county called **Gemenc**. It is a flooded woodland full of deer and black storks. You can take a small train through the deep green brush. It is the largest forest of its kind in Europe. The water reflects the giant willow trees in every pond. You can spot the tracks of wild boar in the soft mud by the river. **Szekszárd** is famous for its spicy red wines. The hills around the town are covered in vines. It is a cozy place with a long history of hospitality. Stop for a glass of **Kadarka** and a bite of local food. The wine cellars are tucked away in narrow, leafy valleys. You can meet the winemakers who treat their grapes like family. The landscape is a mix of hills and river flats. You will find small villages where time seems to stand still. It is a quiet county with a big heart. It is the perfect place to get lost for a while. The roads are empty and lined with fruit trees. You can find small roadside stands selling fresh walnuts and honey.

Tolna highlights

Part of these road trips

Follow the routes that cross this destination

The Scenic Route
The Heritage Drive
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History of Tolna

Tolna is a land of **Sun and Silt**, where the Danube river has carved deep valleys into the soft clay hills. In the middle ages, the region was a center for the royal courts, with castles like **Simontornya** serving as elegant homes for the queens. The river was a busy highway for the **salt ships** coming from the mountains, creating a wealthy merchant class that built grand stone houses along the banks. This river wealth is the focus of the **Danube Valley heritage drive**. The 1700s brought a wave of settlers from the south and west who discovered that the sunny sheltered hills were perfect for a new kind of **spicy red wine**. They carved vast networks of cellars directly into the clay, creating entire underground streets that stay the same temperature all year round. This era turned the region into a capital of wine and folk art, famous for its colorful embroidery and the deep dark **Bull Blood** that rivals the best in the north. The landscape is also home to the **Gemenc**, the largest flood forest in Europe. Here, the river still rules, covering the land in water every spring and creating a **jungle of willow and oak** where massive stags hide. Today, the region is a place of quiet hills and wild waters, where you can taste the fire of the wine and the peace of the forest.
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