The best cycling routes around Mátra

On the city's main square, Karl-Robert-Platz, stands the huge, monumental hall church, the largest in the area. A church already stood on this site in the 13th century, but it was much simpler than today, as a document from 1301 testifies. In 1320 the church was set on fire by Máté Csák, and Tamás Szécsényi financed the reconstruction. In the 15th century it was rebuilt into a Gothic hall church, the interior of which was lit by large Gothic windows. The tower was located in the middle of the nave and was rebuilt several times, most recently in 1732. During the Turkish offensives the church burned down several times. It was demolished in 1741 and replaced by the current baroque church between 1746 and 1756, preserving the earlier walls and rebuilding them. The towers were added later. The north 1772-73, the south 1815. The earlier tower was demolished only after the north tower was built. It was destroyed by the great fire of Gyöngyös in 1917. It was rebuilt in 1922 according to the plans of the architect Virgil Nagy (Translated from Wikipedia).

This is the end of the tourist narrow-gauge railway from Gyöngyös to Matrafüred.

From here the Matrabahn starts in the direction of Matrafüred.

The dish is of Greco-Roman origin. 350 B.C. The ancient Greek poets Archestratos and Antiphanes first mentioned Plakous. Cato the Elder, in his short work De agri cultura ("On the Cultivation") of around 160 BC wrote a detailed recipe for placenta. The pancake still bears the name of its Greek and Roman ancestors. The name comes from the Latin word placenta, which in turn is derived from the Greek word plakous for thin or layered flatbread. The dish's name follows a line of borrowing through several languages of central and south-eastern Europe; The dish dates back to the Roman era of Central Europe, and it is believed that the Austro-German term palatschinke(n) was borrowed from Czech palačinka, which in turn came from Hungarian palacsinta, and which in turn came from Romanian plăcintă (a cake, a cake), where it finally derives from the Latin placenta. According to the Hungarian Ethnographic Encyclopedia, the Hungarian word palacsinta is an Italian loanword[4]. Palačinka is also the name in most West and South Slavic languages (Slovak palacinka, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, Montenegrin, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovenian palačinka, палачинка). In Polish the equivalent is called naleśnik, in Ukrainian налисник (nalysnyk) or млинець (mlynec), in Russian налистник (nalistnik) or блинчик (blinchik), in Romanian clătită.

The original church dates back to the Middle Ages and was later rebuilt several times. Interestingly, in the summer of 1713, the Gyöngyös city senate decided to hold a thanksgiving service every year on June 26 in the Johannes chapel in Bene to commemorate the escape from the great plague. The sanctuary was completed in 1767, and the facade was completed in 1795 with the coat of arms of the city of Gyöngyös on the facade (source: https://www.gyongyos-matra.hu/latnivalok/templomok-kegyhelyek/keresztelo-szent-janos-kapolna- matrafured/).

Worth checking out. It is surrounded by a beautiful park.

1.014 m

According to the tradition, this is a sacred place, but there are also rumours and myths that witches were burned here too. Either way, this worth to check out and climb the rocks. Nothing too dangerous or fancy, but for young children will appreciate. It's off the cycle path on a single path, so make sure your bike can handle it!