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Balaton Information
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General
Information on Balaton:
With a surface area of almost 600 sq. km, Balaton is the
biggest lake in central Europe. Its shallowness means
it warms quickly and for 6 months of the year is a magnet
to bathers. It is 77.8 km long and between 3 and 12.5
km wide. Its shoreline amounts to 195 km and the average
depth is 3.14m. At Tihanyrév, the site of the North-South
passenger and car ferry, the average depth is 3 m. Off
Tihany, however, the lake is 12.2 m deep.
Although a sea once rolled over the area Balaton now occupies,
the lake is not a remnant of it but relatively young at
around ten thousand years. Precipitation filled a once
much larger geological depression.
In comparison with many European lakes, the water of Balaton
is very clean and rule number one is thus to protect it
against the numerous perils of modern civilisation. The
strict Clean Water regulations - e.g. motor boaters must
betake themselves to other waters - are appreciated by
sailors, numerous sailboarders and obviously bathers.
The water is often described as silky, or at any rate
that is the sensation the skin conveys. This is not an
illusion: the water is slightly alkaline and gentle -
because of the fineness of its suspended matter and mineral
particles it could as well be described as heavily diluted
mineral water. The therapeutic sunbathing in the sun's
rich rays, the microclimate and the non-salty but mineral
rich water make bathing as enjoyable as in the sea - often
from as early as May through to early autumn in October.
However, Balaton is not simply a giant 'beach pool' but
rather a living expanse of water. Its fish fall to the
broad nets of the fisher folk in their small boats and
to the rods of locals and visitors waiting patiently on
piers or built-up sections of the shore. This wealth of
fish is also, incidentally, provided for 'artificially'.
Baby fish are released into the lake every year.
When speaking of Balaton, mention must be made of its
fish dishes. The most popular fish is the 'whitefish'
or bream, a slender type of carp that is rolled in paprika-favoured
flour and then baked. It can be eaten bones and all without
hesitation. Next in popularity after the whitefish is
the 'fogas', a predatory fish that can turn the scales
at up to 10 kg. Smaller specimens of up to 1.5 kg are
known as pikeperch, bigger ones as fogas. With its tender
flesh this non-bony fish is comparable in taste with trout
and is generally baked whole no matter how big it is.
The whitefish is sold on fish stands on the beach while
the fogas or pikeperch is served as a delicacy in posh
restaurants.
Hungary has a temperate climate, with alternating maritime
and continental influences. In the southern part of the
country and in particular around Balaton the Mediterranean
influence prevails. Many plants and trees that can otherwise
only be found in Mediterranean countries thrive in this
pleasant climate. For example, on the south-facing slopes
of the northern shore, almonds grow, figs ripen in many
gardens and pomegranates frequently gleam through the
foliage
Within two decades, the population of the Balaton region
has risen from 100,000 to almost 150,000 but in summer
at least twice as many stay by the lake. Hence some shops
and restaurants only open in the holiday season and in
summer an increasing number of food shops are open on
Sundays as well.
On the south side the railways run close to the shore,
while on the north shore they take a loop around the Tihany
peninsula and Badacsony Hills to return to the proximity
of the lakeshore at Tapolca.
A dense bus route network connects everywhere on Balaton
. Foreign visitors arriving with their own cars generally
use the M7 motorway from Budapest - a convenient link
between the capital and the lake.
Coming from Vienna you do not merely save time and petrol
by crossing Transdanubia via Sopron-Sarvar on Highway
84 or taking Highway 83 to Papa und Veszprem or Highway
82 to Varpalota at Györ - these routes also run through
beautiful landscapes. There are also highways to Balaton
from Graz, Zagreb and Belgrade on which you can avoid
the heavy though- traffic to Western Europe and the Balkans.
They have more than their fair share of natural beauty:
attractive towns, interesting architectural memorials,
pleasant staging points, little inns and homely pensions.
Balaton (Cruise report from YACHT No. 5/1999)
Hungary's big lake is almost like a small sea.
With temperatures similar to the Caribbean, clean harbours
and moderate prices, surrounded by famous vineyards, Hungary's
big lake is almost like a small sea. Off Badacsony a light
onshore breeze hastens a classic on its way. Then it's out
of the harbour and set sail. The jetty at Szigliget offers
scarcely any shelter. One should only lie here in westerly
to northwesterly winds.
The thermometer on the clubhouse of the Balatonfüred
yacht harbour shows 34 in the shade. Over it there arches
a brilliant blue sky. Only a few small scraps of cloud in
the west provide any hope of wind. In any case Swimming
trunks and bikinis are social dress in the club restaurant,
on the pier and onboard. Beside the bar a jazz band is playing;
the mood is relaxed. Yacht charterer Peter Fekete has handed
a brand new Hungarian Top 34 over to us. The chart of Balaton
shows not only depth contours and important nautical information
but also vineyards and wine cellars. As we start the engine,
Peter casts off the warps and calls after us: "The
most beautiful part of Hungary is the Badacsony vineyard.
Ask for Elisabeth's Cellar. There is a special wine there,
the 'Grey Monk'." We pass through the narrow harbour
entrance busy with traffic. From Beach Cats to 13-Metre
Yachts - many boats are going in and out under sail as if
in slow motion, and even right into their berths. What is
more, the fingers are closer together than in most German
marinas.
Immediately off the pier-heads I stop the engine for I know
from my first Balaton cruise almost twenty years ago that
engines are prohibited. Nevertheless, we want to see as
many facets as possible of the Hungarian inland sea within
a week's charter. It is just a pity that there is no more
than a light breeze rippling the mirror smooth turquoise
water. Our goal for the day is to the west, the Tihany peninsular
- now only four kilometres away. On its crag the most photographed
church in Hungary stands in solitary splendour at a height
of 219 metres. Since we are making less than one knot under
sail, we follow the example of Hungarian crews, letting
down the bathing ladder, jumping from the pulpit into the
almost bathtub-warm wetness and climbing back onboard aft.
Showering off is not necessary because the water is not
only clean but also fresh.
We run towards Tihany with the wind aft thankful for every
breath that puts any shape into the sails. Tihany hill on
whose eastern slope white villas nestle in parkland is a
desirable residence for locals and holidaymakers. We steer
for the Mahart Ferry Company's harbour where there is a
jetty for a dozen yachts next to the pier for passenger
ferries. Like the neighbouring boats we make fast bow-on
with a stern anchor.
A stroll up to the village affords impressive views over
the Hungarian Sea. At the top of the bluff a visit to the
abbey is a must. It is one of the oldest churches in Hungary.
At the beginning of the 11th century, the Magyars occupied
the lands around Balaton. In 1055 King Endre I had the church
and a Benedictine monastery built. These are the oldest
buildings on Balaton. A mediaeval village clusters around
the ecclesiastical buildings. Outside their thatched houses
the Hungarians have pottery, plaits of paprika and wine
of their own making for sale. Between them, small taverns
serving wine tempt you to sample the juice of the grape
straight from the barrel. "Tihany is most beautiful
place in the world ", an old man whose barrel we failed
to walk past tells us in heavily accented German. If one
agrees in advance that Hungary is the most beautiful country
in the world, he may well be right. We sit in the open on
wooden benches and enjoy cool riesling and the view over
the lake.
That evening we lie in the Tihany Yacht Marina. This small
harbour offers the comforts of a modern marina. As in
Balatonfüred
everything is clean and well cared for but considerably
more peaceful. Many boats are long-term residents from Budapest,
Southern Germany or Austria. We pay the fixed-rate berthing
fee of 1500 forints - about 6.1 Euro or 300 forints per
person. Opposite the marina I ask at a guest house by the
name of 'Tihany Gyönygye Villa', which is the best
restaurant in Tihany and where it is possible to order a
taxi for the trip up to it. Instead of giving an answer,
Andras, the proprietor of the guest house considers briefly
and in three minutes drives us up the winding road to the
'Ziprian', a restaurant with a covered central courtyard.
Our driver does not want any money. Instead he invites us
to breakfast at his guest house.
At the Ziprian we order a Balaton fish platter for three,
salad and the trimmings. Bream, pike and pikeperch are superbly
prepared and the portions so generous that we cannot manage
them. In the end we pay 4300 forints including three pitchers
of riesling, about 17.5 Euro. Next day we set sail after
a plentiful breakfast at the Gyönygye-Villa. We pass
through the narrows at Tihany - only 1200 metres wide -
under a morning offshore breeze. Car ferries run to and
fro. But then it as if the wind had been turned off. In
water with a temperature of 26 degrees, we swim faster than
the boat sails. And our objective for the day, the Badacsony
vineyard, is 30 kilometres to the west. It cannot even be
made out in the haze. If we continue to bob up and down
in the calm, it will take a week to get to the most famous
vineyard in the country. We have an inboard diesel - should
we start it illegally? In 1979 the prohibition on engines
was administered strictly, but as two yachts approach under
power we fire up the diesel, furl the genoa and leave the
main up as an alibi. The police on the lake show no interest
in us.
At 10 pm we enter the harbour below the vineyard in the
failing light. We get a berth on the visitors' jetty, once
again mooring bow-to with a stern anchor, but for a cool
4000 forints, although this harbour also belongs to Mahart.
In the clubhouse there are a bar, a chandlery, the harbour
master's office and sanitary facilities. The shock: the
toilets and showers are primitive, cramped and still redolent
of the charms of socialism. The sole reason for staying
in the marina is the Badacsony vineyard. Grapes are said
to have been planted here as far back as Roman times. Past
the wine cellars with their invitations in German to taste
their wares, we climb our way to the 'Róza-Szegedy
House', a traditional Baroque house with an arcade, and
on to Elisabeth's Cellar. Outside the little stone house
vines intertwine above a crushed lime terrace. In the shadow
of the vine-leaves there stand old wooden tables and benches
on which the generations of happy topers have carved their
names. Through the house you come to the low cellars, full
of old wooden barrels. An old Hungarian toasts us in golden-yellow
wine and pours it into stoneware pitchers. "Elisabeth
was my mother ", says the vintner. She is long-since
dead, "But I make the Grey Monk exactly as she did."
He fills each of us a stoneware mug as a taster. The delightful
Grey Monk, which here ripens on a hot basalt soil and is
vinified locally, tickles the tonsils. "The name comes
down from the middle ages", the vintner explains. "In
those days they had sent us a monk from Vienna to instruct
us in the faith. The solitary monk loved the pleasures of
the flesh. After drinking the night through he is said to
have appeared completely grey. Since then the wine has borne
his name." The higher the sun rises above Balaton,
the busier it becomes outside Elisabeth's Cellar. There
are Saxons, Thuringians and Bavarians who have known the
place for years and are already lapsing into joyful song.
Elisabeth's son has to fetch pitcher after pitcher from
the cellars. His price for a litre is 200 forints (0.70
Euro). To go with it there is home-baked black bread - a
rare delicacy in Hungary. Warm from the oven, the slices
are spread with dripping and sprinkled with hot, coarsely
chopped paprika.
Our cruise along the northern shore of Balaton leads inevitably
to more vineyards. We sail six kilometres westward to Szigliget.
This open finger pier too is a jetty for Mahart vessels.
Yachts are allowed to berth on the eastern side, either
bow or stern on to the pier. Nobody comes to collect the
money. The toilets and water supply on the passenger quay
can be used. It is only in an easterly that I would not
like to lie here. After a 20-minute hike past pretty detached
houses and small guest houses we reach the biggest wine
cellar in Hungary. Szigliget's 120 metre long vault houses
a wine museum and a 40 metre long table for guests set between
metre-high barrels. A rustic supper of sausage, salt pork,
garlic and paprika is served. When he eats, every guest
can decide on the barrel he would like his juice of the
grape drawn from.
A whistling in the shrouds and an uncomfortable motion awaken
us next morning. The wind has freshened, fortunately from
the northwest. At Szigliget Pier our boat is moving with
the seaway. We let go the makefasts and recover the stern
anchor. We sail eastwards towards Bráhamhegy in the
lee of the vineyards. It is only nine kilometres there and
we have a stern wind. It is blowing Force 4 to 5 and reminds
one that Balaton can sometimes also be somewhat umpety.
The visibility has deteriorated to the extent that the southern
shore with its bathing resorts and summer mass tourism can
no longer be made out. However, we find Bráhamhegy
safely. The new marina is protected in all winds; it is
simply that some pontoons are still missing. Our boat is
too beamy for the few vacant finger berths; we go alongside
a lighter. The harbour master at Bráhamhegy is a
somewhat odd old man whom we christen Father Abraham. He
lives with his dog in a site caravan by the entry gate and
explains that the sanitary facilities are not yet finished.
We should go to the open-air swimming pool next door for
a shower. When we return, hair wet, Father Abraham whispers:
"Today is Wednesday so you must go to the 'Rizapuszta',
an hour from here up in the mountains. On Wednesdays there
is a wine tasting and the most beautiful of the gypsy women
will be dancing for you." What a prospect ... When
we took our leave from Cellar Master Bartók, a 60-year old Hungarian with a heavy moustache, felt hat and Viennese
dialect, it was long since dark. Tomorrow it will be time
to start the trip back.
Bodo Müller
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Bottom
and ground conditions:
It is characteristic of the formation of the bottom
of Balaton that the depth reaches 2.5 - 3 m close along
the north shore and that this depth increases slowly
and steadily toward the south-east. This slow change
in the depth of the bottom extends up to the southern
shoreline. Here it comes up against the 'ridges' which
follow the shallow, gently shelving southern shoreline
at a distance of 300 to 1000 m. The ridges are covered
by water and are located between 40 and 60 m apart.
Between them there are trenches with a relative depth
of 60 to 120 cm. The southern shore is fringed by between
4 and 6 such ridges. The point where deep water encounters
the first of them is known by Balaton's navigators and
fishermen as the ledges. Off the northern shore such
a bottom formation is unknown.
In
heavy weather when the depth of water cannot, as it
were, be measured, the seas reveal the beginning of
the dangerous shoals. The waves break along the line
of the Cutters and the series of foaming seas indicates
to some extent the limit of navigable depths.
Along
the northern shore, there are not inconsiderable cones
of debris built up by the inflowing streams. These are
clearly visible, even several hundred metres from the
shore.
Hydrographic Features
The level of water in the lake is determined by the
amount of precipitation falling on its catchment area,
evaporation and water level control by the Sió
sluices in Siófok.
The lake's catchment area amounts to 5,774.5 km2. On
this vast area there falls an average of 3,176 million
mł of precipitation a year of which roughly 930
to 1000 million mł end up in the lake. The water
area receives an annual average precipitation of approximately
370 million mł. The streams feeding the lake and
the River Zala between them contribute a water supply
of approximately 17 mł/s to the maintenance of
the level. The volume of water at a height of 104.84
m above sea level ( Adriatic ) - corresponding to the
mean level of 75 cm -approaches 2 kmł. On summer
days this huge expanse of water evaporates vigorously
and the fall in the water level caused by evaporation
can be in the order of several centimetres.
Characteristic
Water Movements
The varied water movements are influenced by the large
expanse of the lake, the formation of the terrain of
the surrounding area, the dissimilarity and frequency
of wind directions and strengths together with the subdivision
of the surface of the lake into bays. The three typical
water movements in which large volumes of water are
involved are waves, surface drift resulting in oscillations
and currents.
Sea
state
On water surfaces exposed to the effects of the wind,
ripples arise with a height of between 0.5 and 3 cm
depending on the wind strength ( the surface is ruffled
) and are caught by the wind. The occurrence of this
process is promoted by the shallow depth of the lake.
The body of water is heated to some slight extent by
the influence of the sun. This relatively warm water
is easily set in motion thereby giving rise to waves.
Winds
blowing in a direction at right angles to the long axis
of the lake generally exhibit a gradual increase in
wind strength and have a markedly intermittent effect.
The fact that the valleys on the north shore run in
the direction of these winds plays a considerable part
in this. The fetch off these valleys, which to a large
extent influences the development and intensity of the
seas, increases proportionately in those areas that
fall within the wind shadow effect of the mountains.
In a seaway, the various wave motions play an important
role. Peak wave height values have in almost all cases
occurred during a brief, sudden lull. Because of the
obstructions on the shore, the wind fluctuates greatly
and hence high waves and short wave-free intervals follow
one another in succession. The period of individual
waves varies and their forms are very diverse. The waves
reflected back off the bottom in the shallows off the
shore are subject to an interference effect.
When
waves of different periods and forms run together in
a sudden lull lasting a few minutes and the reflection
from the bed of the lake occurs at the appropriate moment,
especially high waves arise under the combined effect
of these phenomena. Depending on such diverse effects
of the factors affecting the sea state, short wave fronts
of various forms develop. No clear-cut typical periodic
interval can be determined for the seas on the lake.
In
the proximity of the shore the biggest wave to date
with a height of 1.82 m was measured in a northerly
wind. This exceptionally high wave occurred when a gust
of 21.1 m/s (41.0 knots) was followed by a brief lull
of 10 m/s (19.4 knots). In the middle of the lake the
biggest wave of 1.95 m was observed in a northerly wind
of average velocity 11.8 m/s (22.9 knots). The gust
reached 19.5 m/s (37.9 knots) after which a relative
calm occurred. At the same time a wave height of only
1.4 m was measured in the proximity of the shore.
The
average height of the seas caused by the wind is 100
to 130 cm, with wave lengths ranging between 2 and 12
m. The maximum wave heights occur in N-NW winds whose
effect is at right angles to the long axis of the lake.
In sudden, rapidly strengthening winds truly massive,
high waves spring up but within 1 ˝ to 2 hours
of the wind ceasing, the sea also dies down.
In
winds that increase slowly and gradually, the seas comes
up and grow parallel to the wind direction. The resulting
wave heights are then generally less than average and
the seas also die down gradually on a decrease in wind
speed.
Surface drift - Oscillations
Under the influence of the wind, the water in the lake
moves in the wind direction resulting in a considerable
drop in the water level. Depending on the wind direction
the water level then falls on one shore and rises on
the other. From the practical point of view surface
drift must be taken into account in the immediate estimation
of the navigability of individual harbours and channels
as well as in grounding and floating off and when vessels
are to be intentionally laid up.
The
greatest longitudinal oscillation is generated by WNW
and ENE winds, which exhibit the same direction as the
long axis of the lake. Depending on the wind direction
and speed and the topographical features of the lake,
the period of the resulting longitudinal oscillations
ranges from 5.5 to 11 hours. In addition, the transverse
oscillations and the oscillations of the various bays
in the lake's shore have a considerable effect on the
longitudinal oscillations. As a result of water oscillations,
a substantial difference in water level can arise between
two widely separated points on Balaton. In the largest
observed fluctuation on 14 May 1962, a fall of 45 cm
occurred at Keszthely in nine hours at the same time
as a rise of 52.5 cm at Alsóörs. The greatest
simultaneous difference in water level amounted to 80
cm at which time the speed of the longitudinal wind
was 20 m/s (39 knots).
Transverse
fluctuations are most significant in the southwestern
basin between Alsóörs and Siófok.
In terms of size, that at the latter is the bigger and
arises under the influence of the prevailing NNW wind
as a result of the relatively great width and depth.
The greatest fluctuation in level measured to date was
52.5 cm at Alsóörs and 37.5 cm at Siófok.
At Siófok the oscillation lasts for approximately
1.5 hours.
Currents
As a result of surface drift and water oscillation,
currents of various magnitudes and directions occur
in the body of the water of the lake. On the surface
the water flows in the direction of the wind, close
to the bottom against the wind because of the Earth's
gravity as the surface strives to attain equilibrium.
Significant currents determined by the various oscillations
arise between the two basins and within the basins themselves.
The strongest current may be observed in the area between
the Tihany Penninsula and the Szantód shore where
water is exchanged through the confined passage between
the north-east and south-west basins. High stream rates
occur at this point, in isolated cases reaching rates
of 1.4 to 2 m/s ( 2.8 to 4 knots ). In general the stream
toward Keszthely runs less strongly than that toward
Balatonkenese but persists for longer. There is a strong
current off the entrance to Kesthely Bay and throughout
the bay itself. Here weaker streams of 0.3 to 0.4 m/s
( 0.6 to 0.8 knots ) may be observed. The inshore "circulating
currents", which mainly flow close to the bottom,
come about as a consequence of the fluctuations. Piers
project into the path of these currents and, under the
influence of the eddies and slack spots occurring behind
them, harbour entrances become more or less silted up
with debris.
Wind
The prevailing wind on Balaton, known by the fishermen
as the "main wind", is from between N and
NW. In the eastern basin ( between Balatonkenese and
Tihany) north-westerlies predominate with northerlies
in the south-western area ( between Tihany and Keszthely
) SE and SW winds occur more frequently in autumn and
winter. Storms are particularly dangerous to navigation
since the wind increases suddenly with hardly any transition
at all and sometimes attains a speed of 30 to 35 m/s
(60 to 70 knots) within 10 to 20 minutes. The outbreak
of storms is mostly preceded by a moderate or light
southerly air stream. The wind veers to the NW accompanied
by a dramatic increase in strength. In thunderstorms
- when the falling air spreads out close to the water
surface and gives rise to violent radial winds - the
wind is strongest in the direction of the eye of the
storm and more moderate on either side. A thunderstorm
can last for 2 or 3 hours. On 13 July 1961, the strongest
gust measured to date reached a speed of 36 m/s (70
knots). Such a hurricane-like wind can give rise to
an average wind pressure of 94.4 kPa (12.8 lb/ sq. ft.).
April is the windiest month on Balaton; storms (wind
speeds exceeding 15 m/s or 30 knots) occur more frequently
at the beginning of the summer ( on average one can
reckon on storm gusts on one day in 3). The calmest
month is September ( on average a storm can be observed
only every 10 days). In the areas of the lake off the
northern shore the wind-shadow effect of the mountains
is of such intensity as to reduce the strength of the
wind in particular instances ( e.g. between
Balatonfüred
and Siófok ) by as much as 60 %. In strong N
and NW airflows strong winds from the valleys at right
angles to the lake can be observed on the surface of
the water. When the wind gets out over the lake, it
fans out and its speed exceeds the surrounding average
substantially. It follows from this that the area of
the southern shore is windier than that of the northern
one, especially in the summer months. Because of the
considerable longitudinal dimension of the lake, mutually
disparate weather conditions do occur in different areas.
While calm reigns in one basin, a violent wind rages
in the other. The National Weather Service warning observatory
at Siófok deals with storm warnings for the Balaton
area and between 1 May and 30 September operates the
storm warning system. If the wind is liable attain a
speed of 12 m/s (24 knots) within 3 hours, a Level I
storm warning is ordered. If the wind speed will exceed
17 m/s (34 knots) immediately or within 1 - 2 hours,
a Level II storm warning is ordered. Yellow lights indicating
the meteorological conditions are displayed at 24 points
along the shore. On the approach of a storm a yellow
light flashing 30 times a minute indicates Level I,
whereupon boats and water sports craft may only navigate
within a 500 m wide zone off the shore. On the imminent
occurrence of a storm, a yellow light flashing 60 times
a minute indicates a Level II storm warning, whereupon
a prohibition on navigation applies to small vessels
of Class B under sail as well as boats and water sports
craft.
|
Way points
|
N |
O |
|
East entrance Tihanyrév Channel |
46
53 58 |
17
54 29 |
|
West entrance Tihanyrév Channel |
46
53 08 |
17
53 28 |
|
Balatonföldvár off harbour entrance |
46
51 32 |
17
52 42 |
| Balatonszemes
off harbour entrance |
46
48 56 |
17
46 04 |
| Balatonlelle
off harbour entrance |
46
47 36 |
17
41 23 |
|
Balatonboglár off harbour entrance |
46
45 18 |
17
38 39 |
|
Fonyód off harbour entrance |
46
45 22 |
17
33 17 |
|
Balatonmáriafürdö off harbour entrance |
46
42 36 |
17
22 57 |
| Keszthely
off harbour entrance |
46
45 28 |
17
15 22 |
|
Balatongyörök off harbour entrance |
46
44 58 |
17
21 25 |
| Szigliget
off harbour entrance |
46
46 58 |
17
26 40 |
| Badacsony
off harbour entrance |
46
47 11 |
17
30 35 |
|
Révfülöp off harbour entrance |
46
49 29 |
17
37 48 |
| Zanka
off harbour entrance |
46
52 18 |
17
42 36 |
| Balatonakali
off harbour entrance |
46
52 39 |
17
44 34 |
| Balatonudvari
off harbour entrance |
46
54 08 |
17
48 32 |
| Tihany
off harbour entrance |
46
55 01 |
17
53 42 |
| Balatonfüred
off harbour entrance |
46
57 06 |
17
53 47 |
| Balatonfüred
off harbour entrance |
46
57 23 |
17
54 53 |
| Alsóörs
off harbour entrance |
46
58 57 |
17
58 47 |
| Balatonalmádi
off harbour entrance |
47
01 34 |
18
01 16 |
| Balatonfüzfö
off harbour entrance |
47
03 28 |
18
02 17 |
| Balatonkenese
off harbour entrance |
47
01 50 |
18
06 38 |
| Balatonaliga
Hafeneinfahrtsbereich |
46
59 12 |
18
09 42 |
| Siófok
off harbour entrance |
46
54 46 |
18
02 31 |
Mahart
Yacht harbours on Balaton
| 1.
Siófok |
(84)
310-050 |
9. Keszthely |
(83) 312-093 |
17.
Tihanyrév |
(87)
448-307 |
| 2. Szántódrév |
(84) 348-744 |
10. Balatongyörök |
(83) 346-008 |
18. Tihany |
(87) 438-885 |
|
3. Balatonföldvár |
(84) 340-304 |
11. Szigliget |
(87) 461-897 |
19. Balatonfüred |
(87) 342-230 |
| 4. Balatonszemes |
(84) 361-184 |
12. Badacsony |
(87) 431-240 |
20. Csopak |
(87) 455-854 |
|
5. Balatonlelle |
(85) 351-475 |
13. Révfülöp |
(87) 464-363 |
21. Alsóörs |
(87) 447-003 |
| 6. Balatonboglár |
(85) 350-699 |
14. Zánka |
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22.
Balatonalmádi |
(88) 438-860 |
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7. Fonyód |
(85) 360-012 |
15. Balatonakali |
(87) 444-540 |
23. Balatonkenese |
(88) 482-100 |
| 8.
Balatonmáriafürdö |
(85) 375-733 |
16. Fövenyes |
(87) 449-516 |
24.
Balatonaliga |
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The yacht harbours are open to yachtsmen from 15 March to
15 November. Mahart has 8 major yacht harbours on Balaton.
Except for the harbours at Szántódrév and Tihanyrév, all
can be used when cruising. Each can take 5-10 visiting
yachts. Annual berthholders can use these harbours at no
additional charge using their 'harbour triangle' and
magnetic card. The Mahart company operates the only chain
of yacht harbours on Balaton. Fonyód is an important
harbour in the chain. For the 2000 season it welcomes
yachtsmen to a modern environment with berths with shore
power and water connections and stern piles. A new toilet
block is being erected and a car park being built on the
southern side of Szúnyog Island. At present, an unlimited
number of births can still be rented. Visit the harbour in
Keszthely, which awaits yachtsmen with 20 cruising births
with mains water! Mahart is planning a 'Club' harbour with
100 berths in Alsóörs.
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BALATONLELLE
In
one of the most dynamically developing places on the southern
shore a new 220 berth yacht harbour right by the town
centre. Services: harbour fully fenced in, electricity
and water supplies at your berth, pontoons, use of showers
and toilets, emptying of chemical WCs, kitchen, 24 hr
harbourmaster service, fixed ten-ton crane on the shore,
parking for cars in the harbour areas, snack bar, use
of other MAHART yacht harbours at no extra charge. 1 and
10 year lets. With 5100 inhabitants, the town of Balatonlelle
is one of the most important tourist centres on the south
shore of Balaton, a true ville fleurie . The history of
the place stretches back to the time of St. Stephen. Lelle
became a market in 1848 and a town at the same time. Its
time as a holiday resorts began at the end of the 1880s
with the development of its 5 km long beach. In 1904 a
bathing club was fouunded and from 1906 the areas of the
town south of the railway line were laid out as parks
thanks to its activities. The first big holiday establishments
were built in 1924. In 1932-33 the harbour and ferry pier
were constructed. Lelle today has a public beach 2 km
long and a fee paying one 1 km long. St Stephens Square
and the pedestrianised streets around it give out the
ambience of a real holiday resort.
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SZIGLIGET
Szigliget, with its 1100 inhabitants, stands on a peninsular
stretching far into Balaton. The area was formerly an island
which rose out of a marshy bay in the lake. Today, with its
hills and valleys, it is one of the most beautiful areas of
Balaton. It's summit rises to 243 m. The Mediterranean
landscape is a picturesque area of fruit trees, vineyards,
the fortress hill and the ruins of the castle. In the main
square of the village there stands its best known building,
Esterházy Castle, built at the beginning of the nineteenth
century in the classical style. Szigliget is a very popular
excursion place and holiday resort. The inhabitants do a
great deal to enhance its beauty. Our new yacht harbour,
with 98 berths, is under construction in surroundings unique
in Balaton within the area of the Balaton Highlands National
Park. The planned opening is on 1 July 2001. Services:
harbour fully fenced in, electricity and water supplies at
your berth, births with wooden bollards, use of showers and
toilets, emptying of chemical WCs, 24 hr harbourmaster
service, parking for cars in the harbour areas, snack bar,
cycle hire, use of other MAHART yacht harbours at no extra
charge. 1 and 30 year lets.
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