Hortobágy National Park – the Puszta, Hungary

Known as the Puszta, this area is characterised by a complex mosaic of natural grasslands, loess ridges, alkaline pastures, meadows and wetlands (mostly marshes). It is believed that this landscape first formed towards the end of the Pleistocene, almost 12,000 years ago.

Beginning in prehistoric times, the region saw numerous peoples migrate into the area from the east, due to the adequate conditions for settlement and population, and suitability for grazing practices. 

Animal husbandry on vast plains was the basic activity and livelihood of these nomadic people, and also of the Hungarian conquerors at the end of the 1^st millennium AD. This way of life was maintained throughout the Middle Ages.

The nomads that arrived around 2000 BC were the first to leave their imprint on the natural landscape, in the form of many burial mounds (kurgans). These burial mounds were used as secondary burial sites by later peoples and sometimes had Christian churches built on them.

Measuring 5-10m in height and 20-50m in diameter, they were usually conical or hemispheric in shape. They are still visible today, dotted about the endless plain, as are the low mounds (tells) that mark the sites of ancient settlements back from the Neolithic.

The most significant structures which have survived from the 18th and the early 19th century are bridges and inns. 

The inns, known as csárdák, provided drink, food and lodging for travellers. 

Among the bridges that are still standing is the iconic, Classicist-style Nine Arch Bridge. 167m long and located at the edge of the village of Hortobágy, this structure was completed in 1833, using 400,000 locally-fired bricks to replace the earlier wooden version. 

Many legends are associated with this bridge, one of which relates that the famous Hungarian bandit, Sándor Rózsa, was almost arrested whilst drinking in a nearby tavern. His nine lovers formed a bridge across the river to enable his escape, hence the bridge’s nine-arch design.

The traditional Hungarian nonius breed of horse is also present here, at the 350-year old Mátai Stud, one of the country’s biggest equestrian centres whose most important role is the gene preservation and breeding of this horse.

There is almost no permanent human population within the property itself, but, still today, in the grazing season from April to October, hundreds of stock-breeders graze their animals here.

Hortobágy National Park – the Puszta is an outstanding example of a cultural landscape which preserves clear evidence of its traditional pastoral use over the millennia and represents the harmonious interaction between people and nature.

The property was granted World Heritage status based on the following criteria:

Criterion (iv): The Hungarian Puszta is an exceptional surviving example of a cultural landscape constituted by a pastoral society.