Small town of 13,500 inhabitants, centre of the   north-eastern region of Balaton, the first medical 
resort town of Hungary. The   town was built on the wide, shiny side of 
Balaton Riviera, protected by   300-metre high hills against cold winds.
 There are vineyards and fruit gardens   on hills of southern slope. 
Balatonfüred is the centre of the historic wine   region named after the
 town. 
          
            

There had been six   villages on the territory of the current city, some
 of them had been depopulated   because of the Turkish times and then 
the destructions of Kuruts-Labanc wars. It   is quite interesting and 
surprising that the fame of this mellow old resort is   originally due 
not to Balaton but theaerated springs rushing up at the   lake-shore. 
The water had been used for the purpose of drinking treatments, and   as
 from the 1730s also for bathing (warmed up). 
            
            

Water of the springs was   first analyzed in 1772 (upon the order of 
Queen Maria Theresa); the first   physician of the watering-place was 
appointed in 1786. Medical power of the   water is applied for treating 
heart diseases in the Heart Hospital currently,   too. Majority of the 
buildings was destroyed by a large fire in 1826 that is why   the 
current image created by the historic monuments of Medicinal Square 
(Gyógy   tér) was developed only in course of the 19th century. 
Goldenage of the spa was   the reform period. At that time it was a 
patriotic gesture to visit Füred   instead of various medicinal places 
abroad. Great people of the country visited   Balatonfüred one after 
another, a theatre was also built here in 1831, and then   in 1846 the 
first steamship of Balaton called "Kisfaludy" was set afloat here. 
            

The Abbey of Tihany   divided its domain around the bath into 
allotments, at that time the   construction of villas which can be seen 
currently, too, commenced. The oldest   and most significant historic 
monument of the city is the St. Mihály church   registered in records 
already in 1211. It was built on the ruins of an ancient   Roman villa. 
Today only the ruins of the church restored in 1966 can be seen.   
Reformed church of neo-Classic style, consecrated in 1830, is built in 
the   centre of the old city of Füred. It is especially valuable because
 the original   furniture of the church remained completely. The 
well-house was erected above   the Kossuth Lajos spring in the middle of
 Gyógy square in 1853. The oldest parts   of the Sanatorium were built 
in 1748. Construction of the "Cure Saloon"   (currently cultural hall) 
was completed in 1878. Memorial tablets of the Füred   Pantheon are 
placed under its arcades as memories of the writers, artists and   
scientists who had a significant role in the life of the resort. The 
wonderful   Tagore promenade lined with plane-trees was created in 1863,
 subsequent to the   hand-over of Sió channel. The various masterpieces 
of the fine arts exhibited in   the promenade make it a real park of 
sculptures. The Round Church of neo-Classic   style, handed over in 
1864, is one of the most characteristic buildings of   Balatonfüred. In 
the neighbourhood of the Round Church, in the summer villa of   Jókai 
Mór constructed in 1871 in eclectic style, the life of the great author 
in   Füred is shown to the public in the form of an exhibition. Several 
programmes   based on tradition are offered to the visitors of 
Balatonfüred. 
                       
Traditional programmes in Balatonfüred 
                     
                     These   programmes include the outstanding 
Reception
 of the First Ship,   which is a symbolic moment of the opening
 of the shipping season. Every spring   (at the beginning of April) the 
first ship of the season leaves Siófok and it is   received with a 
ceremony in the port of Balatonfüred. 
                     Since 1935, except 3   years, the 
Sail-Setting
 Ceremony of Balatonfüred has been held   every year in May, 
which has become the symbol of the opening of sailing season   as well 
as that of the summer season in the past decade. The series of   
programmes include sports and cultural events. The first sailing 
competitions   start at that time, along with the first performances of 
the Pier Stage and the   first exhibitions. 
                     The most outstanding event is the 
the Anna 
  Ball, which has been held for 181 years in July every year, 
on the day   closest to the name day of Anna. One of the oldest balls in
 Hungary, it is the   pride of Balatonfüred as well as that of the whole
 country. The ball is unique   not only due to its historical 
traditions. The main event of the ball is   choosing the Queen of the 
Ball and her ladies in attendance, who are taken for a   ride in a 
carriage around the town the next day, then a reception is given in   
honour of the ladies, and finally they are taken on a trip on the oldest
 and the   most beatiful ship of Lake Balaton, the Nemere II, where they
 can admire the   wonderful blue water of the lake. 
                     Since 1994, at the beginning of August the   
Hungarian Marathon Club has been organizing the
 cross-bay 
swimming   competition supported by Balatonfüred and Tihany. 
The event is held in   memory of Miklós Wesselényi, who was the first to
 swim across the lake between   Tihany and Balatonfüred, the distance of
 which is 3,6km. 
                     The   Balatonfüred-Csopak wine region is one of the
 22 historical wine regions of   Hungary, giving the valueable grapes 
and wines of Balaton-Highland. The 
Wine Weeks of Balatonfüred
 is a real celebration of   viniculture. Wine-makers await visitors in 
their friendly stalls built in Tagore   Promenade for two weeks from the
 middle of August. Every evening there are   high-standard performances 
by national and international folk art groups on the   Pier Stage, there
 is a colourful programme on 20 August with fireworks. 
                     Preserving the traditions of vintage feasts, the 
Vintage
 Procession   is held every September. At the event 
wine-makers, wine societies, folk   dancers, carriages, light-horsemen 
walk along the streets accompanied by brass   and reed bands from 
Vitorlás square to the Market Hall, where colourful folk   programmes, a
 street ball and a fair await visitors. 
                     In honour of the famous   Italian poet, 
Salvatore
 Quasimodo the 
International   Competition and Meeting 
of Poets bearing the name of the poet is held at the   beginning of 
September. The poet visited Balatonfüred in 1961 to   recover 
from his illness, like Rabindranath Tagore. He also planted a memorial  
 tree and wrote a poem about Lake Balaton and his feelings related with 
  Balatonfüred. The poets' competition is an important part of Hungarian
 as well   as that of Italian culture. The competition has several 
hundred Hungarian and   foreign participants every year, the best of 
whom are chosen by the 7-member   jury. The award-giving gala at the 
beginning of September is accompanied by   classical music concerts, 
performances by famous artists, and an exhibition of   Italian artists 
can be seen in the Art East Gallery. 
                    In the neighbourhood of   the town nice trips can be
 taken to Koloska-valley, Koloska-spring, or the   wonderful Lóczy-cave.
 From the cave it is worth walking up to the Jókai look-out   tower, 
where you can enjoy the beautiful view.
www.balatonfured.hu