Sárréti Tájvédelmi Körzet

The area of the Sárréti Landscape Protection Area is 2 211 hectares, of which 422 hectares are intensively protected. The Landscape Protection Area falls under the Directorate of the Danube–Ipoly National Park.

Location

The protection area is located on the western edge of the Mezőföld, between the cities of Várpalota and Székesfehérvár, in the northern part of the Sárrét small landscape, within the administrative territories of the settlements Csór, Sárkeszi and Sárszentmihály.

Formation

In the Pleistocene, a basin deeper than its surroundings and sloping southward formed the northern border of a vast swamp area that once extended to the Tolna hills. The more than ten‑meter‑thick peat layer that developed in the marine, calcium‑rich mud of Sárrét is the remnant of this swamp world (the most significant occurrence of calcium mud in Hungary is found in the Sárréti basin).

Characteristics

After the 19th‑century water management works, Sárrét is no longer the huge swamp meadow it once was – today the largest part of the region remains dry throughout the year. Part of it is used for agricultural production, another part has become a salt‑tolerant steppe meadow with salt‑affected or becoming‑saline meadows. Nevertheless, plant and animal species sometimes cling to a particular area in an almost inexplicable way – often even when that part can no longer be considered a suitable habitat for them. Such is the case for a few square‑kilometre strips of Sárrét that are squeezed between Várpalota and Székesfehérvár.

The area still contains valuable hare‑sedge meadows, rush‑dominated meadows on the wet sites, drying meadows, and on the drier ground, sandy hare‑sedge steppe meadows, providing habitat for several protected plants – e.g., the knight’s‑spoon and the polka‑scented aster. These parts, however, form only small patches among the agricultural lands.

Flora and Fauna

The area originally received protection primarily because of the breeding waders that nested there; unfortunately their numbers are continuously declining, and currently at most a few waders live on the dry meadows of Sárrét. The bird life of the fresh, water‑flowing meadows and wet areas, however, remains rich. The animal life of Sárrét is characterized by a rich amphibian fauna, and up to sixty bird species have been confirmed to breed in the area, including rarities such as the ash‑winged goose, the bearded vulture, the tawny owl and the pearl owl, and the blue‑winged goose. In the marshy parts, shielded cankó, bittern and the very rare great snipe breed, while the wet meadows still host a relatively large number of frogs and newts.

Cultural values

In the small village at the edge of the Sárrét, Count Széchenyi Zsigmond, who grew up in Sárpentele, the world‑famous hunter and writer. The part of the park surrounding his former manor that has survived, the pentelei forest, is today a popular place for outings and recreation. At the site of his first hunting experiences, his admirers erected a memorial stone and a memorial house for Count Széchenyi Zsigmond.