Freight forwarding Pécs – transport to and from the Czech Republic

A former mining city reinvented

Pécs, known in German as Fünfkirchen, has about 140,000 inhabitants and is the centre of Baranya county. It lies on the southern slopes of the Mecsek hills, where coal was mined for decades and later uranium ore. The mines are closed, and industry changed sharply after 1989, when several traditional firms, including glove making and leather processing, disappeared. The university, founded in 1367, is Hungary's oldest, and in 2010 Pécs was a European Capital of Culture.

Today the economy rests on services, education, electronics, crane and machine building, textiles and food. One of Hungary's major breweries is based in the city. Pécs is also known for renewable energy: biomass plants supply district heating and a large solar park stands on the outskirts.

Ceramics and porcelain: fragile freight

The city is famous for porcelain and ceramics with a metallic eosin glaze, used on the roofs and façades of many buildings in Pécs and Budapest. Besides tableware and decorative pieces, producers make ceramic tiles and architectural elements for restoring historic buildings.

Such goods need cartons with padding, non-stackable pallets and as few handling steps as possible. Larger volumes are best moved as a direct full truckload; for a few pallets we choose a service with minimal transhipment.

Villány wine and other goods from Baranya

About 30 km south lies the Villány wine region, Hungary's southernmost and warmest, known for full-bodied reds. The lowlands along the Danube and Drava produce grain, maize and oilseeds. Typical loads to Czechia include:

• bottled red and white wines from Villány and the Mecsek slopes;
• porcelain, ceramics and ceramic tiles;
• beer and other drinks;
• electronic components and machine parts;
• farm commodities from southern Baranya.

Wine dislikes temperature swings. Summers are hot and winters can bring frost, so we use temperature-controlled trucks in both seasons. Czech suppliers send machinery, building materials, glass, packaging, food and retail goods.

The Danube at Mohács

Mohács, about 40 km east of Pécs, has a Danube river port and an industrial park. Bulk commodities, grain and heavy loads move through it by river. There is no road bridge over the Danube at Mohács yet, only a ferry, but a new bridge is under construction and will shorten the way east and towards Serbia. If your goods arrive by river, we arrange onward trucking to Czechia.

Routes and the Croatian connection

The most convenient route from Brno runs via the D2, Bratislava and Rajka to the M1, around Budapest on the M0 and then down the M6 and M60 to Pécs: all motorway, about 550 km from Brno and 750 km from Prague. A shorter option via Győr and western Hungary, around 440 km from Brno, uses mostly trunk roads through towns and villages, which is usually slower for heavy trucks. A full load from Pécs reaches Brno within one working day and Prague the next; pallet groupage takes three to four working days.

The Croatian border is roughly 35 km away, at the Drávaszabolcs/Donji Miholjac crossing on road 58. Croatia joined Schengen and the eurozone in 2023, so border checks have ended and a delivery to Osijek or Zagreb, about 235 km away, combines well with a pick-up in Pécs.

Hungary charges distance-based e-tolls for vehicles over 3.5 t and bans trucks over 7.5 t at weekends and on public holidays.

Practical notes

• The pedestrianised historic centre is closed to trucks; shop and restaurant deliveries go by smaller vehicle.
• For porcelain and ceramics, tell us whether pallets can be stacked and how goods are packed.
• For wine, state bottle and pallet count and the required temperature.