Nógrád county is in Northern Hungary on the border with Slovakia. Nógrád is famous for its historic architecture of ancient Gothic churches and stone castles dated to the 13th century. Other historic landmark includes the baroque buildings constructed in the 18th century and the Vay, Teleki. Due to the mountains, the county is characterised by small villages nestled in the valleys. The two largest settlements are Balassagyarmat, the former county seat, and Salgótarján, which has become a centre of industry in the early 20th century due to coal mines nearby.

Cities

1 Salgótarján A former mining town in the hills with two castle ruins.

2 Balassagyarmat district (Balassagyarmat) Former seat of the Nógrád comitatus (county). Famous for the traditional Palóc culture.

3 Bátonyterenye

4 Pásztó

5 Szécsény (Hollókő)

Rétság is described in the Danube Bend article.

Other destinations

• 1 Hollókő. A beautiful old preserved village, part of UNESCO World Heritage List  

Understand

Its main attractions are the natural environment, the Palóc folk traditions and the numerous monuments and cultural monuments. Outstanding among these are the monumental city centre of Pásztó, the castle district of Szécsény, and the old village of Hollókő, which is a world heritage site.

The Underground Mining Museum in Salgótarján and the Ipolytarnóc Fossil Nature Reserve are unique international exhibitions.

Get in

By car

There is no motorway, but three main roads:

• No. 2 leads north-south along the western edge of the county between Vác-Rétság-Parassapuszta.
• No. 21 touches the eastern edge of the county, in the direction of the Hatvan-Salgótarján border.
• No. 22 leads through the county in an east-west direction, connecting the two main main roads in the direction of Rétság-Balassagyarmat-Salgótarján.

By bus

The long-distance road bus transport and the local services in Salgótarján, Balassagyarmat and Bátonyterenye are operated by Volánbusz.

By train

There are no significant main railway lines in the area, no electrified railway line, no regular long-distance InterCity or high-speed train transport, and the county seat of Salgótarján has no daily direct connection with the capital.

The county's railway network is organized around two core network lines, supplemented by branch lines.

The most important line of the county is the Hatvan – Somoskőújfalu railway line leading in the Zagyva valley, which connects Salgótarján to the railway network. Hourly scheduled passenger train traffic is typical on the line.

The Aszód – Balassagyarmat – Ipolytarnóc railway line means the direct railway connection of Balassagyarmat with the main line of Miskolc.

The Vác – Balassagyarmat railway line runs in the north-western part of the county, at the foot of the Börzsöny and in the Ipoly valley. It handles mainly regional passenger traffic.

Go next

This county was one with Novohrad (Slovakia) in the ancient past, representing one of the first counties of Kingdom of Hungary (since 11th century).