Stone Levee Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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It is in the South part of the Hungarian Plain, next to the so-called Stone Levee (Koves toltes) which runs between the villages of Algyo and Sandorfalva. The levee is not in the first line of defenses against the floods of the Tisza River any more so the place is rather lonely and remote with corn or sunflower fields everywhere.
You can get there by turning west to the Algyo Railway Station on Highway 47 at the roundabout. Follow the paved road until you reach the levee. Before that, at N 46°20.739' E 20°10.808', you'll see a big sign in Hungarian and German telling you that you are entering a national land preserve area. (It's not prohibited to enter.) Then turn left on the dirt road by the levee. Later the road branches off the levee and you'd better walk from here. (Or rather the whole excursion is best taken by bike.) When you see an iron cross in the field, the cache is not far but it is on the other side of the dike. Be prepared for some thorny bushes. The cache is a small (5 inches in diameter) fridge box.
History:
The levee was built in 1883 after a great flood had devastated the village of Algyo and the city of Szeged. (Szeged was rebuilt with the financial aid of Vienna, Paris, Brussels, London, Berlin and Rome. This is why the segments of the outer ring road in Szeged are named after them.) The north side of the Stone Levee, where they expected the floods from, was covered with black basalt. This is now about two inches under the soil. When the proper dikes along the river were built, this became a sleeping levee.
Until the 1950's, a lot of farms were here. There was even a small primary school with a playground around it, where an iron cross was erected. In the beginning of the communist era (1948-89) big state co-operative farms replaced the small private farms and the people had to move to the villages. There were no children around so the school was closed and later brought down. But not the cross. It still stands there in the field and the tractors always go around it. This is the only memory of a community that once lived here.
However, you can visit the Opusztaszer Historic Park (20 km North) where old farm and village buildings were rebuilt and can be visited along with a panorama picture and the ruins of a church from the middle ages.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur pnpur vf haqre n terratntr gerr.