Jakab-hegy

The mountain was mostly formed during the Paleozoic Era and consists of Permian sandstone.^[1] The erosion of sandstone created the natural sites of the hill: the Babás Szerkövek (literally, "man-like stones in a row") and Zsongorkő (Zsongor's stone).^[2]

Jakab-hegy contains the only significant uranium-reserve in Hungary. Mining began in the 1950s with the help of the Soviet Union and served both the Russian nuclear arsenal and Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant near the small town of Paks. Due to the high costs of production and the relatively low price of uranium after the Cold War the mines were closed in the 1990s.^[3]

The plateau of Jakab-hegy provided an attractive opportunity for human settlement. During the Iron Age, a huge fort was created upon the earlier encampments which became an important oppidum and political centre of the Hallstatt culture and later the Celts. The fort was abandoned due to Roman conquest, however, its ramparts are still visible.

During the Middle Ages a small village was formed inside the then-abandoned fort. Its church's patron saint was James the Great, thus gained the hill its name. In 1225, a monastery was built upon the church for the local hermits by the Bishop of Pécs. The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit partially stemmed from this community. The monastery was abandoned during the Ottoman occupation, but was renovated and expanded in the 18th century. It fell into disrepair after the monastic order was outlawed by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor in 1780. Today only the monastery's preserved ruins remain.^[4]