Radó Dezső: Parks and Forests - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1992)
planting project on the Great Hungarian Plain. The lookout offers a superb view of the Buda Hills ranges. MAriaremete Descending on the other side of Hárs Hill we reach Nagykovácsi út, north of which lies Máriaremete on a varied terrain framed by forests at the entrance to the Remete Gorge. Development with small houses began already at the turn of the century. On its western edge near the Ördög Creek a densely populated suburb, Remete Kertváros emerged. The neo-Gothic church, built to replace a chapel erected in 1817 on Mária Height in the northern part of Remete, is now a popular target of both tourists and pilgrims. The most famous sight of the area is the strictly protected natural reserve, the Remete Gorge. It is a narrow, picturesque valley formed by the Ördög Creek as it cuts through Remete Hill and Hosszúerdő Hill running from the Nagykovácsi Basin towards the Pest- hidegkút Basin. The ördög Creek, flowing towards Hűvös Valley through the Adyliget Basin, was captured here at the beginning of the Pleistocene era. On the steep cliffs of the Remete Gorge the entrances of two larger and several smaller caves can be found. The gorge is famous not only for its scenic beauty but also for its scientific curiosities. Its cold microclimate provides a suitable habitat for ancient plants from the Ice Age. Such species include Pilis flax and cliff savory. The caves themselves are also of scientific value. Kisszénás - nagyszénás The Kisszénás is a protected natural reserve of 97 hectares in the vicinity of Pilisszentiván. The warm, grassy and forested slopes, with Triassic dolomite cliffs belonging to the Szénás Range constituting the northwestern corner of the Buda Hills are areas of botanical interest. Kisszénás and Nagyszénás are considered the cradle of Pannonian flora. Botanists have suggested that plant species spread from here to the sandy areas between the Danube and Tisza rivers. The vegetational histories of the Hungarian Central Range and the Great Hungarian Plain are closely related. A theory of phytogeography postulates the spread of grass from the mountains. It claims that low, hilly areas adjacent to plains are more suitable for preserving ancient species. Mountains with continuous42
