Siófok

You have been marked on my profile map! Click to make your own visitor map.During the summers Siófok becomes the 'capital' of the southern shore of Lake Balaton. In this atmospheric holiday resort the first bathing house was built in 1878 and, as the plaque on the building testifies, Lake Balaton was affectionately nicknamed the 'Hungarian Sea', a name that is used to this day. Tree-lined promenades, several kilometres of public beaches, and cultural and gastronomic events all attract visitors to the area. The history of today's city may be traced back a long way. In the oldest historical document in Hungarian language, the foundation documents of the Tihany Abbey, we find the first written record of the small river, Sió, leading from the Balaton. Later adopting the name of the river, the village of Fok is mentioned in tax records from 1137. The express mail coach between Transylvania and the Adriatic already had a route through the settlement in 1810. The train line running along the southern shore of Lake Balaton was inaugurated in 1861 and there was a stop at Siófok. From 1865 a regularly scheduled steamboat made two stops daily at the pier protected marina. Bathing culture in Siófok began to develop in 1866 and the first bathing house was completed in 1878. Built in a Swiss style it had 80 cabins, a saloon that could accommodate 100 and an upstairs room that served as a lookout.The Siófok Balaton Bathing Co. founded in April 1891 purchased the bathing rights along the lake. The shoreline was banked up and a 34-hectare bathing area was developed, including the then modern Sió and Wave Hotels, restaurant, coffee house and promenade. The resort was turned over to the public after two years of work in 1893, the year that Siófok was officially named a city of medicinal baths.The bubbling life of a bathing resort was supported by cultural and sporting events and before long a theatre and a horse racecourse with a stand for 1,500 were also built. Swimming events across the Balaton and tennis matches were held regularly and it was here that the first water polo match in Hungary was held. Suddenly residential villas began to pop up around the town and alongside this rapid development came new bathing facilities, pools and hotels. After World War I the most savage retributions in Transdanubia took place in Siófok. In August 1919 almost all of the larger private villas and hotels served either as prisons, military dormitories or officers' quarters. After the consolidation achieved in 1921 the Balaton Association (Balatoni Társaság) was formed in Budapest, a literary, scientific and artistic association that represented the devotees of the Balaton.Battles of World War II raged for two months over this militarily strategic location. Significant damage was done to the hotels, restaurants, the parks, bathing establishments and villas along the shore. After the war the new regime designated Siófok a workers' holiday centre. The pace of construction was astonishing: in the beginning of June 1947 there were already 10,000 visitors, while ten years later official records knew of 114 trade union vacation facilities. During the 1960's hotel construction began on a large scale. Following completion of the Vénusz, Sunshine (Napfény), Balaton, Lidó and Hungária hotels, the largest hotel facility was opened in 1965, the 13-storey Europe Hotel. Since then other new hotels and inns continue to be built. In an eastern direction the stretch of hotels along the shore is referred to as the Gold Coast (Aranypart). Its continuation is the Szabadi Baths and Szabadi-Sóstó. To the west is Széplak where the area known as the Silver Coast (Ezüstpart) spreads out. Siófok was granted city status on 31st December 1968. How to get there: By railway it may be reached on the Budapest-Nagykanizsa route; 14 trains a day departing from Budapest Déli and Kelenföld stations and 17 from Székesfehérvár stop at Siófok. Seven Volán coaches a day serve Siófok departing from Budapest Népliget terminal, via Székesfehérvár. From Veszprém terminal, local Volán buses serve Siófok at irregular times, direct runs depart an average of once an hour. By car from from Budapest, take the M7 motorway or route 70. The city is connected to the west by route 7 and to Southern Transdanubia by route 65. Its marina has the highest volume of traffic among the Balaton marinas. The nearby Balatonkiliti operates a small airport capable of accepting small craft.