Great Plain and North

Great Plain and North
Alföld és Észak
Region

Great Plain and North (NUTS 1) and its constituent counties (NUTS 3)
Country  Hungary
Capital city Budapest
Area
 • Total 50,000 km2 (20,000 sq mi)
Population
 • Total 4,200,000
 • Density 84/km2 (220/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
NUTS code HU3

Great Plain and North (Hungarian: Alföld és Észak) is a statistical (NUTS 1) region of Hungary. It comprises the NUTS 2 regions of Northern Hungary, Northern Great Plain, and Southern Great Plain.

The total population of the region is around 4,200,000 people in an area of 50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi) (giving a population density of around 84/km2 (218/sq mi).

Regions and counties

There are nine counties in Great Plain and North, which are in three statistical regions:

Northern Hungary and Northern Great Plain are often together called North-Eastern Hungary.

Geography

Geographical features

Prominent landscape features are the North Hungarian Mountains and the Great Plain

National Parks

Tourism

Lillafüred

There are four tourists regions in the Great Plain and North. The Lake Tisza and its surrounding is an exceptional region as it is not part of the NUTS.

The four regions are:

Landmarks by region

Northern Hungary

The most important tourist cities are Eger, Miskolc, Sárospatak, Pásztó, which are all famous for their wines and spas. Tokaj) and Hollókő form part of a World Heritage Site. There are many mediaeval castles and ruins of others, including Boldogkő Castle, Castle of Diósgyőr, Füzér Castle, Sárospatak Castle, Szerencs Castle, Szécsény Castle estates, and Hollókő Castle. The Mátra mountains and the Bükk mountains give plenty of opportunities for hiking, and there are areas of outstandingly beautiful countryside in Lillafüred and Aggtelek National Park. The caves in the Bükk have many stalagmites and stalactites.

Northern Great Plain

The nine-arched bridge at Hortobágy National Park

The most important tourist sites are the regional seat Debrecen with its ancient monuments, and Hortobágy National Park. Nyíregyháza and Nyírbátor both have intimate historic city centres. Nyíregyháza and its suburbs have some interesting sights, for example the open-air museum, safari park, and Nyírvidék children's railway. There are extraordinary churches in Csaroda and Tákos.

Lake Tisza

Southern Great Plain

The most important tourist sights are the Great Plain itself, unspoiled landscape, romantic farms, the ethnographic memories and traditions and the cities' monuments and museums, especially Szeged the regional seat, Gyula, Kecskemét, Kalocsa, Szentes, Hódmezővásárhely, and Baja. The region's most important landscapes include the Ópusztaszer National Heritage Park, Gyula Castle, the stud farm in Mezőhegyes and the wine cellars at Hajós. Other attractions include the Great Bustard Nature Reserve at Dévaványa, the Bugac Plain, and the Mártély National Park.

The most popular festival in the region is the Szeged Open Air Games, featuring historical reenactments and ancient sports such as archery.

References

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