Hungary’s largest western town welcomes visitors again this year
Although we are far away in time and space from the western world of the United States, we can still get a taste of it in Henryxcity.
There is a little Wild West in Hungary, and it’s only an hour’s drive from Budapest. Császár is located in Komárom-Esztergom County, and is Hungary’s largest western town.
Henryxcity is policed by Sheriff Henryx. The western town, unique in Hungary, was created to give anyone who wants, the chance to experience a bygone era of history unknown to us.
Tóth Henrik, a.k.a. Sheriff Henryx, has been commuting between the United States and Hungary since he was 29 years old, and proudly calls both countries home. He has been to many places in the USA, travelling to Arizona, Nevada, and California, and after soaking up many experiences, he decided to bring the culture he had learned back to Hungary. At first, he did it for his own pleasure because he wanted to surround himself with things he had brought back from America. Then he built his first house in Császár, then another and another, and soon the outline of a western town began to take shape.
What I started building for myself started to interest others, so I opened it up to the public. Today, the town has outgrown itself. Henryxcity has a restaurant, an Indian and Western museum, a train station with a life-size steam engine and wagon that doubles as a museum and cafe. There’s also a rodeo bull that can be tried out all year round
– The Sheriff told 24.hu.
The western town offers special programmes on Saturdays and Sundays, Hungary’s only western show train runs every hour from 11 AM, and you can experience a train robbery and guns crackling in the main square, with the weekend horse thief hanging starting at 2 PM. But there will also be rodeo bull riding, target shooting, target throwing, gold panning, forging and pottery wheel throwing.
Henryxcity’s museums are almost all from the US Wild West, giving visitors a glimpse into a mysterious world long gone.
The sheriff does not charge admission, and the western town is completely free to visit, except for train rides and restaurants, and when there is a festival in Henryxcity.
In his most recent post, the sheriff has set this year’s opening date as Monday, 1 May. This is a public holiday in Hungary, so it is sure to be a full house. Until autumn, they will be open every Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM.
In addition to the attractions, there will also be gastronomic specialities. Europe’s biggest BBQ smoker has been built, so everyone can taste ribs, tarja, onion beans, smoked bean goulash in 6-8 hours.
1 Comment
My girls & I have travelled to such attractions in the N. Eastern to N. Central parts of the US of A and loved each one. In Florida we also enjoyed a few old time attractions surrounding the area around Orlando. Having been an avid reader of old western books which made their way around my rural community, and reading books like SHANE and OLD YELLER at school, I felt right at home. So this attraction in Hungary sounds amazing. I hope that he has a lot of tools…like the old guy on an episode of Flock Fingerlakes Utube…one of her most watched. And maybe some day adds a small setup of a trough where people can pan for gold. We did that somewhere along our travels. Got to see how much physical work & patients was involved. Makes me want to go watch Petticoat Junction or Green Acres w. E’va Gabor as the main character!! Ain’t YouTube wonderful too?