In the opening detailed landscape descriptions of his famous work The Man with the Golden Touch, prolific novelist Mór Jókai depicts his great affinity with nature. Besides his passion for poetry, Jókai was a real aficionado of the countryside. For occasional escape from city life, he purchased an abandoned plot on Buda’s Svábhegy neighborhood in 1853. With his new hideaway still rough around the edges, Jókai set up his own orchard with a vineyard, something that soon turned out to be a fruitful pastime. Finally, this cottage industry became an inspiring retreat, Jókai’s carefully cultivated recreation ground, and a center for local intellectuals during the autumn harvest season.
By the mid-1870s, many winemakers were discovering the benefits of the Svábhegy area and soon numerous vineyards dotted the formerly empty neighborhood, lending a more bacchanalian atmosphere. His solitude disturbed, Jókai relocated his summertime residence to Balatonfüred and would only then visit his Buda garden for harvest. Circumstances then required him to sell the property. In the following years, the cottage was severely damaged, leaving only the grape-pressing house relatively intact – here Budapest’s Petőfi Literary Museum set up a memorial room honoring the writer. Now, Jókai-kert is a protected attraction under the management of the Duna-Ipoly National Park.
After the local Kadarka Kör community for oenophiles revived the viticulture of Jókai-kert in 2011 (Kadarka being a Hungarian grape variety synonymous with the Buda Hills), this scenic site is blossoming once more with fine flora and fauna. The offbeat orchard is complete with a vineyard, bright flowers, tree-shaded pathways flanked by stone-carved sculptures, and wooden nests home to a variety of bird species.
At this forested facility, the annual Svábhegy Harvest festival entices visitors to immerse in local customs during autumn. This year’s free event takes place on October 13th from 2pm to 5pm, highlighting Magyar culture with grape stomping, local music and folk-dance shows. Alongside, you can sample local intoxicating reds and a glass of must, the fresh juice of the newly harvested grapes. All these bucolic attractions are a short bus ride away from Buda’s transport hub of Széll Kálmán Square.
Address: Budapest 1121, Költő utca 21
How to get there: take bus 21 or 21A from Buda’s Széll Kálmán Square, alight at Városkút, then walk up Költő utca until you reach Jókai-kert.
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Már 15 éve lélegzünk összhangban a fővárossal. Jubileumi kiadványunkban mindent megtalálsz, ami magazinunk és eddigi munkánk esszenciája. Gasztronómia, kultúra, városi legendák és Budapest arcai, interjúk, történetek és a legjobb helyek – úgy, ahogyan mi látjuk a fővárost.
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