Alcoholism is a notorious problem in rural areas of Eastern Europe. With a lot of time on their hands and meager economic opportunities, many villagers take to the bottle. This is especially problematic in Hungary. Villagers are adept at making their own spirits. I witnessed this myself a few years back while going to visit a Hungarian in-law. During our visit, we were offered a libation before the noontime. I watched with interest as the drinks were procured from a sort of personal vat of homemade palinka (plum brandy). I did not take a drink, nor did I need too. The aroma of such a pure alcoholic beverage had its own dizzying effect. I say all this with the small town of Tallya, Hungary in mind. This is the next stop on our Center of Europe tours. Tallya has two things to recommend it. One is open to question, the other one requires opening a bottle.

Circling In – A Geometric Problem
Tallya can be found on the fringes of the Zemplen Mountains, one of the most beautiful natural areas in Hungary. Today, Tallya is a town which has seen better days. Most would find it hard to believe that at one time Tallya was the largest town in Zemplen County with almost 4,400 people in the late 18th century. The population has fallen by over half since that time. Tallya still has a few drawing cards. The most important is its location which makes it part of the Tokaj-Hegyalja Wine Region. The wine region is world famous. Cultivating wine around the Tallya area goes back to the Middle Ages when Walloons are believed to have settled in the area and brought their wine expertise with them. The trade was soon bolstered by Italians who came to repopulate the area after the Mongols devastated the region in the 13th century. Later, Tallya’s fame grew. Ferenc Rakoczi II gave a Tallya wine to King Louis XVI of France. This gift is also said to be the genesis for the famous quote, “The wine of kings, king of wines” about the region’s wine. It is not a coincidence that Tallya still garners interest in the wine trade today.
Tallya’s other drawing card came much later. In 1992 a declaration was made that a survey had found that Tallya stood at the geographical midpoint of Europe. The designation likely came as a surprise to its citizens. It is doubtful that they had any idea the town was smack dab in the middle of Europe. The notoriety this brought to Tallya was surely welcome. The town needs all the help it can get in garnering anything that might boost its economic prospects. A monument was placed in the center of town stating that Tallya was the Center of Europe. How the designation was arrived at is cloaked in obscurity. The town has benefitted little from being one of the many possible midpoints. While the claim has not been taken as seriously as several others, no one can say for sure whether Tallya is not Europe’s midpoint. For that matter, no one can say for sure where the midpoint of Europe is located. As the search for the definitive midpoint continues, it is worth visiting the town where all this midpoint madness first began.

Controversial Start – Staking A Claim
I doubt that Szymon Antoni Sobiekrajski had any idea of the centuries of controversy that would ensue when he began making calculations to find the midpoint of Europe. He did this by first finding the most extreme points in Europe, then calculated the exact midpoint between them. This just so happened to be Sucholow in northeastern Poland. The town was located close to one of the last stretches of primeval forest in Europe. That forest still stands today, as does the marker which was set in Suchowola which denotes it as the first of many claims for the Geographical Midpoint of Europe. Whether or not Suchowloa is at the Center of Europe is open to debate. No other claims have placed the Center of Europe in Poland. One of the most striking aspects of the competing claims is just how many nations have only a single claim. These include Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Lithuania. Belarus has multiple claims, perhaps hoping that will make a difference.
The importance of the claim for Sucholow has less to do with whether it is the true midpoint of Europe and more with the fact that it was the first claim. Sobiekrajski must be given credit for inaugurating a largely unscientific practice that is still going strong two and a half centuries later. The residents of Sucholow must be quite pleased with having such a notable, if trivial, attraction in their town. An added perk for anyone who visits the town is that Sucholow also acts as another midpoint. To its north stands the Augustow Primeval Forest, to its south the Bialowieza Forest, these are rare remnants of the old growth forests which once covered much of northern Europe. It is a rare and beautiful landscape, one that has almost entirely vanished from the rest of Europe. Sucholow is not the only midpoint claimant community to be found close to nature in both its pristine and primeval form.

Exceptional Claim – The Center of Nowhere
Ask anyone what river in Eastern Europe has been central to the region’s development and the answer will almost certainly be the Danube. Yet the Danube is only as mighty as the tributaries which flow into it. One of the largest of these is the Tisza River. Its most famous stretch winds its way through eastern Hungary. Less well known is the Upper Tisza which demarcates part of the Ukraine-Romania border. In sub-Carpathian Ukraine, close to the banks of the Tisza, stands another geographical midpoint of Europe monument. This one, a small white Obelisk with sky blue trim, can be found in the village of Dilove.
The monument was placed here after Austro-Hungarian geographers decided Dilove was the midpoint of Europe. Traveling to see the monument is a worthwhile pursuit, if for no other reason than the lovely nature which surrounds it. The Tisza flows wild and unchecked not far from the monument. The scenery here is just as wild as the claim that the Center of Europe resides here. While Austria-Hungary may have collapsed, the monument still stands. Empire’s love to make exceptional claims, but as we are about to see, so do nations.