Bodajk

Bodajk’s story 
 

Bodajk is a town of 4203 inhabitants on the northwestern part of county Fejér. The settlement lies at the northeasten foot of the mount Bakony, in the ditch of Mór, which separates the mountain and Vértes. The settlement is well approachable, either on public road by turning off the main road number 81, or by train. The railway station can be found on the Székesfehérvár-Komárom line. The settlement is rich in sights, it is often called as one of the Bakony’s eastern gates.

The territory has been a built-up area probably since the Stone Age with little intermissions. Archeologists have found here important findings from almost all later periods. The excellent traffic conditions and the karst fountains ensured gorgeous conditions for the settlers. The town was first mentioned in a document in 1193. The meaning of its name originates probably form the word mount from the word mount „Bodok”, today mount Vértes. Bodajk is one of our oldest Maria shrine. According to some history writers, the fountain was respected already in the 9th century because of its healing power. According to the legends, St. Stephan, St. Emery, St. Gellert and St. Ladislas also visited it. It was a royal estate in the middle ages, later it was owned by the cruciean knights of Fehérvár, then by the Rozgonyi family, later by the Nádasdy family. After the fall of Fehérvár in 1543, the area was occupied by the Turks and the surrounding villages including Bodajk emptied. The resettlement was started at the beginning of the 18th century and was led by the new lord, the Hochburg family. The capucinus religious order was charged with the treatment of the Maria shrine. The church and the saint fountain are nationwide well-known church-ale places again. In the 19th century is became popular as health-resort due to its karst lake. It was a market town and the centre of the area between 1774 and 1872. In King Stephen’s time, in honour of the saint fountain of Bodajk and of the Holy Virgin there was built a chapel which ruined already. In the near, the settlement’s parochial monuments were built in baroque style in the 18th century. The roman catholic church was built between 1728 and 1742. Its holy picture attracts thousands of pilgrims to the church-ale in every September on Maria-day. There was built the capucinus abbey between 1744-47 in the near of the holy place, it is the roman catholic parish tody. The baroque Calvary from 1736 stands ont he hill above the settlement with beautiful view over the area. The Hochburg-Lamberg castle, which was built in 1839 in classicistic style, can be found east from Calvary. The reformed church of Bodajk was built in 1788. There were raised monuments in the settlement to the memory of the excellent inhabitants. The home places of the internationally known painters, Géza Peske and Béla Spányi are marked with memorial tablets. There was raised a statue in honour of Károly Cserháti Dr. In the 1990s the sometime bath of Bodajk was rebuilt as a lake. Its water is given artificially, not by the fountains, which dried because of mining. In the boarder of the settlement stands a water-mell, which is one of the last reminders of the land’s typical profession. We can get to know the memories of Bodajk in the historical exhibition. The area has many sights, too. The country’s Blue hiking route reaches the Bakony mountain here, one of its beautiful places is the valley of Gaja brook. Above the town there can be found a ski-truck with ski-lift. The most popular programs of the settlement are the church-ale and the Town’s Day. Several accomodations and restaurants of high standard are waiting for the tourists of the area.

The scape of the settlement reflects the development of the last decades. The monuments and the beautiful landscape attract lots of tourists. The health centre and pensioners’ home improve the living conditions of the inhabitants more.

From 1 July 2008. President László Sólyom Dr. pronounce as a town the settlement.