Lake Balaton [antikvár]

The LandscapeAnyone passing over the Lalce Balaton region by air might think he were looking down upon a long shiny silken rectangle resting within the palm of a gigantic hand. This sparkling territory running north-east to south-west is about 44 miles in length, and an average of 3-4 miles in width. There are single and connected mountains in a range of medium height to the north, gentle slopes to the south; jutting bays break the smooth expanse of shore line here and there; a heart-shaped peninsula seems to slice through the lake at the upper third leaving a passage of no more than a mile between the Little Lake and the Big Lake. Behind the mountains there are forests and fields, dotted with a growing number of industrial settlements. The southern shore is almost straight and the evergrowing protective dykes hold back the reedy marshes which once intruded deep beyond the present boundaries. The railway and highway run along the shore amidst sandy pines and rows of poplars, willows, tiny orchards and the parks. Among them are the clusters of tiny summer cottages and multi-storey modern hotels, while further inland are the meadows and fields, remnants of one-time marshes, and only in the distance do we find the villages nestled among the hills. The shallow water averages a depth of four yards and a half, which is why it warms so quickly. The reflection from its smooth surface and the light hovering mist throw off bewitching light rays. The breezes are free to fly. This is why the air is always so fresh and why within a matter of second the lake has been known to change into a raging sea. Sea ? For two centuries now it has been known as the Hungarian Sea with a certain sense of pride. And to a people, most of whom know the real seas from stories only, it most certainly is one. In reality it is only the largest sweet-water lake of Europe.But the Balaton is more than a sum of natural factors, it is also a scene formed by man.It was first written of by historians, humanists, travelling diplomats and scientists. In these descriptions the reedy marshes, horseherds, and estates on the southern shore are in fact as famous as the fiery wines grown on the northern shore or the delectability of the fish found in great abundance in the lake's water. It is interesting that during the first wave of Hungary's Reform Age, at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries nationwide attention was focused on the area through the economic reforms of the lord of Keszthely, György Festetics, the bridge spanning the marshes of the Little Balaton, the galleys transporting salt, and the first agricultural institute of Europe. In the works of those poets and writers who first captured the poetic vision of Lake Balaton some 200 years ago the natural beauty and history of the landscape reign, and bathing is at most mentioned in connection with the medicinal springs at Balatonfüred. Even the first paintings of the area depicted the Arcadian scenes, the fishermen's cottages hidden among the protective bays, community life, and the ruins of fortresses.Yes, the landscape is historic.But this history is not the embellishment of distant legends handed down from generation to generation, just as the landscape is not only gentle slopes inhabited by kindly peo-