Baktalórántházi Erdő Természetvédelmi Terület, Forest in Hungary

Baktalórántházi Erdő Természetvédelmi Terület is a 341-hectare protected forest within a larger woodland of over a thousand hectares, managed by the Hortobágy National Park Directorate. It lies west of Baktalórántháza, where sand dunes create depressions with a cool, humid microclimate. This allows hornbeam-oak and lily-of-the-valley oak stands to grow, merging almost without transition. The undergrowth includes the rare Cardamine bulbifera and the Debrecen cow-wheat (Melampyrum nemorosum subsp. debreceniense).

The forest was declared protected in 1977, when 341 hectares of the more than 1,000-hectare woodland were placed under the Hortobágy National Park Directorate. It is one of the last contiguous remnants of the vast hornbeam-oak and lily-of-the-valley oak forests that once covered the Nyírség sand. Its protection rests on its development history, plant geography and role as a gene bank.

The forest is a gene bank: its hornbeam-oak and lily-of-the-valley oak stands preserve the genetic stock of the woodland that once covered the Nyírség sand. Local people use the marked trails for walks and the Forestry has built bacon-frying spots, rain shelters and a forest fitness course beside the Fenyves csárda.

Marked trails run through the forest and visitors should stay on the paths to protect plants and wildlife. Comfortable shoes are needed, especially during wet seasons, and the area is accessible year-round, though spring and early summer offer the best conditions for a visit.

The forest shelters Hungary's largest beetle, the stag beetle, along with the rhinoceros beetle and the great capricorn beetle, which depend on old oaks. In the leaf litter live the ground beetles Carabus cancellatus and Carabus coriaceus, and the flowers attract the rose chafer. A detail to look for: the Debrecen cow-wheat, a plant subspecies found here.