Countrywide Blue Tour in Hungary - The History of The Countrywide Blue Tour

The History of The Countrywide Blue Tour

The Countrywide Blue Tour (simply Blue Tour, or Tour) was the first long distance walking route not only in Hungary but in the whole of Europe. Its path was signed first time in 1938, its length was 910 km in that time. A lot of Hungarian hikers began the completion of the Tour after the World War II., so the Nature Rambler Section of the Lokomotív Sport Club of Budapest announced the countrywide walk on the "blue" hiking path in 1952.

The Nature Rambler Section's Committee of Railway Employee's Union developed this issue on national level in 1953, and published the first brochure, which showed the whole route in map sketches.

Later the organising and controlling of the Countrywide Blue Tour movement was taken over by the Hungarian Rambler's Association "Friends of Nature" (MTSZ) in 1961.

But the Blue Tour was known only among the hikers until the beginning of the ’80s, when the Hungarian TV broadcast a series about the route of the Tour. The organiser and editor of this series was Pál Rockenbauer, that time he worked in the editorial office named “Natura” of the Hungarian TV.

Pál Rockenbauer organised a small team and they completed the Countrywide Blue Tour during 76 days in eastern-western direction. They carried everything (cameras, films and other equipment) in their backpacks and had done the whole work without any external help.

Their work was very successful, the series drew the people’s attention to the Countrywide Blue Tour. Everybody got to know the Tour in Hungary and many people began the completion of it. A lot of hikers have the series on video or DVD at home.

Pál Rockenbauer died in year 1987 during a tour on the paths of the Blue Tour close to village Katalinpuszta at the foot of the Naszály Mountain. A wooden headboard column cherishes his memory on that place beside the path of the Countrywide Blue Tour.