Tapolca (German: Toppoltz) is a city in Veszprém County, the seat of the Tapolca district. Until the 1950 county settlement, the settlement belonged to Zala County.
Tapolca is located on the western edge of the Balaton Uplands, in the middle of the Tapolca Basin. The city is surrounded by the basalt mountains of the Tapolca Basin. Where basalt spilled onto sediments deposited from the waters of the former Pannonian Sea, it protected them from the abrasive work of wind and water. This is how the cone or coffin-shaped witness hills “certifying” the former height of the space were formed. The main road 77 between Veszprém and Lesencetomaj avoids the city from the south. The city's railway station is the junction of the Balatonszentgyörgy – Tapolca – Ukk and Székesfehérvár – Tapolca railway lines.
As a trace of the oldest settlement, the i. e. 5500-i. e. Remains of
a Neolithic house belonging to the Körös-Starčevo culture between
4500 were excavated in 1987 in the Church Yard. A late Iron Age
cemetery has been excavated near the old brick factory.
The
Romans described 1–4. 6-meter-wide stone roads built in the 16th
century can be found in several parts of the city. The Romanized
population lived under Hun rule until 453, and then the area was
ruled by Longobards until 586.
It is first mentioned in
writing (1182-1184) when III. King Béla (named Csump) donated a rake
between Tapolca and Keszi to his court priest. The name Tapolcza is
of high origin of Hungarian origin (or a source of hot water of
Slavic origin). II. Around 1217, King Andrew donated the area to
Spaniard Turul, then his name became Turultapolcza. Traces of the
mansion and Romanesque church built at that time have survived. It
was again a royal estate in 1346, and according to one of the deeds,
in 1347 King Louis the Great donated it to the monks of the
Carthusian monastery in today's Városlőd, who developed the market
town into one of their estate centers. The city became the tithe
collection center of the diocese of Veszprém, a customs office and
the center of the diocese of Zala.
In the middle of the 15th
century, the Carthusians surrounded their manor house with walls and
fortifications. The Turkish armies occupied the city with their
campaign in 1554.
In the 17th century, when the town became
the property of Bishop Márton Padányi Biró of Veszprém, the defense
system was built again. At that time its status: a fortified
episcopal market town, 7 oxen, 21 infantry serfs and 41 free-haired
people lived here. He also played a role in the Rákóczi War of
Independence.
At the time of the 1770 census, 1,850 people
lived in 374 market-town families. The population grew rapidly, by
1802 there were already 2,472 people living in the city, mostly
Catholics. He lost the rank of Mezőváros in 1871, yet he developed
rapidly.
The Tapolca – Sümeg railway line was built in 1891,
the Tapolca – Keszthely railway line in 1903 and the Tapolca –
Budapest railway line in 1909, which was of great importance in the
civilization of the city. Several public institutions settled in the
city, which became the district seat. It was devastated by fire in
1863 and 1908.
Development was also facilitated by the
vineyards planted in the area. In Tapolca in 1925, 15 of the 25
wholesalers traded in wine. The number of industrial workers has
also increased in wood processing, distillery and railways. In World
War II, the settlement suffered enormous losses: eight hundred
Jewish residents were deported.
On March 31, 1966, the
settlement was inaugurated as a city again, and in the same year it
became the center of bauxite mining in Bakony. At that time, the
development of the city gained new momentum, the Bauxitváros
residential area known for its Y-houses was built, new factories
were built (such as a basalt wool factory), trade expanded, the
school network was built, and public cultural facilities were
established. The city has become a small supply town in the Balaton
Uplands.
Tapolca is easily accessible from all directions,
the city can be reached by three railway lines and seven roads.
Road
The shortest route connecting Aquincum to Italy passed
through its Roman predecessor Tapolca. Currently, important routes
meet in Tapolca. Today we can reach Veszprém and Balatonederics on
the main road 77, Lake Balaton (Badacsonytomaj) on the 7316 road,
Keszthely, Devecser on the 7317 road, Szigliget and Hegymagas on the
7318 road, Sümeg on the 7319 road, and on the way to Kisapáti and
Nemesgulács. In order to relieve the city center, the last section
of the road bypassing the settlement from the south was completed in
2002.
Regular long-distance bus services started in 1929.
Nowadays, all the surrounding settlements as well as many cities in
Transdanubia can be reached by direct bus. As of 1 July 2013,
together with the launch of the electronic toll payment system, the
main road 77 was created from the connecting road between
Veszprém-Tapolca-Lesencetomaj main road 8401, so the city was also
connected to the main road network. This main road bore the number
74 until the 1960s, then it was given the number 7301, but it was
essentially always a main road, also numbered as the remaining 7301
road.
Railway
The first of the railway lines to Tapolca
was the section between Tapolca and Sümeg, handed over in 1891, and
then in 1903 between Tapolca and Keszthely. These sections are part
of the Balatonszentgyörgy – Tapolca – Ukk railway line. The
Székesfehérvár line, which provides a connection to Budapest, was
opened in 1909. Until the lines of the Southern Railway were taken
over by MÁV, the trains from Tapolca traveled to Budapest by
touching the station Adonyszabolcs (now called Pusztaszabolcs). Due
to the railway junction thus formed, Tapolca is often referred to as
the northern gate of Lake Balaton.
Many settlements in
Transdanubia can be reached directly from Tapolca. On the Budapest –
Balatonfüred – Tapolca route we can travel by fast trains.
The industrial railway in Zalahaláp, which is now decommissioned,
was built in 1927. The narrow-gauge railway connecting Tapolca and
the Diesel quarry operated from 1943 to 1982, with basalt
transporting basalt to the main railway transhipment.
Urban
public transport
The first city bus line was established in 1958
between the train station and the hospital. Currently, urban
transport is provided by Tapolca City Management Ltd. The bus is
operated by a roundabout operated by Juhász Gy. u. - Republic Square
- Ady E. u. - Sümegi út - Május 1. u. - Keszthelyi út - Dobó tér -
Keszthelyi út - Railway station - Május 1. u. - Sümegi út - Deák F.
u. - Kossuth L. u. - TESCO - (Diszel) - TESCO - Berzsenyi u. -
Juhász Gy. U. is on a route. The journey time is 40 minutes,
touching Diszel is 50 minutes. The tracking interval varies between
20 and 50 minutes, depending on the day and time of day.
Caves
Experts have proved that several excavated caves in
Tapolca form a common system, making it the fourth longest cave
system in Hungary.
The total length of the Tapolca Spring
Cave is 3280 meters - although according to the head of the local
cave research group, Rezső Szilaj, the length of the excavated cave
system is 8700 meters - and its depth is 16 meters from the
entrance. It was formed by water entering the cracks in the
limestone. The cave was discovered during excavation in 1903, on the
plot of baker Pál Tóth (masons Ferenc Németh and Gyula Biró
[granddaughter of Gyula Biró, poet and literary historian István
Péter Németh of Tapolca). In 1912, the electric lighting was
completed and the cave was opened to visitors. The cave was
anhydrous for a long time due to the subsidence of the bauxite
mining in Nyírád and was closed. After the mining was completed, the
karst water level was restored and a 250 m section (of which 180 m
was to be done by boat) was reopened. The depth of the water on the
boat tour is 0.4–3 m. Three people can sit in one boat, the vehicle
can be loaded up to 220 kg. The boating section has a throughput of
130 visitors per hour. Most of the spring cave is under water and
cannot be visited. The visitable area can be reached by 73 steps.
Inside the temperature is 20 ° C, the relative humidity is more than
90%.
On January 20, 2015, the 770-square-meter, ten-room
visitor center of the Spring Cave opened.
The total length of the Hospital Cave is 2850 meters, the depth
from the entrance is 14 meters dry and 36 meters under water. The
cave was discovered in 1925 during the construction of the lung
pavilion on the hospital grounds. The cave was not cared for at the
time, its flights were largely filled with rubble. Only more than a
decade later, in 1937, Kessler Hubert surveyed the flights, and at
his suggestion the rubble was excavated and pillars were built in it
in the necessary places to strengthen the foundations of the
hospital. During the Cold War, they wanted to build it into an
underground hospital, fortunately the work (due to lack of money)
was interrupted at the beginning. Attention was again focused on the
cave when the beneficial effects of being down were shown. Since
1972, it has been used for people with respiratory diseases and
therapeutic treatments. The hospital thus had a unique opportunity:
as if the hospital had been built above the cave. Patients do not
have to step out into the street either: patients can enter the cave
by elevator and continue breathing therapy under medical supervision
in the dry, spacious rooms of the cave. The respiratory therapy was
initially led by dr. On the initiative of Tibor Horváth, the
Hospital Cave has been a healing cave since 1982. Tibor Horváth's
operation abroad was also surrounded by recognition: he headed the
Speleotherapy Committee of the International Union of Speleology for
years. The cave is currently being explored and explored.
On
November 26, 2010, two more cave lakes were discovered in the Károly
Berger Cave in Tapolca, with a diameter of 23 and 30 meters,
respectively, so currently they are the largest cave lakes in
Hungary. The Tapolca Plecotus Cave Research Group, which has been
researching the spring cave since 1986, began in 2002 to explore a
cave formed in the limestone deposited in the former shallow sea.
The two cavities can be descended through a twelve meter deep well.
Museums
City Museum (Church Hill 8; 46 ° 52 '58.6308 "N, 17 °
26' 34.7316" E). A local history exhibition and a school museum have
been set up in one of the oldest folk high schools in Central
Europe. According to old documents, the Kántorház, built on the
ruins of the castle of the former border castle, stood as early as
1726. János Batsányi (1763-1845), the great poet of the
Enlightenment, studied lettering within his walls. The museum was
originally a collection of pedagogical history, then it was
supplemented with archeological, historical, ethnographic,
industrial history and fine arts material presenting the city. Finds
from local excavations can be seen here, and a stone storehouse
awaits visitors. Open May 31 Monday-Friday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m .; in
summer except Mondays from 10:00 to 17:00 (Trip Planner).
Marton
Gallery is a permanent exhibition of the works of László Marton
Temples
Catholic Church (Church Hill; 46 ° 52 '58.6308 "N, 17
° 26' 34.7316" E). The original building was even erected by Ispán
Turul in the first half of the 13th century, which is now largely
indicated by a Romanesque-style window on the south side. At the
beginning of the 15th century, the Carthusians supplemented this
with a shrine with a Gothic cross-ribbed ceiling. On the south outer
wall of the sanctuary is a fragment of a fresco by St. Christopher -
in the form of this St. Joseph, the artist immortalized King
Sigismund. The church, damaged during Turkish times, was restored by
Bishop Márton Padányi Biró of Veszprém in 1756-1757, and a Baroque
ship was built at the same time. At the end of the 19th century, the
parish priest Joseph Ley had two oratorios built and a neo-Gothic
altar from Innsbruck. The facade, which is decorated with the
statues of St. Stephen and St. Imre, was excavated and preserved by
restorer Margit Haraszti. Attached to the north side of the church
is the convent and kindergarten of the Sisters of Mercy, built by
Bishop John Ranolder in 1872.
Protestant church. The church,
reminiscent of the churches of Kalotaszeg, was built in 1936.
Statues
Holy Trinity Statue - Main Square (N: 46.882824, K:
17.440712). The group of baroque limestone sculptures on a hexagonal
stepped pedestal was erected by Bishop Márton Padányi Biró of
Veszprém in 1757. It was restored in 1998.
Trianon Monument
Many public works by László Marton:
Little Princess, 1990. Main
Square (N: 46.882708, K: 17.440678)
The original (50 cm)
sculpture of the sculpture was modeled in 1972 by the artist from
his eldest daughter, Évik, then 5 years old. The original small
sculpture is the property of the Hungarian National Gallery. Its
larger version has been sitting on the Danube Promenade since 1990,
in front of the Vigadó, the duplicate was sent to Tapolca. Another
copy can be seen in the hall in front of the concert hall of the
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space Cultural Center in Tokyo.
Szent Borbála, 2000. Kisfaludi utca 2–6. (Opposite the Spring
Cave, in front of the City House of Culture; N: 46.883124, K:
17.443173).
The bronze statue stands on a pedestal made of basalt
stones. He has a crown on his head, a candle in one hand and a palm
branch in the other, next to a castle tower. The inscription on the
base of the copper plate: St. Barbara is the patron saint of miners.
It was built in 2000 by the Bakony Bauxite Mine Company
Our Past,
1988. Church Hill 6. (In front of the Church Hill School; N:
46.880549, K: 17.442014).
Bronze male figures squatting on a
marble pedestal, with a fragment of a Roman earthenware in his hand.
Our Sad History, 1990. Heroes' Square (N: 46.882067, K: 17.435350).
A hooded bronze figure standing in front of a ruined stone wall.
Shepherd Boy, 1943. Republic Square (in front of the sculptor's
birthplace; N: 46.885056, K: 17.442624)
Bronze figure standing on
a low stone pedestal. One of the very first works of the artist.
Four Seasons, 1992. Mill Park (N: 46.881770, K: 17.440238)
Allegorical figures standing on low stone columns.
Miners - space
sculpture, 1972. Kossuth utca 2. (in front of the headquarters of
Bauxitbányászati Kft .; N: 46.882768, K: 17.441472)
450 cm x 25
cm x 175 cm figural limestone composition in socialist style.
Wass Albert - bust, 2008. Batsányi J. u. 1.
The sculptor's last
work. The bronze statue of the poet-writer stands in front of the
library and museum bearing its name (Veszprém).
János Batsányi -
György Segesdi, 1960. In the north-western part of the promenade
around the Great Lake; É: 46.882004, K: 17.440689)
The bronze
figure of the poet stands on a limestone pedestal.
Batsányiné
Baumberg Gabriella - Kocsis András, 1964 (Public map), 1966
(Excursion planner). Arany János utca (on the western shore of Lake
Kis; N: 46.880802, K: 17.441225)
The bronze bust of the Austrian
poetess Gabriella Baumberg, the wife of Batsányi, can be seen on a
limestone pedestal near Lake Malom. The inscription on the pedestal:
BATSÁNYINÉ BAUMBERG GABRIELLA 1766-1839.
Girl picking grapes -
the work of Mária R. Törley (sculptor) and Tamás Zoltán Papp
(architect), 2010. Batsányi Square (on the western side of Lake
Alsó, between the playground and the spring; N 46.880831, K
17.440683).
The barefoot bronze girl with feminine hips is
approx. 120 cm high. The work of the architect is the pedestal and
the environment made of stone blocks.
Sitting soldier - the work
of Lajos Ungvári, 1970. Dobó István tér (near the former barracks,
at the entrance of the garrison club; É: 46.880274, K: 17.408953).
The posture of the seated figure is artificial, unreal.
Geometric
figures - Gyula Nyírő, 1969. Ady Endre utca 12. (on the wall of a
housing estate; É: 46.883900, K: 17.439513).
Modest flat
decoration with stylized figures.
World War I Memorial - Gyula
Maugsch, 1930. Heroes' Square, (in the middle of the square; N:
46.882430, K: 17.435496).
On a large stepped pedestal stands a
bronze soldier; holding flag and rifle. On the pedestal on a bronze
plaque are the names of the fallen, the inscription 1914-1918 and a
crowned Hungarian coat of arms.
Kosvedes drinking fountain - Béla
Raffay, 1995. Mill Park (É: 46.882890, K: 17.441358).
Relief by
Ferenc Batsányi Tapolca High School, work by Tibor Túri Török