Dunapataj

The large village of Dunapataj can be found on the left bank of River Danube, 15 km north from Kalocsa. By car or bus it can be approached on Main Road 51 and by rail on the Kunszentmiklós-Tass-Dunapataj railway line. Cyclers can reach the village on the international cycle track EUROVELO 6. The section of the Danube here is varied by a dead branch and several branches.

The most visited tourism target of Kiskunság, Szelidi-tó (Szelidi Lake) and its recreation area, belong to Dunapataj. A cycle track leads to the lake from the settlement. Visitors are awaited by a free breach and a larger and nicely arranged paying beach. The water of the ox-bow lake is, officially, not considered to be medicinal water but earlier it was used for healing wounds because of its iodine content. On its shore a slide, restaurants, pastry shops and snack-counters follow each other. Accommodation possibilities are offered by a camp site and innumerable cottages and hotels. The lake can be roamed on the water, too, using the boats, kayaks and canoes of the hire service operating on the shore. In evenings performances of the open-air theatre entertain tourists.

In order to preserve the flora and fauna of the neighbourhood, a nature conservation area has been established. In the area being under natural protection, a study path consisting of 12 stations presents the formation of the lake, the characteristics of the water and the local flora and fauna.  Another protected natural value of Dunapataj is the landscape protection area of Miklapuszta that is occupied by loud flocks of birds in springtime. If you are lucky enough, you can even meet some very rare species.

The local historical collection of the village is accommodated in the Pataj Museum that used to be the Unitarian church of the settlement. The building of the museum is considered to be a monument of townscape significance. The church at Ordasi út 7 was built in Transylvanian style; its coffered ceiling is unique in Hungary. Periodic exhibitions, performances and concerts are held in the museum and in the summer and autumn events presenting folk customs are frequently organised. The rich material of the collection presents the lifestyle of the 19^th century within the framework of a permanent exhibition. It is also worth visiting the Calvinistic church of the settlement, the size of which tells of the population and pecuniary status of the Medieval Pataj.

Sources: Schill Tamás: A Pataji Múzeum és Tájház rövid ismertetője. (Short description of the Pataj Museum and Country House) Bros Universal Bt., Miskolc. 2009, dr. Dusek László: Az Alföld. (The Great Plain) Cartographia, Budapest. 2000, http://hu.wikipedia.org/, http://www.vendegvaro.hu/