Kunszentmiklos

The settlement is renowned for its Protestant traditions and its thriving spa. Its outskirts are part of the second largest saline puszta in Hungary. The important natural assets here are its unique flora and fauna, as well as the native grazing domestic animals.

Inhabited since the Stone Age, the village was a site of a church as its name (Saint Nicholas) suggests. The Cumanian population was settled in this area, abandoned after the Mongol attacks, in the 13th century.

Following the Turkish occupation in 1702 the Cumanians were forced into serfdom of the Teutonic Order with their lands bonded to the Order. The Cumanians, including the inhabitants of Kunszentmiklós, were allowed to buy their freedom in 1745. This was referred to as Redemption.

A 'schola', the predecessor of the Sándor Baksay Reformed Grammar School was established by the Calvinist forefathers in 1647. A significant number of the intelligentsia of Kunszentmiklós, of Upper Little Cumania (Felső-Kiskunság) and of the region along the Danube have graduated from this notable institution over the last three hundred years.

Since the official recognition of the healing properties of the thermal spring used by the spa, Kunszentmiklós has become an important centre of wellness tourism.

The nearby Bösztörpuszta area is part of the Kiskunság National Park. Covering more than 11,000 hectares, this conservation area protects the largest saline puszta in Upper Little Cumania.

How to get there:
By car take Route 51, leave Dömsöd and turn east at Tass. By train take the Budapest-Kunszentmiklós-Tass, the Budapest-Tass-Kunszentmiklós-Kelebia, or the Dunapataj-Solt-Tass-Kunszentmiklós railway line.