Hungary opens fairy tale themed 4.5-hectare corn maze for visitors to explore
Central Europe's largest corn maze, featuring fairy tale characters and a castle, has opened in Kiszombor near the Romanian border. Visitors can navigate the 2.5 km labyrinth until August 22.
A 4.5-hectare corn maze with a fairy tale theme has opened in Kiszombor, Hungary, near the Romanian border. It is Central Europe's largest maize maze, designed this year with shapes of storybook characters, a castle, and a unicorn.
The design was created by Dávid Nagy on his computer using a spreadsheet. The maize plants were cut back when they were only knee-high to make the layout easier to see, and drones were used for final tweaks.
Children are given a map to help find their way, but the 2.5-kilometre-long maze is full of dead ends, making it easy to get lost.
The maze was first launched 18 years ago in nearby Kukutyin by volunteers from the Kiss Mária Hortensia Local History Circle, aiming to attract visitors to the depopulating area. Since then, two to three thousand people visit each year to try traditional skill games and lose themselves in the maize field.
According to Erzsébet Endrész, head of the local history circle and project leader, the main goal has always been to put Kiszombor on the map for Hungarians and other Europeans who enjoy puzzles. "After all, it's essentially a giant escape room," she said. The maize maze is open to visitors until August 22.
