Bánd is a small Swabian village located between Veszprém and Herend, at the foot of Pál Miklós hill. It has only 670 inhabitants but despite of its size it has special treasures to offer. One of Hungary’s oldest castle ruins, Essegvár and the second largest yew forest in Europe – declared as nature conservation area- are located here. The air is uniquely clean, in winter the most serious cold days in the country are often recorded here, and several creeks cross it – one of them flows right next to our guest house.

And although all these treasures are unique but what we really think makes this place special is the spirit of the village, where sometimes it seems as if time has stopped…

Bánd is a place where people still say hello to each other on the street, where selfless giving and humanity are shown in all areas of life: vegetables from the small garden handed over the fence or a bowl of scones left on the garden table. It is a place, where residents took a spade to build a community herb garden and joined forces to renovate the village’s historic church in community work. We treasure our Swabian traditions like the Christkindl at Christmas or shaking clappers at Easter. Santa Claus literally goes from house to house on December 6th and he takes his route stylish in a horse-drawn carriage. In autumn tractors, horse-drawn carriages are marching through the village during the harvest parade.

History and culture of Bánd is so rich and interesting that several books have been written on the subject in Hungarian and German, that you can also find on the guest house’s bookshelf.

Essegvár and Calvary are in a short 10-minutes walk up to the castle hill, from where you can enjoy a wonderful view of the surrounding area. Following your path towards Pál Miklós Hill you
can visit the herb garden of our village (BTW: Enjoy a cup of tea made from these herbs, we have prepared it for you in the kitchen!)
If coming with children, we highly recommend the Essegvarázs castle-themed playground, that is just right next to the herb garden. You can also continue your walk by crossing the creek to the
yew forest to enjoy the complete peace and silence that nature has to offer.

For those who are passionate about gastronomy, there is an excellent restaurant in the village, Kakukk Restaurant, or you can taste the local beer specialities at the Bandauer Brewery, Hungary’s smallest licensed craft brewery. We also recommend Biovolf‘s whole grain spelt biscuits and spelt flour, for which spelt is grown also locally by the owner Volf family . If you are interested in artwork and handcraft, the workshop of ceramist Ferenc Halmos is a notable place to visit. Éva Műhelye regularly offers hands-on workshops where you (and your kids) can create, paint beautiful decoration for home. If you wish to take a romantic horse carriage tour in the village, we can organise it for you too.

Bánd has so much to offer in any season. It is a place where it feels good to arrive and is difficult to leave. The nature that surrounds the village is like a painting that changes every day, showing a new face in every season and time of day.

If you want to tune in to village life in Bandi, I warmly recommend the following articles from my blog Taste of Memories, where the stories are accompanied by a recipe:

https://www.tasteofmemories.com/fermented-cucumber/

https://www.tasteofmemories.com/hungarian-jam-pastries/

Other places to visit nearby:

Since the village is located in the heart of Bakony, you can explore the area either on foot, by bike (Hárskút, Lókút, Papod) or by car (Bakonybél- St. Maurice Monastery, Pannon Observatory, Csesznek Castle, Zirc CistercienAbbey and Arboretum to name a few).

Herend and its famous porcelain manufactory are only 5 km away, and you can reach in Veszprém (European Capital of Culture in 2023) in only 10 minutes drive, where you can explore the cultural and historical heritage this wonderful town has to offer.