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Siofok
Welcome in Siófok’s touristical portal!
Hearing, reading the name Siófok, means different memories in everybody. Our town is not only a dynamic development, characterizes both vivacity and variegation. Neither the name is random: The name is not also a random: Siófok is the Capital of Summer. Would you like to look back at the town’s past, are you interested in itslocation, would you like to know any useful information?
Geographical review
Siófok lies on the southern shore of the Lake Balaton, the mouth of the Sió Canal. For the 1950’s county directing, the Canal was the dividing line between Veszprém and Somogy counties, before this Siófok belonged to Veszprém county, after and now Siófok belongs to Somogy county. The town’s current extent reached in 1960, then attached Balatonkiliti with Balatonújhely, and the coastal areas of Balatonszabadi. Today the town is the second largest in the county, and the biggest on the lakeshore.
In Siófok there are two well-known coastline, named Gold and Silver Coasts. The Gold Coast is situated on the eastern side of the city, near to Szabadifürdő, with multi-storeyed hotels, and resorts. The Silver Coast lies in the western side of the city, on the part of Széplak. Can be seen mostly smaller family resorts in this pleasant and shady area. The arriving guest can also find free beaches both of the Gold and the Silver Coasts.
Transport informations
Easy to approach Siófok from Budapest and Nagykanizsa on the motorway number 7, or the road number 7, and from Szekszárd and Tamási on the road number 65. Like a railway junction receives the traffic from three directions too (Budapest-Székesfehérvár-Nagykanizsa, and Kaposvár-Siófok). On water is in touch with the nortern shore like Balatonfüred and Tihany Peninsula and with the ports of the occidental basin like Keszthely. Next to the city part called Balatonkiliti there is an aeroport.
From the bus station, which is located in the centre of the town, 7 autobus carry the passengers to the different points of the city, in addition here welters the autobus traffic to the internal parts of Somogy county, to the big cities in the Transdanubian region, to Szeged and to the capitol.
Next to the bus station can be found the railway station, where trains depart and arrive from the different parts of the country.
The water transport on the lake is weltering by the Balaton Shipping Co., which has scheduled and cruise services to offer. Most of the passenger sailing traffic is done by 26 motor passenger ships, and between the northern shore and the southern shore of the lake (Szántódrév-Tihanyrév), 4 ferries can be seen as a bridge linking. The schedules and any further information on +36 84 312 144 telephone number, and on the page (linkelés!!!www.balatonihajozas.hu/en)
In the air traffic of the city the Siófok-Kiliti airport is competent. It deals with hiring airplanes, airtrips, parachuting. For more information please call +36 84 522 010 telephone number.
Historical review
Back in the ancient times life had a beat on the shores of Lake Balaton, even the Romans fancied it – Pelso, as they called the lake – as shown by archaeological evidence. This all stayed the same with the arrival of the Magyars, indeed, the deed of the Abbey of Tihany, the first time Hungarian language found its way into a written text, refers to the settlement of Siófok by name. In the Finno-Ugric tongue, both parts of the word, Sioand fok, mean current, orcanal - thus the name of the settlement refers twice towater. Siófok was captured in no time by the Turks. They went about building a fortess, which, at the time of the Kuruc uprising against Habsburg oppression, came perfectly in handy for the Magyars, the forces of Vak (blind for one eye) Bottyán.
The construction of the Southern Railwayin1861 was a turning point in the history of the town. The once dusty village overnight became the nation’s bathing capital. Nearly all those on their way to Lake Balaton passed through Siófok’s yellow brick railway station - for with the branch line, one could get to the community of Füred four hours faster via the Kisfaludy ferry at Siófok, than by travelling directly from Budapest to Füred by way of mail-coach. The road houses and music pubs popped up one after another, as did the Sió Locks and the harbour, meanwhile, little palace-like resorts sprung like mushrooms from the ground. Then,in 1878,the now legendary wooden bathhouse was built in a manner decidedly Swiss, the ornately carved facade of which nonetheless featured the proud in scription “Hungarian Sea“, and people came here verily from all parts of Europe to splash about. When not in the water they were up in the scenic viewing room on an upper floor of the bathhouse,or else having a good old time in the social room, which accommodated 100 people.
Siófok embodied the happy peacetime charm that characterized the golden age of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy thus perhaps it wasn’t at all a coincidence that it was here of all places that „Mr.Operetta”, Imre Kálmán, was born and it was this world that he breathed, only to go on to compose such famous works as the “The Csárdás Queen“,“Countess Marica“ and “The Violet of Montmartre“.
Climatic review
The water of the Balaton is really favourable, as a result of the shallow dept the lake warms up quickly. The pretty spring weather already in May makes suitable the water for bathing.
The prevailing wind is the nordwester, and from south is the southwester. Windcalm occurs mostly in the months of autumn.
Storm on Lake Balaton brings especially danger for the sailors and bathers, because the wind suddenly – almost without transition – can become catastrophic. From 1st of April to 31st of October flashing yellow lights warn of the approching storms on the Lake Balaton. In the eastern basin 9 signaling device is placed by the Strom Signaling Service.
Level I storm warning: indicated by a yellow light flashing 45 times a minute
- it is prohibited to stay in the lake over a 500m wide zone off the shore.
Level II storm warning: indicated by a yellow light flashing 90 times a minute
- it is prohibited to stay in the lake.
The number of the sunshine hours in Siófok is 2100, which is slightly lower than the country’s sunniest clime, the Plain.
Thewettest month is May, and it follow November and June. In May there is a lot of rain from local showers, because of the land’s warming up.
Thehumidity of Siófok’s air is higher than the national average, because of the proximity of the Lake. (linkelés: met.hu/balaton)
On the Lake watercraft use is prohibited!
