Community Location Map
📍 Location: Great Hungarian Plain (Hortobágy National Park / Puszta), Hungary
Overview & Cultural Background
The herders of the Hungarian Puszta maintain a multi-century pastoral tradition on the vast alkaline steppes of the Great Hungarian Plain, centered in the UNESCO-listed Hortobágy National Park. Divided into specialized guilds—horse herders (csikós), cattle herders (gulyás), and sheep herders (juhász)—they maintain distinctive traditional dress, horse-riding acrobatics, and intricate leathercraft.
Puszta pastoralism is renowned for preserving Indigenous livestock breeds adapted to steppe conditions. The grazing of Hungarian Grey cattle and Racka sheep prevents bush encroachment and maintains the delicate ecosystem of Europe’s largest continuous natural grassland.
Key facts
- Estimated Population: Approximately 3,000 active traditional herders (csikós, gulyás, juhász)
- Primary Livestock Herded: Hungarian Grey cattle, long-horned Racka sheep, Mangalica pigs, Nonius horses, and Komondor / Puli herding dogs.
- ️ Contemporary Challenges: Loss of extensive natural grassland to intensive arable farming, strict European conservation constraints, difficulty recruiting young apprentice herders, and climate-induced drying of saline steppe lakes.
Featured Films in the Festival Program
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An afternoon on the pasture ⏱ 370 min | 🌍 Hungary | 🎬 Zsolt Molnár & Sándor Karácsony