Lake Balaton

Lake Balaton (Hungarian Balaton; Latin Lacus Pelso; German Plattensee; Slovak Blatenské jazero, meaning approximately "muddy lake", probable origin of the name), located in Hungary, is the largest lake in Central Europe. Since Hungary is landlocked, Lake Balaton is sometimes called the "Hungarian Sea". The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and the canalized Sió is the only outflow.

With a surface area of 592 km², Lake Balaton lies approximately at the coordinates , and has a length of 77 km and a width ranging from 4 to 14 km. The lake's surface is 104 m above sea level, and its depth varies up to 12.2 m (mean depth is 3.2 m).

Climate

Lake Balaton affects the local area precipitation. The area receives approximately two-three more inches more precipitation. More cloudy days, less extreme temperatures, and more precipitation than most of Hungary are all because of Lake Balaton. The lake's surface freezes in winter.

Tourist information

High tourist season extends from June until the end of August. The average water temperature during the summer is 25° C, which makes bathing and swimming very enjoyable. Other tourist attractions include sailing, fishing and other water sports as well as visiting the countryside and hills; wineries on the north coast and night life on the south. The Tihany Peninsula is a historical district.

Although the peak season at the lake is summer, the lovers of Balaton think that it is also worth visiting the huge lake in winter, when you can go fishing in the ice-holes, or if the ice is thick enough, brave visitors can even skate, sledge or ice-sail on the lake.

Balaton is served by FlyBalaton Airport. ^* There are scheduled flights from Stuttgart, Copenhagen, Zürich and London Stansted. The lake is also accessible via charter flights from Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Billund and Moscow.

Chief resorts include:

Badacsony - Balatonalmádi - Balatonboglár - Balatonfüred - Balatonlelle - Fonyód - Keszthely - Siófok - Tihany - Vonyarcvashegy

Towns and villages

North shore

From east to west:

Balatonfőkajár - Balatonakarattya - Balatonkenese - Balatonfűzfő - Balatonalmádi - Alsóörs - Paloznak - Csopak - Balatonfüred - Tihany - Aszófő - Örvényes - Balatonudvari - Fövenyes - Balatonakali - Zánka - Balatonszepezd - Szepezdfürdő - Révfülöp - Pálköve - Balatonrendes - Ábrahámhegy - Badacsonytomaj - Badacsonytördemic - Szigliget - Balatonederics - Balatongyörök - Vonyarcvashegy - Gyenesdiás - Keszthely

South shore

From east to west:

Balatonakarattya - Balatonaliga - Balatonvilágos - Sóstó - Szabadifürdo - Siófok - Széplak - Zamárdi - Szántód - Balatonföldvár - Balatonszárszó - Balatonszemes - Balatonlelle - Balatonboglár - Fonyód - Bélatelep - Balatonfenyves - Balatonmáriafürdő - Balatonkeresztúr - Balatonberény - Fenékpuszta

History

Operation Frühlingserwachen was conducted in the region of Lake Balaton in March 1945, being referred to as "the Lake Balaton Offensive" in many English histories of the Second World War. The battle was a German counterattack by Sepp Dietrich's 6.SS-Panzerarmee between March 6, 1945 and March 16, 1945 and resulted in a Red Army victory.

Trivia

Several Ilyushin Il-2 wrecks have been pulled out of the lake, remnants of the Soviet Air Force.

External links

Balaton informational Web site (Hungarian, German, English)
Tourist Information (English)

Gallery

Image:Balaton1.jpg Image:Balaton2.jpg Image:Balaton3.jpg Image:Balaton4.jpg

References

The World Lakes Database entry for Lake Balaton (facts & Figuresa)

Lakes of Hungary

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