Turtle Nature Trail opens at the Dunakeszi Auchan Commercial Center

The Turtle Nature Trail, managed by Nhood Hungary and created next to the Dunakeszi Auchan Commercial Center has been completed and inaugurated on August 23, 2023. With its special ecosystem, the trail presents the local peat bog to nature lovers. Pascal Steens, Managing Director of Nhood Hungary, Antal Halász, deputy director of the Danube-Ipoly National Park Administration, and Molnár Szabolcs, co-founder of the Paradigma Ariadné architectural workshop, gave ceremonial speeches on the occasion. The project was implemented as a result of the cooperation of these three companies and is open to visitors from the day of the handover.

At Nhood, our full-service real estate company, we believe in projects that, in addition to economic goals, have a positive impact on our environment and improve people's lives. This is linked to our effort to gradually regreen the commercial locations we manage, contributing to a more livable future with significant green space developments.

The latest example of our company's environmentally conscious approach is the Dunakeszi Turtle Trail, which was handed over today. The concept of the project is based on a study proposed by the Danube-Ipoly National Park Administration. It’s fully connected to our corporate philosophy to increase the value of the property entrusted while also set an example in the field of social responsibility – by spreading knowledge, allowing people to spend their free time valuably as they meet nature and get to know the local peat bog.

During the implementation, we created seven main stations on the 900-meter trail of the peat bog. These include, among others, the boardwalk, the soil chamber, the bird's nest, the observation deck and the turtle sunbather. Paying attention to the preservation of the natural values ​​of the area with a rich ecosystem, we guide nature-loving visitors along a comfortable path, so that they can get to know the local fauna and flora through real experiences.

The nature trail running through marshy areas, reedbeds and along two hidden, permanent ponds was completed in 4 months. There are also four informational pavilions on the route, two of which also function as lookouts. During construction, we used only chemical and solvent-free materials and did not cut down a single tree to create the trail. The blue color of the buildings and the bridge refers to the rarest blue pigment found in nature, a color that hides and signals at the same time. We chose a turtle species – the Emys orbicularis - as the flagship animal of the project, which faithfully symbolizes the character of the area. The nature trail will be accessible from the parking lot of the Auchan Dunakeszi Commercial Center.

It was an important aspect that the location should provide a pleasant pastime for all generations, so we created rest points along the nature trail. In the next phase of the project, next to the Auchan building, a landscaped area and a playground will be developed for children and new commercial units will open as well.


The uniqueness of the project is exemplified by the fact that Dunakeszi is the first commercial center in Hungary that provides customers with this kind of natural attraction. The created educational trail is expected to increase the number of visitors to Auchan Korzó Dunakeszi as people can now include a walk to the peat bog in their shopping trip.

At the handover ceremony, Pascal Steens, Managing Director of Nhood Services Hungary Kft., Rita Rezneki, expert of the Danube-Ipoly National Park Administration and Szabolcs Molnár, co-founder of the Paradigma Ariadné architectural workshop gave ceremonial speeches, after which a joint ribbon cutting took place.

In connection with the project, Csongor Sándor, Real Estate Development Director of Nhood Services Hungary Kft., said:

"We are proud that the Dunakeszi Auchan Commercial Center is expanding with a special natural attraction, allowing people to discover the hidden and until now untouched world of the bogs. Our company is currently the only developer on the Hungarian market who implements projects of this type entirely on its own. These investments are also an integral part of the "People-Planet-Profit" transformation of the shopping centers we manage, during which we create new, mixed-function, attractive, sustainable living spaces in accordance with people's needs."

Szabolcs Molnár, cofounder of the Paradigma Ariadné architectural workshop commented:

"The peat bog area of Dunakeszi has been hiding very interesting stories and challenges from the design phase to the implementation. Stories are very important and telling them and building narratives is an essential quality for us at Paradigma Ariadné. Reflecting on the stunningly rich natural environment, we have placed hidden structures and pathways that invite exploration in themselves in the depths of the Danube marsh. In this wilderness, everyone is a stranger. The structures do not resemble houses or huts, they are artificial "found" objects that hide in the dense vegetation with their generic forms but have not yet blended in completely. In such a privileged natural environment, the responsibility of construction is even greater. Leaving as little impact and trace as possible, we have created a safe and experiential infrastructure capable of guiding us, showing us what we cannot see, encouraging us to explore and telling us stories."