Day Trip: Gyula

Gyula Castle - the only intact brick castle in Central and/or Eastern Europe (Photo: Julie Strickland)

I’ve been curious about Gyula, a town of 30,000 in the southeast corner of Hungary, since I arrived in this country in October. A mere 5 kilometers from the Romanian border, Gyula is named after the medieval Hungarian warlord Gyula III and has known a turbulent history, to say the least. In Romanian it is known as Jula or Giula, in German Jula and Turkish Göle – a linguistic mix that says a lot about the waves of people that have called this place home.

My colleague insisted we wait until spring to head to Gyula, and finally felt the time was right in late March. We were richly rewarded with tulips in bloom and lush greenery surrounding the town’s most famous sites: Gyula Castle and Almásy Palace, and Easter bunnies standing sentinel.

Easter bunnies guarding Gyula Castle (Photo: Julie Strickland)

Gyula Castle

Gyula’s chief claim to fame is its castle (in Hungarian: Gyulai vár) – built in the 15th century and now the only brick castle in Central and Eastern Europe that is still intact. In July of 1566 it was the site of a 63-day Ottoman siege, after which point it became part of Ottoman Hungary. It remained so until 1695, when Christian troops retook the city and the castle along with it.

Inside the walls of Gyula Castle (Photo: Julie Strickland)

The castle is situated in a lovely 8.5-hectacre park, and within its walls (painstakingly restored in 1962 and again in the early 2000s) a 24-room museum tells the story of its rooms over the centuries. They include a dungeon, torture room (yeah it’s wild), workshops, kitchen, pantry, Lady’s room, the Knights’ Hall, chapel, and towers from which visitors can see for miles across the Great Hungarian Plain.

Almásy Palace

Just across the park from Gyula Castle is the Almásy Palace (in Hungarian: Gyulai Almásy-kastély) – for my money a far more comfortable place to lodge. As the Ottomans receded in the late 17th century, Austrian officer Johann Georg received virtually all of Békés County as a thanks for his service from King Charles III of Hungary. He repopulated the area with a mix of Hungarians, Germans, Slovakians, and Romanians, and his son Francis Harruckern began work on the Baroque-style building in the 1740s. Francis’ grandson, Francis Wenckheim, shaped the structure into a noble residency (and is the namesake of other remarkable palaces in the region, such as the lovely Szabadkígyósi Wenckheim-Kastély near Békéscaba).

The mansion changed hands to its now namesake Almásy family when Countess Stephanie May Wenckheim wed Count Kálmán Almásy in 1855. Following the Second World War, the building was nationalized and became first a vocational school, then a nursing school and finally an orphanage. A thermal bath (continue reading for more on that!) was opened nearby in the1960s, and the mansion was vacated in the 1990s. A beautifully done reconstruction was completed in 2016.

Failed attempt at photos with aristocratic cutouts in front of Almásy Palace! (Photo: A kind - if somewhat bewildered - fellow traveler)

Today you can explore the rooms – upstairs and down – guided by an exceptional mix of artifacts, interactive features, and texts that paint a vivid picture of what life was like for the palace’s masters and employees.

Romanian Orthodox Church

Another exquisite experience right beside the Almásy Palace is the St. Nicholas Romanian Orthodox Cathedral. My first time inside an Orthodox place of worship, I was lucky enough to arrive during a service – the full regalia of the priests’ robes with gold brocade, wafting incense, and beautiful music at full tilt. We came back later to walk around and examine the sanctuary more closely. It’s a riot of color and visual storytelling, a far cry from my visually stark (if theologically more cheerful) Protestant upbringing.

Gyula Castle Spa

Closing the scenic circle of Gyula Castle, Almásy Palace, and the Romanian Orthodox Church is the enormous Gyula Castle Spa – one of Hungary’s most popular thermal baths. The complex boasts 5,500 square meters of water surface and 23 pools. The alkaline-hydrocarbonate-chloride thermal water, springing from a depth of 2,005 meters, is said to soothe everything from arthritis to gynecological problems. The spa offers mud baths, galvanotherapy (a current changes the electric charge of tissues to improve circulation), carbonic baths, medical massage, and physical therapy – among other treatments. There are also indoor and outdoor saunas, an indoor pool complex called AquaPalance, a 50-meter outdoor swimming pool, and a complex for kids with slides, water cannons, and a playground with non-slip rubber flooring.

Hundred-year-old confectionary

When you’re ready for a sweet treat, don’t miss the Hundred-year-old confectionary (in Hungarian: Százéves cukrászda). In operation since 1840, it is the second-oldest confectionary in Hungary. The lovely Empire-style building is as much a treat as the sweets – ornately painted and with Biedermeier furniture throughout. My personal favorite touch is the wrought-iron dragon licking an ice cream cone outside. As with other spots on our tour, the shop underwent a renovation in the early aughts.

The dragon enjoying his ice cream outside Százéves cukrászda (Photo: Julie Strickland)

And many more

As will be the case with all of my Day Trip posts, the sites and bites represented here are only a sliver of the places to explore in Gyula. For a town of its size it packs a real punch – there are several more churches and museums to hit, not to mention great shopping and dining. From traditional Hungarian fare to vegan Thai and even a Tex Mex joint, you’ll be well fed in this easily walkable town.  

Getting there

Gyula is easily accessible by train, with direct links to Békéscaba (in Hungary) and Arad (in Romania). From Budapest, you’ll need to connect in Békéscaba. Volánbusz also services smaller town links, as well as (at the time of writing) one direct bus from Budapest daily. Most buses from Budapest will require a change in Kesckemét, Békéscaba, Szentes, or Szarvas. (All are well worth a visit of their own – we’ll come back to that!)

Your best resource for a full view of transport options is Menetrendek.hu. You’ll need to book tickets directly with MÁV or Volánbusz. You can also buy bus tickets directly from the driver, with cash.