Villány, the historical wine-growing region

Villány has been inhabited since the ancient times. The first dwellers came here 15-30 thousand years ago. The mammoth bones and the archeological finds tell us about the ancient life.

Many nations have inhabited the region during the past. The most determining from the aspect of tradition and culture were the Romans, from whom the present dwellers inherited the wine-growing culture.

So, how did this this area become inhabited by Hungarians? According to the historian Anonymus, the Hungarian tribes come here under the leadership of Bojta, and occupied the land of the Slavonic tribes.

The landowner Villányi family is supposed to be the name-giver of the place. They lived here from 1364. Others say that the name Villány comes from the name "Vilmos" or the word "villám", which means thunderbolt. No one knows exactly. The settlement was registered under the names: Viglam, Villia, Villiam, Vykam, Wellyan, Wylyan and Wylyam in the 15th century.

The most characteristic and the most famous wines of Hungary are produced in Villány. Cellar lines, press-houses tell us about the significance of wine production in the streets of Villány. Italian-like redwine is bottled on the slopes of the Villány hills. The most famous ones are the "Kékfrankos", the "Kékoportó", the "Merlot" and the "Cabernet".

The Wine Museum exhibits the tools of vine-cultivation and production of the Villány-Siklós area. Beside the unique collection of tools, catalogues, wine-presses and technical books from the 18-19th century, we find 4500 bottles of wine here.

The roman-catholic church of the village was built in the 15th century and rebuilt in the 18th century.

Let’s see the natural treasures of the area.

The 240 million years old petrifed remains of prehistoric animals can be seen in the former mine-holes of the Temple-hill.

In the abandoned mines of the Nagyharsány-hill a park of special sculprures wait the ones who are interested in plastic art. Not only sculpturets, but landscape architects and gardeners took part in the creation of this unique park. The charm of the the park is raised by the fact that all the sculptures were made on the spot. It is the result of 30 years of hard work.

In Villánykővesd we can see the heritage cellar rows and press-houses.

Among many more, the European Wine-song Festival in September, and the Bacchus days in every second year are all connected to Villány.
Would you like to become acquainted with this wonderful region? Go on a horse-carriage tour around the fish ponds, or go on a boat-trip on the rivers of the Dráva area.

Now that we exhausted ourselves wandering around the area, let's see what is on the table for us.

The most interesting fact about the local cuisine is that people do not choose which wine to drink with the food, but the drinks determine what to put on the table.

The characteristic Villány red-wines go particularly well with game, that is why we found it interesting that guests are offered stew, which is cooked in a stewpot. And of course, meals are served with red-wine, even though wine is already used for cooking.