Geocoins, small Travel Bugs are welcome.
The FTF's reward is an unactivated geocoin.
Congratulations to Fairy for being the First to Find! Even the snow couldn't stop him.
If you would like to register your find on the geochaching.hu site GCAMK1 you need to collect passwords at each stage.
If you register only on geochaching.com, you don't need to do anything special. If you play on geocaching.com only, please ignore the comments irrelevant to you about the password.
If you have time, please, visit our nearby Puchner Castle of Bikal cache as well.
Where is Alsómocsolád?
Alsómocsolád with a population of 343 is a small village in the Nothern corner of Baranya county, in the Baranya Hegyhát region, on the border of Tolna county. It is about 55-60 km from three county seats: Pécs, Szekszárd and Kaposvár. The nearest larger settlement is Dombóvár, 18 km from here. The village was built partly on a gently sloping hillside, partly in a valley. It is bordered by woods from the east and fish ponds from the west.
How to Get There?
By car you can approach Alsómocsolád from the direction of Mágocs, on road 65.174.
A 3,5 km dirt road leads from Bikal (check out cache GC218VR there), passing the four fish ponds. This could be a shortcut, but don’t tempt it by car, only by bike or on foot.
Unfortunately, getting here by public transportation is very time consuming, you’d better off coming by bike.
Origin of the Name
The village’s name comes from a Slavic (Croatian) word meaning marsh. It probably refers to the fact the village was bordered by marshy area.
The History of Alsómocsolád Already in the Bronze Age there was a settlement in the area. From the Roman times a collection of 1296 silver coins have been found. The present name of the village was first mentioned in a written document in 1294 when it was the property of an abbacy.
In 1510-ben king Ulászló the Second donated the village to Ferenc Bodó together with 24 other villages on the borders of Tolna, Somogy and Baranya counties.
During the centuries several nationalities settled down in the village. After the Turkish times Alsómocsolád was in ruins. At the end of the 16th century it took a while for the Hungarian villagers to come back and resettle. They were joined by Serbs who were running away from the homes on the South, as that was still under Turkish occupation. They did not rebuild the ruins, but erected their new houses a bit further from the old settlement. In the 17th century German colonists arrived.
Alsómocsolád did not have its own church until the 1800s, people attended the mass in the church of nearby Mágocs. The then landlord Perczel family started to built the church in 1826. The contruction was financed mainly by András and Ferenc Perczel and was finished in 1836. The church was consecrated to honor Apostle St. Andrew, the village’s patron saint. We can see the wooden statue of St. Andrew on the roadside coming in the village near the 6 km marker.
A train track was built in 1872 near the village, connecting Dombóvár, Bátaszék, Baja and Csikéria. The Italian construction workers working on the tracks set the village on fire - still not known whether it was intentional or accidental. Nearly the whole village burnt down.
In modern history, the two major ethnic groups living in the village are Hungarians and Germans. The number of inhabitants has been steadily declining since the 1960s.
Most of the villagers are Roman Catholics. There are no religious, ethnic or political frictions among the inhabitants. They are not members of political parties, so instead of arguing they unite and find ways to create and keep jobs. This is not very usual in Hungary. With the leadership of a dynamic mayor they make every effort to make their village succeed. In spite of many setbacks this beautifully situated villages succeeds in deed. This is why I would like to show Alsómocsoládon to you.
The best is if you go directly to the village center, find parking near the church, and work your way back from there.
Sights and Stages:
1st stage: The Faluház (the House of the Village) and its Surrounding
On the hillside about 300 m away from the village center we see three pretty, modern wooden buildings, that house the administrative offices of the village, the post office, etc. Your walk up here is rewarded by a nice view.
Look for the stone “Kidnapping of Europe” statue by István Demeter and László Koltai.
I am sure you can easily answer the question: What is the neighbor of the Czech Republic? This is the first piece of the password.
Also check out the wooden Turul statue, N 46° 18.885' E 018° 14.807' (Turul was a magic bird of the ancient Hungarians)
2nd: In the Center of the Village
Sights to see:
- the church built in 1836
The statues in the little park in front of the church:
- St. Florian from 1901
- St. James of Nepomuk from 1819,
- World War memorial.
On the little square:
- a traditional woodcarving of the “tree of life” by Jeno Milkovics.
In a yard behind the little square:
- a memorial commemorating József Majthényi, carved by László Koltai.
In Kossuth utca:
- wooden statue of King Saint Stephen (Szent István király)
- bronze statue of Queen Sissi, Franz Joseph's wife, the favorite queen of the Hungarians
Check her shoulder for the second part of the password.
From here you will need to walk only about 450 m to the 3rd stage but, it will be a walk uphill.
3rd: Calvary Hill
Walk up the Calvary Hill and enjoy the view and the wood reliefs of the Calvary.
If you would like to collect the 3th virtual stage, walk up to the cross and read the words written on it. The last words is what you need.
4th sight and the real cache: Rigac rest area
Before we leave Alsómocsolád on the road to Mágocs, 1 km away from village on the left hand side, you can see a wooden statue of a man with a pipe between his lips and a bag on his side. He is Jancsi Rigac, a famous and feared outlaw of Baranya county. Supposedly this was his favorite spot where he liked to hang out with his gang and his lover. The statue and the view are worth a stop and you may even have a picnic here, table and benches are provided. The cache is 50 m away from the statue.
Hidden treasure: Castle of the Sztankovánszky family
Right at the entrance of the village you will see the Sztankovánszky castle, surrounded by a large park. It was built by Pál Sztankovánszky in about 1920.
The castle is privately owned.
In the past it has been possible during office hours to walk in the castle park freely in order to admire the 13 bronze statues made by Ferenc Trischler that adorn the backyard. Most of them depict Hungarian historical notabilities, some are of graceful female figures.
Recently a "no trespassing" sign scares visitors off. If you happen to see a gardener working in the park, you may ask for permission to enter the park and you are likely to granted one. Inside the building there is a collection of the gobelins (tapestries) of Anna T. Ferk.
I hope you enjoy our cache. Have a nice time in Alsómocsolád!
Sources:
Wikipedia
