For a great view over Szekszárd and its surrounds, follow Munkácsy Mihály utca and then Kálvária utca from the Tourinform office southwest until you reach Calvary Hill (Kálvária-hegy, 205m). Its name recalls the crucifixion scene and the chapel was erected here in the 18th century by grief-stricken parents who lost their child (still remembered in a famous poem by Mihály Babits). The Danube and the Great Plain are visible to the east, the Sárköz region beyond the hills to the south and the Szekszárd Hills to the west. On a clear day you can see Hungary’s sole nuclear power station at Paks, 30km to the north.
Today the hill is dominated by a modern sculpture, done by István Kiss for the city’s 925th anniversary. It looked fine and unassuming when unveiled in 1986 – just a stylised bunch of grapes representing Szekszárd’s lovely wine, sheaves for its wheat and a large bell for Béla’s 11th-century abbey. But on closer inspection, the inscriptions on the grape leaves revealed not just the names of Hungarian heroes and literary greats but those of local communist officials.
