2025.11.11. (Tuesday)
7100, Szent István Square 28.
Kultúrkortyok Free University lands in Szekszárd with smart, sip-sized talks at the Mihály Babits Cultural Center (Babits Mihály Kulturális Központ). Entry is free; curiosity is mandatory.
Two Nights, Two Deep Dives
2025.11.11.
Kultúrkortyok Free University – I Release My Fears and Anxieties – a talk by Dóra Manhalt. Location: Szekszárd. Expect practical tools, candid reflections, and an empathetic approach to the mental knots people keep postponing.
2025.12.16.
Kultúrkortyok Free University – The Battle of Mohács (Mohácsi csata). Location: Szekszárd. A straight shot of history: the 1526 disaster unwrapped with clarity and context.
Where to Stay, Sip, and Linger
Hotel Merops**** sits in downtown Szekszárd beside the Mészáros wine house, a few minutes’ walk from the city center. It blends small-town calm with wine-country vibes, ideal for both unplugging and active weekends. Expect distinctive interiors, a trained team, and tailored services. There are 8 rooms and 2 apartments for travelers. The Main Street Bistro in the Nádasdi House charms locals and visitors with a broad menu and refined dishes, and the hotel hosts tastings. Their cellar is a quintessential Szekszárd-style venue for birthdays, friendly dinners, or corporate evenings—memorable by design.
Sió Motel greets you at Szekszárd’s northern gateway along Route 6, between the Szekszárd and Tolna wine regions, close to the Gemenc Forest and by Sárköz, on a 6.18-acre site. Easy access, wine-country adjacency, nature on call.
Hotel Zodiaco*** is the only three-star option in and around Szekszárd, delivering modern elegance and a satisfaction-first philosophy. They improve year by year so business trips and weekend escapes both land on the pleasant side of life.
Cellars, Vines, and the Art of Pairing
Attila Birtok is tucked into the Baranya Valley with 34.59 acres of vines. The cellar works with Kékfrankos, Kadarka, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zweigelt—local backbone, global notes.
At Bodri, the kitchen obsesses over harmony: chef Norbert Makk builds plates that lock in with Bodri wines. Hungarian cuisine leads—refreshed and modernized, but still proudly Hungarian. Bodri Winery spans 247.11 acres and doubles as a tourism hub with a winery, event center, restaurant, show kitchen, and guesthouses in a gorgeous southern valley. The 19,375-square-foot grand cellar ripples under twelve domes, and a 3,229-square-foot aging cellar opens on guided tours. Their 15,069-square-foot rosé facility can scale up without sacrificing quality. Bodri’s guest rooms sleep 61, and the pampering includes a thermal-water underground domed Roman bath, jacuzzi, and sauna. The Optimus Restaurant plates the many shades of Hungarian cooking—updated, not upended.
Borfaragó Pince lives in the heart of the Szekszárd upper town, in a former carpenter and woodcarver’s workshop. Come for tastings, handcrafted wines, and folk woodcarving gems. It’s discreet, easy to reach, and perfect for a tucked-away evening with friends or colleagues.
From Purist to Playful
The Várdomb estate center champions Kékfrankos—versatile, high-quality, reliable—both solo and as the backbone of blends. Other grapes get proper love too: Riesling (Rhine Riesling), Cserszegi Fűszeres, Kadarka, Portugieser (Kékoportó), Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah.
A local artisan winery in Szekszárd, largely in the Porkoláb Valley, processes only estate-grown grapes. They avoid commercial yeasts, malolactic cultures, enzymes, fining agents, colorants, flavor/aroma/acid modifiers, as well as filtration, sterilization, oxygen dosing, and heat treatments. Every wine is bottled—clean, uncompromising, minimal-intervention.
Another cellar leans into Szekszárd’s character with a wide slate of local and traditional varieties. They experiment with fresh blends and turn nearly all red grapes into rosé, earning serious international recognition. Red wines still star. The focus: Kékfrankos and Kadarka, rounded with Merlot, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir—local soul, worldly harmony. For a change of pace: head up to the vineyards, kick back, and let the good wines do the talking.
Heritage, Family, Hospitality
The Eszterbauer family—rooted in Swabian and Serbian traditions—runs a heritage-rich family winery in Szekszárd. Their showcase wine house and show cellar host tastings presented by family members. In the wine-and-guest house, tastings and food are offered for 8 to 50 people, from simple bites to multi-course dinners. Their web shop carries a lineup of award-winning bottles.
A family winery cultivates 16.31 acres across four Szekszárd subzones, with Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Kékfrankos leading the plantings.
Organizers reserve the right to change dates and programs.
