Telkibánya and its sights

The perfect place for recreation, refreshment

Telkibánya is situated in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county in the north of the the Zemplén Mountains. The settlement started to be developed during the reign of Károly Róbert (Robert Charles), by the 15th century it had become a thriving mining town, its gold and silver mining made it known all over the country. During the reign of King Zsigmond (Sigismund), the settlement had its golden age and was given the name Aranygombos Telkibánya (Telkibánya with gold knobs), after the knob on its church tower had been gilt.
Its thriving was cut by a mine accident in the 17th century, the mining was ceased so the economic importance of the town started decreasing. In spite of the difficult times, the natural features of the neighbourhood, the forests in the Zemplén Mountains rich in game, the exciting hiking trails, the treasures of nature and history made it a centre of recreation. There are no posh wellness hotels full of foreign tourists. Telkibánya is the perfect place to relax, get recreated and refreshed.

Castle church – today’s reformed church

The old settlement was situated on the so called “Hill”. Its centre might have been the today’s Church Hill and its neighbourhood. On the top of the hill there used to be a castle playing a centre role in the life of the settlement from the 14th century. Inside the church a poem, written in Latin but now translated into Hungarian, mentions “two churches”. One of them may have been the origin of today’s church in the castle. It has been rebuilt several times since then. The other church, in the town, is assumed to have been the church for poor and common people. It was destroyed when the castle was and its ruins, a small hill covered with grass, can still be seen.

Cemetery with carved wood head-markers

The cemetery is situated on the Church Hill. Its centre is circle surrounded and toned by the range of the former moat. The local people tend to mention the head-markers gombfa or gomfa. 7 kinds of head-markers are known in the village, but only four are used. They are all rectangular prisms. The head-markers for adult men and women are this shape from bottom to the top, their top is cut diagonally to the back or front. The boys’ head-markers have a knob on the top, the girls’ have a crown. There are some with semi-circle or trapezoid top.

Saint Catherine of Alexandra hospital and chapel

According to written sources, before 1367 on the south edge of Telkibánya there was a chapel made of wood. In 1367, the mine steward in Telkibánya, Kuper György asked King Lajos (Louise) to give his permission to knock it down and build a hospital. In 1369 Mihály bishop from Eger wrote that the constructions had already started. Because the hospital had poor and elderly patients, a chapel also became necessary to be built next to the hospital. The chapel may have been named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria because she was the patron saint if the miners in Telkibánya.

Exhibition on Local History

It was opened in one of the oldest buildings in the settlement in1970. This building had been operating as the first Hungarian china factory. In the 1930s the Kádár family turned it into a dwelling-house. In 1970, the basement of the building then in 1980, the whole building was given to display the collection. Here you can see the first products made in the Hungarian china factory as well as the relics of the former mining-town. Its most spectacular part is the diorama that shows the complete mining process in the Middle Ages. You can also see the wildlife of the Zemplén Mountains. The tools, ethnic articles, homespuns, the most important minerals found in Hungary are also on display.

Opening hours: 9.00-4.00 pm, except for Monday.