Among the defining features of Érsekcsanád are Veránka Island and the former settlement site of Csanád in the Ófalu area. These two places tell of different changes along the Danube: here, a severed river bend formed an island; there, river regulation altered the landscape around a former settlement.
Csanád and the former settlement site of Ófalu
Nearby, the former settlement of Csanád was located about five kilometres west of the present-day settlement, on the site of today’s Danube riverbed in the Ófalu area. As a result of river regulation, the Danube washed away a large part of Ófalu. Only a small area between the Vajas and the Danube, around the Révcsárda, remained. The former settlement and the present-day town are therefore two distinct geographical reference points. Ófalu clearly shows how river regulation changed the landscape and caused the loss of a large part of the former area.
Veránka Island: formation and protected area
Veránka Island belongs to Érsekcsanád and covers 1,345 hectares. About 612 hectares of it are classified as a strictly protected area. These figures distinguish the island’s total area from the portion under protection. The island formed when a bend in the Danube was cut off—a bend here means a river loop separated from the course of the river. The old, meandering river arm and the new, straight river arm enclose the island. Veránka is where two distinct river forms meet: the winding course of the old arm and the straight course of the new one.
More topics in the wider Bács-Kiskun travel region
For a broader look at Bács-Kiskun, explore independent destinations with different highlights. Gemenc has an especially dense breeding population of black storks. Other characteristic birds of the area include the white-tailed eagle and the imperial eagle, both listed on the Red List.
In Tiszaalpár, the Tiszaalpár, Földvár nature trail introduces the history of the Bronze Age fortification of Tiszaalpári Földvár and the way of life of people in the Bronze Age. Tiszaalpári Földvár is a particularly protected archaeological site; its designation was made under Decree 3/2003 (I. 25.) NKÖM. A reconstruction of an Árpád-era village, built to mark the millennium, depicts the settlement layout discovered during local excavations.
The nature trails in Bács-Kiskun also offer a variety of themes. The Boróka Nature Trail in Bugac is 1,100 metres long and features information boards and interactive stations, including a forest xylophone and a toy telescope. At Lake Szelid, a nature trail about blue-green algae explores the lake’s development, the properties of its water, the organisms living there, and the wildlife of the surrounding area at twelve stations. Lake Szelid itself is a natural oxbow lake that developed from a side arm of the Danube after the Ice Age. The trail is accessible year-round on foot and by bicycle; local conditions may change.
Discover more destinations: Nagybaracska, Csátalja, Érsekhalma, Nemesnádudvar, Baja / Frankenstadt, Dávod.
Back to the wider travel guide: Bajai.
