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Te cache is placed in the forest close to a forest-path. It is hidden in a tree-stump.
The Cache
The cache is hidden in the forest in a tree-stump. Proposed starting point for seeking is the castle. From that, it is a good 10-15 minutes walk.
The Village
Village Hollókõ, a beautiful pearl in the Northern part of Hungary, has been a part of the World Heritage for 15 years.
Hollókõ is the treasure of Palócland, a village representing a uniform style of architecture, and has been preserved in the most intact shape in Central Europe. Its greatest value is the Old Village of 58 protected buildings, still preserving the touches of the 17th century folk architecture.
The local folk, the palóc people were living in homes built on narrow plots, usually several generations together. The houses are composed of three main sections (front room - kitchen - bedroom) with long and narrow covered terraces on both sides. The terraces have wooden columns supporting the roofs. The cellars of buildings were made with the purpose of eliminating the differences of levels, as a result of which they are integral parts of the houses. The pantries were attached to the houses from the outside and the yards also had separate pigsties built in them. Buildings suitable for having large-size animals in them were at the edge of the village (Pajtásárok). The houses you can see now were built after the great fire of 1909, but they had kept their original forms and still preserve the atmosphere of bygone ages.
The Castle
The partially restored ruins of the castle breathing history dominate the scenery around the village. After the Mongolian invasion (1241) for the order of the king, Béla IV, the construction of the castle began in order to protect the nearby land and the people living there from the Mongolian troops passing along and plundering. In 1313 Róbert Károly gave the castle to the local ruler Tamás Szécsényi. The first written document, in which the castle is mentioned under the name 'castrum Hollokew', is from this period of time (1310). In 1552 the Turkish army captured it. During the Turkish occupation of Hungary lasting almost 50 years the Hungarians and the Turks held it by turns, but neither of the parties did much to strengthen it. It was Jan Sobieski Polish king, who drove the Turks out of it in 1683 for good and all, but by that time it had no more strategic importance, so it was deserted, and a slow deterioration began. In 1701 the Habsburg emperor Leopold I gave an order to terminate the Hungarian fortifications of defence, and accordingly in 1711 the demolition of the Hollókõ castle was started, however the walls in a neglected state were not blown up. That is why the Hollókõ castle could survive the changes of times, and is now in the best condition among the Nógrád county fortifications from the 13th century.
The Nature
The natural vegetation of the Cserhát chain of hills was originally forest. Although now it is quite a job to spot Austrian oak (in Hungarian 'cser') trees on the hills giving their name, but it is possible to find their ancient places of growing. The most common trees are oak with different versions of this type. You can even find yoke-elms and maples, not many, though. The acacia and spruce woods have been planted.
The undergrowth of the sessile oak forests is very rich and varied: mainly chrysanthemum, bluebell and cheese-rennet. On the southern slopes of the rocky andesite hills mossy oak trees, cornel and dogwood are the most common, while the northern slopes are for sessile oak trees. The woods in the valleys and gentle slopes are very rich in mushrooms: e.g.: chanterelle and boletus. In the valleys and clearings there are meadow fescue, vernal grass, geranium and meadow saffron. The surroundings of Hollókõ are made diversified by yoke-elms, different types of oak and maple-trees. The most typical species of vegetation in the undergrowth are briar, thorn-bushes, dogwood and blackthorn.
In the Cserhát forests there are plenty of game, including deer, roe-deer, wild boars, foxes, badgers, polecats, weasels, dormice and Russian dormice. The world of birds is also varied, there are falcons, buzzards, and even eagles. In the woods there are common and long-eared owls, and the different species of thrushes, titmice, and larks, just like woodpeckers and cuckoos.
Additional Hints
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