
Location of Lake Balaton within
Hungary
Lake Balaton, in the
Transdanubian region of Hungary
, is the
largest lake in
Central Europe, and one of its
foremost tourist destinations. As Hungary is landlocked, it
is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea".
The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water
to the lake, and the canalized Sió
is the only
outflow.
Name
In
Hungarian, the lake is known
as
Balaton (nicknamed
Balcsi). This name derives
from the South-Slavic
blato, mud (from earlier Pan-Slavic
boltьno), and has no meaning in Hungarian. The
Romans called the lake
Lacus Pelso
("Lake Pelso").
Pelso derives from a local name for the
lake, perhaps from the
Illyrian
language, as the
Illyrians once
populated the region. Paleolinguists surmise that
"Pelso"
meant "shallow" in Illyrian; this deduction is based on a surmised
Proto-Indo-European
root *pels-, and on examples such as the
German name
Plattensee ("shallow
sea"), a name given to the lake by the
Germanic people in the area through the
centuries.
Climate

Map of Balaton in ancient times
Lake Balaton affects the local area precipitation per annum.
The area
receives approximately two to three inches (5-7 cm) more
precipitation than most of Hungary
, resulting
in more cloudy days, and less extreme temperatures. The
lake's surface freezes during colder winters. The climate around
Lake Balaton has also made the region ideal for
viniculture.
Secondary
radiation is reflected from the lake, doubling the amount of
sunlight that the grapevines of the region receive.
The Mediterranean
climate combined with the soil (containing volcanic
rock) has made the region notable for its production of wines since
the Roman period two thousand years
ago.[2677]
Tourist information
The major
resorts around the lake are Siófok
, Keszthely
and Balatonfüred
. Siófok is known often as the "Party Capital
of Hungary", which attracts many young party goers in summer due to
its numerous large discos. Keszthely is the site of the famous
Festetics Palace and Balatonfüred
is a historical bathing town home to the annual
Anna Ball.
The 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 possible. Most of the beaches consist of
either grass, rocks or the silty sand that also makes up most of
the bottom of the lake. Many resorts have artificial sandy beaches
and all beaches have step access to the water. 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 shore.
The Tihany
Peninsula is
an historical district. Badacsony
is a famous volcanic mountain and wine growing
region as well as a lakeside resort.
Although the peak season at the lake is the summer, lovers of
Balaton think that it is also worth visiting the lake in winter,
when you can go fishing through 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 Sármellék International Airport
. (Closed since autumn 2009)
Chief resorts include:
Badacsony
- Balatonalmádi
- Balatonboglár
- Balatonfüred
- Balatonlelle
- Fonyód
- Keszthely
- Siófok
- Tihany
- Vonyarcvashegy
Trivia
- The Hungarian government has started a campaign of promoting
Balaton as a holiday place for young people. There is a slightly
controversial promotional cartoon on the official Balaton tourist
page depicting a man who meets a young blonde girl and makes love
to her on a boat while hiding his wedding ring.
Towns and villages

Towns and villages alongside Lake
Balaton.
North shore
From east to west:
Balatonfőkajár
- Balatonakarattya
- Balatonkenese
- Balatonfűzfő
- Balatonalmádi
- Alsóörs
- Paloznak
- Csopak
- Balatonarács - Balatonfüred
- Tihany
- Aszófő
- Örvényes
- Balatonudvari
- Fövenyes - Balatonakali
- Zánka
- Balatonszepezd
- Szepezdfürdő - Révfülöp
- Pálköve -
Ábrahámhegy
- Balatonrendes
- Badacsonytomaj
- Badacsony
- 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
See also
References
- Balaton
Hungarian Tourist Website
Gallery
Image:Lake Balaton at Keszthely.jpg|Lake
Balaton at Keszthely
Image:Balaton.jpeg|Satellite image of the
lakeImage:Balaton400.jpgImage:Balaton4.jpgImage:Balaton
winter.jpg|Lake Balaton in winterImage:Plattensee in Ungarn
S3000086.jpg|Sunset over BalatonImage:BalatonSunset.JPG|Sunset at
BalatonImage:Balaton Hungary 2005 028.jpg
External links