A meaningful trip near Budapest

From Budapest we can reach the village of Zsámbék, which was given its name after the Zsámbék basin located behind the Buda Hills, in just an hour by public transport, or even in a shorter time by car. Both Zsámbék and the surrounding area has plenty of attractions, so it is a popular tourist destination.

The goal of the Zsámbék Basin Tourism Association is to preserve, develop, and make the region’s natural, cultural, and built values attractive for tourism. In order to achieve these goals, the association implemented a complex tourism development funded by the European Union within the framework of the Competitive Central Hungary Operational Program. The investment affected the Lamp Museum, one of the main attractions of the settlement, as well as the Ruin Church, which has a rich historical past.

Europe’s first lamp museum opened in 1971 in Zsámbék, featuring the unique private collection of Ferenc Borus. The collection is extremely rich, featuring everything from Roman oil lamps to candlesticks from castles, and even includes almost every type of lighting fixture up to the railway lamps still in use today. Thanks to the project, this exhibition, which is unique even by European standards, has now become accessible for everybody.

Zsámbék’s nostalgic attraction is the Ruin Church. A church with a rich historical past was built by Premonstratensian monks around the mid-1200s. The Tatars set it on fire, the Turks used it as a fortress, and then in 1763, an earthquake partially destroyed it, shaping its current state. Anyone interested in history should definitely pay a visit. The visitor experience is enhanced by the mobile application developed within the project, which allows the original state of the church to be clearly visible on our mobile screens, and also enables us to zoom in on details that are no longer visible.

Once we have visited these attractions, or if we simply want to recharge outdoors, countless hiking spots await us around Zsámbék, assisted by information boards and signs installed as part of the project. We can visit the wine cellars in Tök, or climb the Giants’ Steps, while those seeking a bigger adventure can check out the exhibition at the Zsámbék rocket base.