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25-519: Virovitica County shared borders with the Hungarian counties of Somogy , Baranya , Bács-Bodrog , and the Croatian-Slavonian counties of Srijem , Požega and Bjelovar-Križevci . The county stretched along the right (southern) bank of the river Drava , down to its confluence with the river Danube . Its area was 4,867 km (1,879 sq mi) around 1910. The territory of Virovitica County

50-523: A center of research by Hungarian biologists, geologists, hydrologists, and other scientists, leading to the country's first biological research institute being built on its shore in 1927. The last major German offensive of World War II , Operation Spring Awakening , was conducted in the region of Lake Balaton in March 1945, being referred to as "the Lake Balaton Offensive" in many British histories of

75-413: A few settlements on Lake Balaton, including Balatonfüred and Hévíz , have long been resort centres for the Hungarian aristocracy, it was only in the late 19th century that the Hungarian middle class began to visit the lake. The construction of railways in 1861 and 1909 increased tourism substantially, but the post-war boom of the 1950s was much larger. By the turn of the 20th century, Balaton had become

100-524: Is a freshwater rift lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary . It is the largest lake in Central Europe , and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and the canalized Sió is the only outflow. The mountainous region of the northern shore is known both for its historic character and as a major wine region , while

125-497: Is a historical district. Badacsony is a volcanic mountain and wine-growing region as well as a lakeside resort. The lake is almost completely surrounded by separated bike lanes to facilitate bicycle tourism. Although the peak season at the lake is the summer, Balaton is also frequented during the winter, when visitors go ice-fishing or even skate, sledge, or ice-sail on the lake if it freezes over. Sármellék International Airport provides air service to Balaton (although most service

150-466: Is known for attracting young people to it because of its large clubs. Keszthely is the site of the Festetics Palace and Balatonfüred is a historical bathing town which hosts the annual Anna Ball . The peak tourist season extends from June until the end of August. The average water temperature during the summer is 25 °C (77 °F), which makes bathing and swimming popular on the lake. Most of

175-508: The Bulgarians and the Moravians. The German name for the lake is Plattensee . It is unlikely it was given that name for being shallow because the adjective platt is a Greek loanword that was borrowed via French and entered general German vocabulary in the 17th century. It is also noteworthy that the average depth of Balaton (3.2 m or 10 ft) is not extraordinary for

200-565: The Eastern Bloc . West Germans could also visit, making Balaton a common meeting place for families and friends separated by the Berlin Wall until 1989. The major resorts around the lake are Siófok , Keszthely , and Balatonfüred . Zamárdi , another resort town on the southern shore, has been the site of Balaton Sound , a notable electronic music festival since 2007. Balatonkenese has hosted numerous traditional gastronomic events. Siófok

225-477: The Kingdom of Hungary . Its territory, which was slightly larger than that of present Somogy county, is now in south-western Hungary . The capital of the county was Kaposvár . Somogy County shared borders with the Hungarian counties of Zala , Veszprém , Tolna , Baranya , Verőce and Belovár-Körös (the latter two part of Croatia - Slavonia ). It extended along the southern shore of Lake Balaton and encompassed

250-585: The Slavic prince Pribina began to build a fortress as his seat of power and several churches in the region of Lake Balaton, in the territory of modern Zalavár surrounded by forests and swamps along the Zala River . His well-fortified castle and capital of the Lower Pannonian Principality became known as Blatnohrad or Moosburg (literally, 'Swamp Fortress'), and it served as a bulwark against both

275-519: The Treaty of Trianon the county became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamed to Yugoslavia). It was formally abolished in 1922 when the Vidovdan Constitution came into effect. The county's former territory has been part of Croatia since it became independent from Yugoslavia 1991. In 1900, the county had a population of 243,101 people and was composed of

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300-418: The area (cf. the average depth of the neighbouring Neusiedler See , which is roughly 1 m or 3.3 ft). Lake Balaton affects precipitation in the local area. The area receives approximately 5–7 cm (2–3 in) more precipitation than most of Hungary, resulting in more cloudy days and less extreme temperatures. The lake freezes over during winters. The microclimate around Lake Balaton has also made

325-411: 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 nightlife on the south shore. The Tihany Peninsula

350-399: The county had a population of 345,586 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: In 1910, the county had a population of 365,961 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: According to the census of 1910, the county

375-401: The flat southern shore is known for its resort towns . Balatonfüred and Hévíz developed early as resorts for the wealthy, but it was not until the late 19th century when landowners, ruined by Phylloxera attacking their grape vines , began building summer homes to rent out to the burgeoning middle class. In distinction to all other Hungarian endonyms for lakes, which universally bear

400-413: The following linguistic communities: Total: According to the census of 1900, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: In 1910, the county had a population of 272,430 people and was composed of the following linguistic communities: Total: According to the census of 1910, the county was composed of the following religious communities: Total: From 1854, under

425-467: The name Osijek county, it was divided into the following districts ( Bezirke ): The city of Osijek ( German : Essek ) was directly subordinate to the county (i.e. separate from the Essek district). The administrative structure was reverted in 1860. In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Verőce county were: Somogy County (former) Somogy was an administrative county ( comitatus ) of

450-643: The number of overnight guests in local hotels and campsites to increase from 700,000 in July 1965 to two million in July 1975. The number of weekend visitors to the region, including tens of thousands from Budapest, reached more than 600,000 by 1975. It was visited by ordinary working Hungarians, and especially for subsidised holiday excursions by National Council of Trade Union ( Hungarian : SZOT: Szakszervezetek Országos Tanácsának ) members to exclusive hotels and small resorts ( Hungarian : üdülő ingatlan ) for them. It also attracted many East Germans and other residents of

475-544: The region ideal for viticulture . The Mediterranean-like climate, combined with the soil (containing volcanic rock), has made the region notable for its production of wines since the Roman period 2,000 years ago. It always has been an important location, both tactically and culturally(with many folk tales surrounding it). During the Ottoman wars played an important role in defending Royal Hungary where even battles were fought. While

500-474: The region south of the lake. The river Drava (Hungarian: Dráva) formed most of its southern border. Its area was 6530 km around 1910. In the 10th century, the Hungarian Nyék tribe occupied the region around Lake Balaton , mainly the areas which are known today as Zala and Somogy counties. Somogy County arose as one of the first comitatuses of the Kingdom of Hungary , in the 11th century. In 1900,

525-553: The suffix -tó 'lake', Lake Balaton is referred to in Hungarian with a definite article; that is, a Balaton 'the Balaton'. It was called lacus Pelsodis or Pelso by the Romans . The name is Indo-European in origin, derived from Slavic * bolto (Czech bláto , Slovak blato , Polish błoto ), meaning 'mud, swamp' (from earlier Proto-Slavic boltьno , cf. Slovene : Blatno jezero , Slovak : Blatenské jazero ). In January 846,

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550-543: The war. The battle was a German attack by Sepp Dietrich 's Sixth Panzer Army and the Hungarian Third Army between 6 and 16 March 1945, and in the end, resulted in a Red Army victory. Several Ilyushin Il-2 wrecks have been pulled out of the lake after having been shot down during the later months of the war. During the 1960s and 1970s, Balaton became a major tourist destination due to focused government efforts, causing

575-473: Was composed of the following religious communities: Total: The city of Siófok , which was in Somogy county before the 1850s, reverted from Veszprém county to Somogy county before World War II. After World War II, the district of Szigetvár went to Baranya county. In the early 20th century, the subdivisions of Somogy county were: Lake Balaton Lake Balaton ( Hungarian: [ˈbɒlɒton] )

600-546: Was part of the Kingdom of Croatia when it entered into a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102, and with it became part of the Habsburg monarchy in 1526. It was conquered by the Ottoman Empire between 1541 and 1552. Ottoman rule in it lasted until 1687. The County was re-established as a county of the Kingdom of Slavonia in 1718, after it was retaken from Ottoman rule. In 1854, as part of Bach 's reforms, it

625-495: Was renamed Osijek County ( Comitat Essek ) and its territory changed: its western areas around Voćin , Slatina and Virovitica passed to Požega County and it absorbed the western parts of the former County of Syrmia around Vukovar . (The eastern part of Syrmia now belonged to the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar .) These changes were reversed in 1860. In 1868 it became part of Croatia-Slavonia . In 1920, by

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