PUSZTA IN TRANSITION

In Hungary, the last steppe of Europe is an exceptional habitat rich in biodiversity and tradition. But advancing modernity, intensive agriculture and severe water shortages are seriously threatening it

EUROPE | HUNGARY | ENVIRONMENT | GEOGRAPHY

Nagyiván (Hungary), a shepherd walks with his bicycle not far from a well: this is the dry Puszta landscape within Hortobágy National Park, where drought is damaging this valuable habitat rich in biodiversity.

The Puszta is rapidly changing. The last European steppe, populated by wild horses and grazing cattle, is undergoing a dramatic transition. One of the world's richest habitats in biodiversity, loved by poets for its ‘rough honesty’, it is also one of the least protected places: over the past 150 years, more than 70 per cent of the steppe has been lost. This is due to intensive agriculture, urban development - a popular petition, for example, recently stopped the construction of a highway alongside the Kiskunság National Park - and, above all, a severe water shortage that is bringing the local economy to its knees.

It is raining less and less in Hungary, the drought is slowly driving the population of the Puszta out and its famous grasslands could quickly become a desert. Always the heart of Magyar tradition, the Puszta attracts tourists from all over the world (the Hortobágy National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and is an ideal laboratory for young Hungarians, who come here to learn the customs and traditions of the ‘real Hungary’ of Orban (called the ‘Putin of the Puszta’).

Of course, many are committed to the preservation of this ecosystem, such as local shepherds, civil society and national park rangers. The Boosterra association proposes the restoration of old, abandoned canals, Grassland-HU is an important environmental protection project funded by the European Union, while the young company ABZ Innovation in Budapest produces sprinkler drones that can irrigate fields in a sustainable manner, saving considerably on water consumption. Will they manage, all together, to save the Hungarian ‘pampas’?

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Felsőlajos (Hungary), tourists watch a horse race on the Tanyacsárda farm, where almost daily there are equestrian shows intended for visitors from around the world. In the Puszta, a flat, steppe-like land, the horse has been the ideal means of travel, work and warfare for centuries.

Bugac (Hungary), at Karikás Csárda a herd of Hungarian Grays (also called Hungarian Steppe Cattle) is moved by horsemen. An iconic animal of Hungary, about 10,000 of them remain grazing throughout the country.

Budapest (Hungary), at Pótkulcs - one of the capital's famous ruin bars (ruin bars are pubs based in abandoned buildings that were established in the 1990s) - an impromptu band led by violinist István Varga ‘Kiscsipás’ (right with hat) is playing. The band is playing traditional Hungarian pusta folk music, loved by customers who dance to their rhythm.

Hortobágy (Hungary), at the Hortobágy National Park Visitor Centre a tourist watches a virtual reality video about the Puszta and its biodiversity.

Tiszafüred (Hungary), a shepherd walks with his flock of sheep in the Puszta area of the Hortobágy National Park.

Bugac (Hungary), at the Karikás Csárda riders prepare for the show with horse racing in the Puszta. Horses have been friends and companions of Hungarians for centuries, and have entered the nation's social imaginary.

Poroszló (Hungary), two russian sturgeons in the aquarium of the Lake Tisza Ecocentre. Lake Tisza is an artificial lake built in 1973 to provide water for a nearby power plant, limit flooding of the Tisza River but also provide water for irrigation in the Puszta, and a rich biodiversity has developed in the lake over fifty years.

Kerekegyháza (Hungary), at Rendek Eco Farm a group of female students from Szeged Waldorf School prepare bread for baking. Many schools send their students to the Hungarian Puszta to learn the customs and habits of traditional Hungary.

Tiszafüred (Hungary), a detail of the vast Tisza Lake, an artificial lake built in 1973 to provide water for a nearby power plant, limit flooding of the Tisza River but also provide water for irrigation in the Puszta.

Budapest (Hungary), at the Hungarian Agricultural Museum young students look curiously at a yurt, the typical nomadic tent also characteristic of Hungarian tradition: the tribes from which the Hungarian peoples descend were in fact nomads and arrived in present-day Hungary from Central Asia across the vast plains of the Puszta on horseback in the 11th century

Hortobágy (Hungary), a horseman dressed in traditional clothes in the Puszta of the Hortobágy National Park. The landscape of the Puszta, its animals and traditions represent the epic of the Magyar nation.

Kerekegyháza (Hungary), Gabor Orban and wife Andrea Katona in a mirrored-glass shelter inside their Kondor Eco Lodge watch unseen birds in the Puszta. Gabor was the initiator of a petition drive to stop the construction of a highway that was to pass near Kiskunság National Park.

Nagyiván (Hungary), the village within the Puszta of Hortobágy National Park is surrounded on three sides by semi-desert land: here drought is damaging a habitat of steppes, plains and lakes thousands of years old.

Püspökladány (Hungary), young dancers train at the Dalma Dance Club run by Andrea Kele. In the Hungarian Puszta, the village is famous for its thermal waters useful in fighting arthritis and skin diseases.

Bugac (Hungary), an old photo of a local wedding in the Puszta is on display at the Aranymonostor Museum. Inhabited mainly by shepherds and farmers, the Hungarian Puszta is considered the cradle of Magyar civilisation.

Püspökladány (Hungary), Marcell Juhasz, 23, chats with his girlfriend Zsoka and a friend inside the Hortobágy puszta. Marcell is a cattle farmer, owns 100 cows and complains about the lack of water: ‘we are forced to take the cows out to graze in the forests,’ he says, ‘but the government should reclaim the old abandoned canals to supply the land with water from the Danube and Tisza rivers’.

Szilvásvárad (Hungary), in the dressing rooms a rider prepares for the competition during the Driving World Championship Four-in-Hand. Horses have been friends and companions of Hungarians for centuries, and have entered the nation's social imaginary.

Hortobágy (Hungary) ranger Attila Szilágyi, 49, observes the puszta of Hortobágy National Park as usual with his telescope. “This year it rained half the national average,” he says, ”but it's been a trend for several years. And unfortunately this land does not allow rainwater to come down to replenish the increasingly scarce water table. For the future? I'm not optimistic.”

Budapest (Hungary), the Hungarian Agricultural Museum exhibits the skeletons of Kincsem and Imperiál, two racehorses that were extraordinarily successful in the late 19th century. There is a special relationship between horses and today's Hungarians, whose descendants from nomadic tribes arrived in present-day Hungary on horseback across the great plains of the Puszta in the 11th century.

Tótkomlós (Hungary), a fruit and vegetable shop along the village street in the heart of the Puszta.

Ópusztaszer (Hungary), at Ópusztaszer Heritage Park stuffed rabbits on display in a room dedicated to the world of hunting in the Puszta. Although banned in national parks, hunting is still widespread in Hungary and attracts many foreign hunters.

Hortobágy (Hungary), at sunset a train crosses the Puszta in Hortobágy National Park. Although they are small and slow cars, they provide a valuable service to workers who need to travel along the Debrecen-Tiszafüred route.

Kecskemét (Hungary), at the Collection of Folk Crafts and Arts, a number of elderly women are making textile decorations according to the ancient traditions of the Puszta region, in preparation for an exhibition to be held in the museum's spaces.

Szilvásvárad (Hungary), members of the Hungarian team prepare for the race during the Driving World Championship Four-in-Hand.

Püspökladány (Ungheria), di notte nella puszta di Hortobágyi un gregge di pecore pascola a fianco della strada.

Nagyiván (Hungary), a bit of green life within dry Puszta landscape inside Hortobágy National Park. There is less and less rain in Hungary, and drought is wiping out hectares of steppe and plain year after year, turning it into a desert area.

Szeged (Hungary), university students celebrate in Dugonics Square in front of the university building. Founded along the Tisza River, the natural border of the Hungarian Puszta, it is home to an important agricultural research centre.

Őszeszék (Hungary), a horse on the Platános Kúria estate, an old farm in the Puszta renovated by Helga Benák together with her husband Peter for horse breeding and accommodation.

Tömörkény (Hungary), a young mother with a pushchair and a friend stroll through the Kiskunság Puszta, one of Hungary's two national parks that preserves and protects the ancient steppe with its salt lakes.

Orosháza (Hungary), people await the arrival of the train at a station on the outskirts of the village in the heart of the Puszta and famous for its rich agricultural production and thermal waters.

Őszeszék (Hungary), Helga Benák reads a magazine at Platános Kúria, the estate she has renovated together with her husband Peter and used for horse breeding and accommodation: ‘It hasn't rained for two months,’ explains Helga, 39, ‘and the price of hay for the horses has tripled. We are in a national park, we cannot dig wells, but without water we die. Even the birds are leaving'.

Kócsújfalu (Hungary), two farmers, husband and wife, await the arrival of the shepherd with their cows, taken to graze in the Puszta in the Hortobágy National Park.

Bugac (Hungary), at Karikás Csárda a rider prepares for the show with horse racing in the Puszta. Horses have been friends and companions of Hungarians for centuries, and have entered the nation's social imaginary.

Nagyiván (Hungary), a view of the dry Puszta landscape within Hortobágy National Park. There is less and less rain in Hungary, and drought is wiping out hectares of steppe and plain year after year, turning it into a desert area.

Szilvásvárad (Hungary), an elderly lady sips a glass of white wine in the Driving World Championship Four-in-Hand restaurant.

Ópusztaszer (Hungary), Csete jurták at the Ópusztaszer Heritage Park in the Hungarian Puszta. Designed by architect György Csete, an exponent of Hungarian organic architecture, the buildings are inspired by the ancient yurts of the nomadic peoples, from whom Hungarians are descended.

Szeged (Hungary), two university students pose for a photograph during a party in Dugonics Square, opposite the university building. Founded along the Tisza River, the natural border of the Hungarian Puszta, it is home to an important agricultural research centre.

Kerekegyháza (Hungary), a Eurasian sparrowhawk observed through a mirrored glass shelter inside the Kondor Eco Lodge, a center dedicated to nature photography near Kiskunság National Park in the Hungarian Puszta.

Kerekegyháza (Hungary), at Rendek Eco Farm some students from Szeged Waldorf School chat and relax at sunset. Many schools send their students to the Hungarian Puszta to learn the customs and traditions of traditional Hungary.

Felsőlajos (Hungary), clothes and boots for riders in a changing room at the Tanyacsárda farm, where almost daily there are equestrian shows intended for visitors from around the world. In the Puszta, a flat, steppe-like land, the horse has been the ideal means of travel, work and warfare for centuries.

Felsőlajos (Hungary), horses run free at the Tanyacsárda farm, where almost daily there are equestrian shows intended for visitors from around the world.

Felsőlajos (Hungary), at the Tanyacsárda farm some tourists are taken on a horse-drawn wagon tour. Popular in the Puszta, the csárda was once a place to eat but also a refuge for bandits and outlaws.

Hortobágy (Hungary), the silhouette of a horse in the stable of the Mátai stables in the Hortobágy National Park.

Felsőlajos (Hungary), horsemen during a competition at the Tanyacsárda farm, where almost daily there are equestrian shows intended for visitors from around the world. In the past, Hungarians came to their present homeland on horseback from Central Asia and have maintained a special relationship with them.

Lajosmizse (Hungary), a woman on a bicycle rides past a new motorway under construction. Not far from here, a group of citizens organised a petition to block the motorway from passing through the territory of the Kiskunság National Park. The construction of new motorways in some ways endangers the ecological system of the Hungarian Puszta, which is threatened by advancing modernity.

Szilvásvárad (Hungary), a female member of the Hungarian team awaits the start of the race during the Four-in-Hand Driving World Championship.

Hortobágy (Hungary), the hands of a sheep herder within the grounds of the Hortobágy National Park. The Hungarian Puszta, a steppe-like and scarcely fertile area, has always been used for breeding instead of agriculture.

Harta (Hungary), an elderly woman watches the flow of the Danube River at sunset. Traditionally the Great Hungarian Plain, or Puszta, begins east of the Danube.

Hortobágy (Hungary) ranger Attila Szilágyi, 49, answers the phone from his car while on a tour in the puszta of Hortobágy National Park. “This year it rained half the national average,” he says, ”but it's been a trend for several years. And unfortunately this land does not allow rainwater to come down to replenish the increasingly scarce water table. For the future? I'm not optimistic.”

Felsőlajos (Hungary), a stable hand at work in a stable on the Tanyacsárda farm, where almost daily there are equestrian shows intended for visitors from around the world. In the Puszta, a flat, steppe-like land, the horse has been the ideal means of travel, work and warfare for centuries.

Nagyiván (Hungary), a woman talks to a local cow farmer on the outskirts of the village, which lies in the Puszta of Hortobágy National Park. The Puszta's poorly fertile soil forces workers to opt for animal husbandry, a centuries-old tradition.

Hortobágy (Hungary), the face of a sheep herder within the grounds of the Hortobágy National Park. The Hungarian Puszta, a steppe-like and scarcely fertile area, has always been used for breeding instead of agriculture.

Szilvásvárad (Hungary), a rider prepares her horse during the Driving World Championship Four-in-Hand. Horses have been friends and companions of Hungarians for centuries, and have entered the nation's social imaginary.

Őszeszék (Hungary), cultivation in the Hungarian Puszta. Despite various attempts over the centuries, the land of the Puszta is a poorly fertile, alkaline and sandy steppe, more suitable for farming.

Kócsújfalu (Hungary), a shepherd with binoculars and stick in the Puszta in the Hortobágy National Park. The village of Kócsújfalu during the communist era was one of the detention centres for dissidents, the site of the so-called ‘Hungarian Gulag’.

Hortobágy (Hungary), water buffalo grazing in Hortobágy National Park. The buffalo, which also have to get wet often and cover themselves in mud to protect themselves from insects, have been present throughout the Carpathian Basin for centuries.

Hortobágy (Hungary), a fisherman not far from the famous white stone bridge, once used by shepherds in the Puszta, within the national park of the same name.

Poroszló (Hungary), a tourist family visits the Lake Tisza Ecocentre. Lake Tisza is an artificial lake built in 1973 to provide water for a nearby power plant, limit flooding of the Tisza River but also provide water for irrigation in the Puszta, and a rich biodiversity has developed in the lake over fifty years.

Pusztaottlaka (Hungary), a horse grazes in front of an old war helicopter at the SafariPark. The place name (Pusztaottlaka) means ‘dwelling place in the puszta’.

Kerekegyháza (Hungary), at Rendek Eco Farm a student from Szeged Waldorf School phones her parents while walking in the Puszta at sunset. Many schools send their students to the Hungarian Puszta to learn the customs and traditions of traditional Hungary.