Pannonhalmi Tájvédelmi Körzet

The area of the Pannonhalma Landscape Protection District is 7 055 hectares. The Landscape Protection District falls under the administration of the Fertő–Hanság National Park.

Characteristics

The Pannonhalma Landscape Protection District consists of several smaller and larger mosaic patches; the four main parts of the landscape protection district are the Little Alföld Chalk‑sand plain, the Pannonhalma Hills, the Dead‑Rába and the Danube Erebe Islands.

It is one of the most diverse landscape protection districts in our country in terms of habitats. In the Gönyű area it even touches the Danube. The gently rolling hills formed in the Ravazd area, the Pannonhalma Hills, constitute the core of the main area. Primarily botanically and in terms of invertebrate fauna this area is significant. Large populations of orchid species are found here from the spider orchid through the marsh orchid to various grasses. The maidenhair fern, spring hawkweed, black‑eyed gentian, and marsh marigolds all make the meadows very beautiful. Dragonfly species and hundreds of butterflies characterize the invertebrate fauna. Among the birds, the black stork, bee‑eater and the raven are of great value to the landscape. Also noteworthy are the large colonies of the highly protected damselfly.

Győr‑Tata Terrace Region

The Danube is followed by a natural embankment built of pebble‑covered sand or sandy loess, from which the chain of Erebe Islands can be seen. These islands grew out of sediment ridges deposited between the Great Danube and its tributaries. In the gallery forests there are several centuries‑old black poplars that grow, develop and die almost without human intervention. The bird life can thrive unhindered thanks to the impenetrable riparian thickets. Because of the abundance of food, many water‑bird species live here, for example the great cormorant and the grey heron. The kingfisher or the brown dipper is often seen, and damselflies and sand‑shore beetles nest in the sandy loess cliffs. As regular visitors, two very rare predators appear: the fish eagle and the saker falcon.

The Gönyű Forest

The base of the chalky sand dunes of the Little Hungarian Plain is also river gravel, but the sand that has accumulated on it has become a free prey of the wind, which shaped and constantly moved the dunes to different places. In the 1940s the area was subjected to intensive cultivation, elsewhere the dunes became forested, and the trees and undergrowth with their roots held the sand. On the southern side of the dunes heat‑loving species live, while on the northern slopes species accustomed to the cooler climate are at home. Precipitation is scarce, but sunshine is abundant, therefore the original vegetation cover of the region is sand‑steppe grass, juniper and oak with a stalk. In the Gönyű Forest, besides oaks, junipers and grey poplars, we find the very rare henye pine. In the clearings numerous orchid species grow together with hairless thistle, black knapweed, yellow onion and the Saint László‑tarnic discovered in 1995.

The Holt‑Marcal

In the floodplain of the Rába and the Holt‑Marcal, wet meadows, rushes, reed beds, pastures and willow thickets alternate. 110 bird species have been recorded here, 77 nesting, such as the meadow pipit, the black woodpecker, the kingfisher and the corncrake. The Nagyrét of Gyirmót is a favourite resting place of migrating birds. In this small area 10 protected plant species live. In the willow thickets are found Siberian, veil and yellow lady’s‑mantle, the knight’s‑, the flesh‑coloured fingered‑, the marsh willowherb and the broad‑leaf lady’s‑tresses. There is also summer thistle, meadow rose, cornstar also. The waters commonly host the marsh frog.

Sokoró (Pannonhalma) Hills

The three parallel hill ranges are separated from each other by deep valleys. The original forest cover has been significantly altered by agriculture, but the native oak woods largely survived the interventions. In the forests and clearings numerous protected plants live, such as spring hawkweed, great yellow rattle, spring starflower, forest cyclamen. Among the birds the most important is the nightjar, and among the mammals the wildcat occurs in the greatest numbers in this area.

Cultural values

The cultural‑historical values of the Pannonhalma Hills are priceless. According to King Béla IV’s charter, the sacred Pannon spring, revered as holy, originated in this area; before the year 1000 Géza settled the Benedictines here; the impressive architectural complex of the Benedictine Pannonhalma Abbey built on Saint Martin’s Hill and its protected arboretum are an unforgettable sight (which, by the way, houses the world’s largest Benedictine book collection). The UNESCO World Heritage Committee declared the Pannonhalma Abbey and its immediate natural environment a World Heritage site in December 1996 in recognition of the Hungarian and universal, ecclesiastical and cultural significance and value of the Pannonhalma Benedictine Abbey.