Siófok (in the Middle Ages: Fuk, formerly: Fok, Old German: Fock)
is a port and resort town in the northeastern part of Somogy county.
The seat of the Siófok district, the most populous and largest area
on the shores of Lake Balaton, is the second most populated
settlement in Somogy county. Until the 1950 county system, the part
of the city west of Sió belonged to Somogy county, and the area to
the east belonged to Veszprém county. It is the 6th most popular
holiday resort in Hungary, based on the total number of guest nights
of commercial accommodation in 2019. The town is famous for its
iconic buildings, great beaches and nightlife. Due to the nearby
settlement of Ságvár, it is one of the oldest inhabited areas around
Lake Balaton.
During the 20th century, the settlements of
Balatonkiliti and Balatonújhely were annexed to the town. The city
got its first name "Sió" from the river Sió flowing through it.
Geography
Siófok is located on the southern shore of the
eastern basin of Lake Balaton, where Sió originates from the lake.
It is bordered on the north by Lake Balaton, on the east by the
undulating plateaus forming the edge of Mezőföld, and on the south
and west by the gentle slopes of Külső-Somogy on the southern side
of Lake Balaton.
Until the 1950 county settlement, the Sió
border line between Veszprém and Somogy counties; Siófok currently
belongs to Somogy county, its second largest city and the largest
settlement on the shores of Lake Balaton. During the 20th century,
its border was extended several times, so today it has 17 kilometers
of the 70-kilometer stretch of the south coast.
Around the
waterfront
The city's coastline can be divided into two sections.
The section west of the Sió Canal is known as the Silver Beach, and
to the east is the Golden Beach. Most of the hotels and the city's
entertainment center, Petőfi promenade, are located on the Golden
Beach. Along the promenade is the tolled Grand Beach, which is
currently (since 2016) called Plázs Siófok. A little further east is
the free beach, which stretches for kilometers all the way to the
Free Bath. The Silver Beach is dominated by one- and two-storey
cottages and boarding houses, there is a free beach along the
shoreline.
History
From ancient times to the Turkish
occupation
The area around Siófok was already inhabited in Roman
times. The Roman conquest reached the area of today's Siófok in
the 1st century, where the route from Sopianae (Pécs) to Tricciana
(Ságvár) to Arrabona (Győr) led. Sectus Aurelius Victor 3-4.
According to his records from the 19th century, Emperor Galerius
built a sluice and cleared forests in 292 to drain the swampy parts
of the Lacus Pelso (the Latin name of Lake Balaton) in what is now
Siófok.
After the conquest, in the founding charter of Tihany
from 1055, we can find a mention of this place: “Rivulus namque, qui
dicitur Fuk fluens”, i.e. on an older bridge and often also on a
ford ”.
Fuk as a village name was first mentioned in writing
among the taxing places in 1137, and is listed as Tabula Hungariae
Fok, published in 1528. The word composition Siófok has been known
since 1790.
After the Tartar invasion, Fok resettled, and
then in 1552 the Turks took control of Fok and its surroundings.
Siófok became a military port and a fortress was built here, the
fortification was on the hill of the “Granarium” near today's
hospital. The countryside was liberated from the Turkish occupation
in 1688. Fok became the property of the Veszprém chapter, which
populated it with settlers, and in 1693 had a wooden church built
for the population.
18–19. century
During Rákóczi's war of
independence, the famous Sió line of Vak Bottyán stretched here, the
final corner point of which was the Siófok fortress. In 1705 II.
Prince Ferenc Rákóczi donated the seal on which the present coat of
arms is based to the village of Fok, and in 1736 the Baroque-style
parish church was built in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the
Virgin Mary.
Significant development began in the 19th
century in the settlement. From 1810, the Transylvanian-Adriatic
express mail service already affected Siófok, but an independent
postal craft only operated here from 1867. Water regulation began in
the village in 1810. Then, based on the idea of water engineer
József Beszédes, the Sió riverbed was cleaned up, mills were
operated again, the water level of Lake Balaton dropped by one
meter, so 51,000 acres of land became free of water, and 6,000 acres
of free land were created under the regulation of Sió.
The
establishment of the Balaton Steamship Company in 1846 brought a
significant change in the life of the settlement. Lajos Kossuth, who
wrote the memorandum of association of the company with his own
hands, and Count István Széchenyi, the heir president of the
joint-stock company, played a major role in this. On September 21 of
the same year, the Kisfaludy wheel steamer was launched.
In
1861, the railway between Buda and Nagykanizsa was handed over to
traffic. The railway station was completed in 1863 (although the
train stopped here as early as 1861), and a year later the first
marina protected by piers was built. In the same year, a new Sió
sluice was opened, the main task of which was to regulate the water
level. The wooden sluice was replaced in 1893 by a sluice made of
iron structure. In 1865, the settlement received the rank of
Mezőváros, ie a national fair permit. At that time, Siófok was a
village with 200 houses and 1,500 souls.
In Siófok, or as it
was called by several people at the time: in Józokfok (according to
sources, this was a descriptive rather than a pejorative term) there
was once a large number of Jews. In the early 1860s, they numbered
347, including 70 merchants, who played a major role in making the
city one of Europe’s most attractive resorts.
In 1866, the first advertisement entitled Balatontavi Bath Siófok
was published in the Zala-Somogyi Gazette. Tenant Ignác Végh entered
into a 12-year bathing right lease agreement with the Veszprém
chapter, which was extended for another 12 years. In 1878, he built
the bathhouse with the inscription "Hungarian Sea", which was built
according to the plans of the construction company Neuschlass, in
Swiss style, with an ornate facade, a lounge for a hundred people,
large windows opening onto the water, a two-storey lookout room and
eighty baths.
The chapter of Veszprém started to parcel out
plots in 1885 and the construction of today's spa began. It is
characteristic of the touching and inspiring attractiveness of the
Lake Balaton landscape that many of the first villa owners were
painters - the villas of Mór Than, Pál Vágó, Tivadar Feledi-Flesch
(son of Mihály Zichy) and Arthur Tölgyessy were already standing in
Siófok at that time.
In 1888, Gábor Baross provided state
support for the reorganization of the Balaton Steamship Company. In
1889 the new passenger ship, the Kelen, was launched, then in 1891
the Helka and the new Kelen were completed.
In April 1891,
the capital group was formed under the name of Siófok Balatonfürdő
Rt., Which redeemed the bathing right from the chapter, bought the
60 acres of bushy, wet, swampy areas needed for construction and
landscaping, and filled it with land. The leader of the company from
1884 to 1905 was Henrik Glatz, the founder of Franklin Literary and
Printing Co. Construction of the larger hotels began: Sió and
Hullám, and later the Central Hotel. The new spa was inaugurated on
18 July 1893, when it was announced that the Minister of the
Interior had authorized the use of the name 'spa' for the spa. The
theatrical life of Siófok, which started in 1875 and featured great
individuals, also belonged to this relaxing environment.
20.century
The Balaton Fishing Corporation started operating in
1900. In the same year, the horse race track with a 1,500-seat stand
was built, the destinations of the Balaton crossing were here, and
every year swimming and tennis competitions enriched the experiences
of the Siófok summer. Through its busy bathing life, Siófok has
become a popular place for artists and actors in the Budapest
bourgeoisie. (Frigyes Karinthy, Gyula Krúdy, Árpád Latabár Jr.,
Gyula Kabos).
The new railway station building was completed
in 1904, and since 1989 we can admire it again in its splendor
similar to the original. The old building, which was located between
the current building and the overpass, was demolished.
The
railway connection with Kaposvár was established on October 23,
1906: the Mocsolád-Tab-Siófok Local Interest Railway started
operating. (Today, the railway line is number 35 on MÁV's schedule.)
In August 1919, the settlement became the center of great
politics for a while, after Miklós Horthy was preparing to defeat
the Soviet Republic, with his troops marching to Transdanubia, and
established his headquarters here.
At the end of the Second
World War, the settlement was badly damaged. The front line that
stretched here for two months has done a lot of damage to coastal
structures, cottages, hostels and residential buildings, and the
fleet. Later, Siófok became the center of trade union and corporate
holidays. Its rebuilt holiday homes, as well as the development of
sewerage, sewage treatment and waterworks, as well as coastal
protection works, have made Siófok the largest, most significant
place in the lake area, which can accommodate large crowds.
During World War II, in 1944, nearly 500 Jews were deported from the
large village, 72 of whom returned after World War II.
In
1947, within the framework of the construction works of the Sió
canal, the new lock was completed, which already made it possible to
transport ships. From 1950 the settlement belongs to Somogy county
and in the same year it also became the district seat. From 1958
onwards, tourism developments began again, as a result of which
foreign guests reappeared. A row of hotels was built in 1962, and
housing construction also revived in the mid-1960s.
December
31, 1968 was the date when Siófok became a city. Shortly before
that, the 400-bed hospital was rebuilt, followed by the cultural
center and library at South Lake Balaton. In 1971, the left-hand
section of the M7 motorway reached the city. From 1975 it was only
necessary to drive to Budapest until Balatonaliga, but it took
another 27 years to complete the entire motorway.
Since the
1990 local elections following the change of regime, the city has
been governed by 18 and since 2010 by 11 members. Taking advantage
of the opportunities, a local newspaper and open-air local
television began operating in the city.
21st Century
For the 2006 summer season, several major spatial planning and
development programs have been completed at the same time. During
the development of the Petőfi promenade, the image of the pedestrian
street, which evoked the standards of the seventies until then,
changed significantly: it received elegant paving, shading elements,
street furniture, cozy terraces, fountains and a permanent space
monitoring system. The renewed pedestrian street is also overseen by
an increased police presence during the summer season and outside
security companies, the beneficial effects of which have been felt
ever since. The developments were initiated by and with the
participation of local entrepreneurs. Due to the location and size
of Jókai Park, it has always been a prominent tourist destination in
Siófok. However, after its reconstruction in 2006, it became the
jewel of the city. With its modern playground, attractive lake and
walking paths meandering among old trees, it has become one of the
best places for family recreation. St. Nicholas Park has also been
given a new look.
This dynamically developing, attractive,
innovative city was renewed in 2011 from the coast to the city
center. More than 6 billion forints of development was implemented
in the city center. During the revitalization of the city center,
the water tower was renovated, the cover and vegetation of the
square were completely replaced, the building of the Regional
Historical Research Institute and Library and the Sió Plaza shopping
center were built. The result is a picture of a new downtown that
matches the resort town atmosphere with its Mediterranean feel.
Today, thanks to quality investments, Siófok has become the
number one wellness and conference center in Southern Transdanubia,
so that in the months following the summer season it is worth
visiting the city even for a long weekend. Developed tourist
infrastructure and year-on-year expanding program offer attract
domestic and foreign guests to Siófok.