Berekalja

Berekalja settlement. Its history is similar to that of many villages in South Transdanubia. It was depopulated in Turkish times and then in the early 18th century German settlers appeared who flourished. In the summer of 1946, at night, in a matter of hours, the entire German-speaking population (13 families) was displaced. At that time, the village even had 12 residential houses, 6 barns and cellars, 1-storey wine house, as well as 5 wells, 1 public well, livestock and belfry. The outermost, largest house of the village, the former episcopal forest house, became state-owned, which functioned as a service apartment and office of the state forestry of Pécsvárad until 1971. He lived in this house until 2018, today Éva Pap, the last resident of Berekalja, who only wrote a book about Berekalja and the herbs of the area, only comes here regularly. For decades, he has been taking notes, photographing, tidying up the environment, picking up or transporting rubbish and, if necessary, guiding tourists who stray. Thanks to Mecsekerdő Zrt., There is a column at the entrance to the former village, symbolizing the old belfry, and an information board with the history of Berekalja.