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Trips to the CountrysideKeszthelyAbout Keszthely With its 24.000 permanent inhabitants, the town of Keszthely, cherishing long-existing traditions is the most densely populated settlement of the Balaton coast and rightly claims the title of the "capital of the Balaton region". It is situated at the north-west end of the Balaton, at the foot of the Keszthely hills. Its natural surroundings have been formed as a result of development which started hundreds of millions of years ago. There have been periods, for example at the beginning of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, when the area was covered with water, the sediments of which formed the dolomite, the material the majority of the hills consist of. The hills themselves emerged much later - about 2 million years ago. In the meantime, however, during the middle Cretaceous period and the Miocene era, this region was a desert, later, in the upper Cretaceous period the climate became wetter, and as a consequence, the desert turned into wetland. In the Pliocene epoch - about 5.5-1.8 million years ago, the territory was covered by the Pannon Sea, the sediment of which was the mica, to be found at the western edge of the Keszthely Hills. At the end of the period as a result of volcanic activities, the basaltic hills, characteristic of the upper Balaton region got formed. The north-south layer movement broke the surface. Along these crevasses valleys appeared, which makes the countryside look spectacularly varied. The area used to be almost completely covered by forests. Human activity, however, managed to change it. On the hill-slopes nowadays one can only see vineyards. The remaining forests consist of mainly Austrian or Turkey oaks (Quercus cerris) and sessile oaks (Quercus petraea). The trees cut down were replaced by Austrian pines (Pinus nigra), on dry dolomite soil, which unfavourably influenced the original flora coverage, so the area occupied by these forests is not going to be enlarged any more. Major sights: –town hall –Monastery of the Franciscan orders –The equestrian statue of Lackfi Istvan –Statue of the Holy Trinity –Festetics castle –Grange Museum –Puppet Museum –Balaton Museum –Marzipan MuseumBalatonedericsAfrica Museum Opening hours: 1st April – 31st October Every day: 09.00-17.00 1st June – 31st August: 09.00-18.00 Services: -Visit to the museum also with German- or English-speaking guides, -Visiting animals within the territory of the museum, -Video film on the fauna of Africa, -Life in Africa and visiting a Massai house, -Riding a camel in a genuine Beduine robe, taking pictures. -Pony-riding, -Playground for children The museum was founded by dr. Endre Nagy. He gathered here his special trophies and ethnographical collection from Tansania. In the museum visitors can see carvings made of wood and bone, trophies, animal skin and objects of African tribes. The museum can be visited during the season: there is a small Safari-park around the building, where we can see african animals in their natural environments: camel, buffalo and zebra.ReziRezi-Castle The castle stands 418 m high on a dolomit hill called Meleg-hegy. It was built around th first half of the 14th century. Since the castle stood desolated for over 200 years, its condition was getting worse continuously. A few years ago one of the walls has collapsed. At this moment were to first steps made to protect this historical monument for the next generations. Not only the wonderful panorama, but also the hill path suitable for walking trips attract the visitors. Only a few minutes walking distance away is a cave called Sikalikja, that is the uprush place of former springs. According to the findings prehistorical people lived in the cave.SzigligetThe most famous sight of the settlement is the castle, which was built by the Benedictines between 1260-62. Later it was owned by Bela IV., who was one of the kings of the House of Arpad. This time the castle had one part, the so called palace. The battlements were built later for protection, during the wars against the Turks. It was burnt down as a result of a stroke of lightning and was exploded due to imperial order. The hill, where the castle stands, is a nature conservation area, we can see here protected and rare plants, as well as special geological formations. Even today excavations are made to find out more about the history of the settlement. From the castle the visitors can enjoy the beautiful scenery, Lake Balaton and the volcanic hills.SumegThe town can be approached easily from the northern part of Lake Balaton. The most famous sight of the city is the castle, that is the biggest fortress of this area, that survived for the posterity. Bela IV.(one of the kings of the House of Árpád) started to build it, and later it was completed by the bishops of Veszprem. The castle stands 270 metres high above the sea-level, it has a polygon ground-plan. Its present size was settled in the 15th century. At the foot of the road that leads to the castle stands a castlestable built in the 18th century, that works as a ride tourist centre. In one of its rooms a Horse Museum can be found.Kis(Little)-BalatonThis area was once the open bay of Lake Balaton, that was filled up with alluvial deposits through the years and became marshy with reed and sedge.. After the drainage in 1922, about half a km2 of the water surface remained. The restoration and anewing inundation of the Kis-Balaton is in progress since 1980. In the middle of the 1980s the new lake was built, which works as a filter. The fact, that Kis-Balaton is a strictly protected nature conservation area since the 1920s, plays an important role in the preservation of natural values. This territory is the part of Balaton-felvidék National Park. The birds of Kis-Balaton can be observed perfectly from Kányavári-island, which is 2 kms away from Balatonmagyaród. The following birds live here: gray and red heron, spoonbill, coot, thrush etc. |
