The history of the Molnár family

Oasis to the Abbey... more than a Balaton Summer Vacation

Our story begins in 1964. My Great-Grandfather János Gondi Molnár, from Kapuvár in Rábaköz, had almost all of his property nationalised or should we say confiscated by the state. He dared to dream big and searched for a property in the Badacsony wine hills. He thought that if he bought a vineyard near Balaton, he could kill 2 birds with one stone; he could make a living, and his kids would be more than happy to come and visit him to be able to splash around in the lake.

As it turned out, my family, in particular my Grandmother were none too happy about the new vineyard. When she walked up from the train station to the top of the hill for the first time to the house with all her suitcases she was lost for words. At that time, there was no electricity, no water, and the road was just a cobbled path.

Those who visit today can’t even imagine what it was like in those days to carry the drinking water up the hill in buckets and carry 30-liter jerrycans of wine back to Kapuvár by train. One good thing may have been the romantic feeling given by the petroleum lamps but it wasn’t much! Nowadays, the road is tarmac and guests can get up the hill no matter what car they have. On the hill, our street is perhaps the best lit of all, there is electricity and water, and even internet from the opposite shore of Balaton. Only the romantic candlelight remains from that time to light up summer nights.

My parents, with whom I share this 1.5-hectare property, also love the beautiful surroundings and of course good wine. As their only son, they have supported me in all my projects.

Since my childhood I have had so many wonderful memories in this dreamworld. Maybe it was this that inspired me to follow my fate as a “dreamer”, and I realised that if all the people who came to visit us were amazed by this place, then perhaps others would love to come here and spend a few days, maybe even doing so every year.

With my wife and partner, we discussed the details and in 2005 we started to plan the project. In 2007 we began the battle to obtain the building permit with Bewital Ltd, the successful company we have owned since 1991 as the project owner.

As can be seen in the picture, the passage of time had led to the thatched roof farm buildings, the cellar and the grape pressing house falling into disrepair. However, to realise our dreams was far from easy as we are located in a strictly environmentally protected area as well as being in the Balaton Highlands National Park, meaning that everything we did was under strict supervision. According to the Balaton by-laws of the time, we were only permitted to build on 3% of the total property, and only if we could prove that 80% of the area was covered in grape vines. In order to achieve this, we had to cut down 2000m2 of beautiful acacia forest and replant it with grapes. Every cloud has a silver lining, and where there was once forest, we now have the opportunity to be amazed by the gorgeous view of Balaton from its highest point. In clear weather, it is even possible to see the Tihany Abbey from there.

For 15 days 2 diggers (one with a drill head) hammered into the rock in order to prepare the foundations for the current building. The construction itself took 1.5 years and unfortunately at the end, as is fairly typical in the Hungarian construction industry, the contractor was not able to complete the work and quit the contract meaning that I had to organise the completion of the work myself.

In May 2011 the building was finally completed and ready to open as a guest house in its current condition.

Since then, we have had many thousands of guests proving their satisfaction with their incredibly positive feedback in our guestbook and the huge number of return visits. We provide a true Oasis for families, couples in love, wine lovers, or even visitors interested in health tourism, all without having to leave your four-legged friends at home!

We hope you will also join us for a break! We look forward to seeing you!

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