National parks in Hungary

Hungary has ten national parks which cover approximately 10 percent of the country's territory. The parks are managed by the National Parks of Hungary government agency (Hungarian: Nemzeti park igazgatóság).

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List of Parks

1 Hortobágy National Park Hortobágy is an 800 km2 national park in eastern Hungary, rich with folklore and cultural history. The park, a part of the Alföld (Great Plain), was designated as a national park in 1973 (the first in Hungary), and elected among the World Heritage Sites in 1999. The Hortobágy is Hungary's largest protected area, and the largest semi-natural grassland in Europe.

2 Kiskunság National Park (Kiskunsági Nemzeti Park) is a national park located in Danube–Tisza Interfluve mainly in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary. It was created in 1975 and declared a biosphere reserve by the UNESCO. The park covers an area of 530 km² and stretches across the Little Cumania (Kiskunság) region of the Great Hungarian Plain.

It is not a single territory, but comprises seven disjoint units, scattered throughout the area. One of these is the Kiskunság's Puszta where annual events are held reviving the old pastoral life and cattle breeding customs.

3 Bükk National Park (Bükki Nemzeti Park) is a national park in the Bükk Mountains of Northern Hungary, near Miskolc. It was founded in 1977 as the third national park in the country. It contains 431 km² (of which 38 km² is under increased protection). Mountainous and forested, Bükk is Hungary's largest national park and is situated in the northern mountains, between Szilvásvárad and Lillafüred.

4 Aggtelek National Park (Aggteleki Nemzeti Park) is in Northern Hungary, in the Aggtelek Karst region. The most significant values of the national park are the special surface formations and caves in this limestone landscape.

5 Fertő-Hanság National Park (Fertő-Hanság Nemzeti Park) is in North-West Hungary in Győr-Moson-Sopron county. It was created in 1991, and officially opened together with the connecting Austrian Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park the same year (both parks are attached to Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő). The park covers 236 km², and consists of two main areas.

Lake Fertő is the third largest lake in Central-Europe, and the westernmost of the great continental salt lakes of Eurasia. Because of the shallow level of water and the prevailing wind, the size and shape of the lake changes very often. The area gives home to various kinds of birds.

6 Danube-Drava National Park was founded in 1996 and is located in the south west of Hungary. The current area is 490 m² and the majority of the national park sites are located within the Danube and Drava floodland areas, of which 190 km² are Ramsar wetlands.

7 Körös-Maros National Park located in Békés county, in the Southern Great Plain. The park was created in 1997 for the protection of birds.

Körös-Maros National Park has a number of regions such as Kis-Sárrét swamp, Fáspuszta, Mágor-puszta or Kardoskúti Fehértó. It features a bustard reserve established in 1975. The major towns of the area are Szarvas and Dévaványa.

8 Balaton Uplands National Park The area of 56,997 hectares of the Balaton-felvidéki national park mainly consists of six landscape protection areas. The national park is headquartered in Veszprém, the largest city of the Balaton area.

9 Danube-Ipoly National Park In 1997, the park was created from Pilis and Börzsöny national parks, with the addition of part of the floodplain of the River Ipoly. This park encompasses areas in Budapest, Pest County, Komárom-Esztergom County and Fejér County. Its headquarters are in Esztergom.

10 Őrség National Park (Őrségi Nemzeti Park) was established in 2002 with a total area of 440 km² (170 sq mi).

The region takes its name Őrség (meaning 'watch post') from the Magyars, who in order to defend the western gates, built watch posts across this land. Over the centuries, the landscape has been shaped by farming on small sections keeping harmony in relations with nature and maintaining diversity.

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