Why the devil?

As the founders point out, the name could refer to a heavy metal concert, but in fact it refers to a local legend. There is a quarry in the village of Nagyharsány, and they say that once the devil had wanted to get the most beautiful girl of the village of Nagyharsány, Harka, but to get her, the devil would have had to plough the valley. He failed so he escaped with shame, having left the stone mine as it looks now. The stone mine is a sculpture park these days, where sculptors create new sculptures and leave them there. This legend can be a symbol of the festival: the evil leaves and hands the floor to art and artists!

Wine and art

Wine is not the protagonist of the festival, since the event is mainly cultural. Short and long theatre plays are performed in unexpected locations (backyards, pubs, football pitches, trenches), music is played for the whole five days, exhibitions open in every corner of the villages. Ördögkatlan is a cultural festival with outstanding evaluation by the Association of Hungarian Festivals. So why are we talking about wine? Because the home of the festival is one of the most precious wine regions of ours, in Villány region, and wineries play a significant role here.

• Vylyan Vineyard and Winery is one of the main settings of the festival. Its huge terrace and the grassy field adjacent to it hosts a permanent exhibition of artistic barrels (contemporary painters and sculptors turned a barrique barrel into a piece of art). This summer Vylyan terrace will host a Pina Bausch exhibition, Péter Sárik jazz concert, a film festival, several public discussions with poets and other programs.

• Csányi Winery, the largest winery of Villány will be found in three locations within the festival, a location even takes its name from the founder of Csányi Winery: Zsigmond Teleki. Teleki liget (Teleki garden) will host several children’s program (eg.: puppet plays) and folk concerts in the afternoons, evenings, for example the jubilee concert of Romungro Gipsy Band.

• Mokos Winery has its stage, this year you can see – among other programs – the Broadway play Doubt by John Patrick Shanley – by outstanding Hungarian actors and actresses.

• Many other wineries are not part of the festival, but serve as an ‘origo’ for your daily programs. Sauska terrace is highly popular during the festival with its breathtaking view, and because it is at the end of Villány – thus the beginning of the festival territory. Gere Attila Winery’s hotel Crocus is a stylish solution if you prefer to stay in a stunning wellness hotel instead of a tent or a country house, and Bock Óbor Restaurant is a great escape if you are fed up with festival food and you want to sit down for a cosy, long lunch without queuing in front of a festival gastro booth.

A film to show the atmosphere of the festival:

More information on programs and tickets

The editors of Hungarianwines.eu will participate this year as well, if you want to meet us, write to us: info@hungarianwines.eu