History of Siofok

The surroundings of Siófok was inhabited even in the neolithic period and later, in Roman times, too. In the material of the Scouting Museum (1930) established by István Molnár Roman Catholic chaplaine, one could find even a chipped hyalite collected by him on the location of Sáfránykert. In his collection there were hatchets, hoes, milling stones and jewels of the neolithic period, too. These objects were classified by Dr. Ferenc Zákonyi, honorary freeman of our town, who was a town-clerk and an outstanding researcher of the local history. (Unfortunately, this collection has been destroyed in the meantime, there are only three photos to witness its exsistence.)

The material from the Copper and the Bronze Age was preserved by Bálint Kuzsinszky for the succeeding generations. Sickles, Saw-blades, arms and jewels were found at Kiliti and in Szigeti baulk. In Vadkacsás baulk of Széplak 110 urn graves were discovered.

At the Iron Age -at around 350 B.C.- came Celtic people to this area and it was under their rule that the use of iron got wide-spread. Traces of a Celtic settlement and silver coins were found on the eastern edge of Szigeti baulk, close to the Jewish cemetery. (Dr. Károly Sági archeologist, Keszthely).

A new chapter started with the Roman occupation in the history of Trans-Danubia. In order to defend the southern military roads, establishing the Province of Pannonia, towns and roads became vitally essential.

Roman conquest got to the surroundings of our present town of Siófok in the 1st century A.D. and this is the region where the road from Sopianae (Pécs) lead across Tricciana (Ságvár) to Arrabona (Gyor). According to the notes made by Sectus Aurelius Victor in the turn of the 3rd-4th century Emperor Galerius had a dike built and made some forests cleared in order to drain the moor-land of "Lacus Pelso" -it is the Latin name for Balaton- in 292 A.D. He named the whole region after his wife, Valeria.

One can read in the deed of endowment of Tihany dated 1055, after the Hungarian conquest, i.e. in the first Hungarian sporadic literary remains of the language, the following sentence:
..."Rivulus namque, qui dicitur Fok fluens"....
It means: "The small brook called Fok also springs from the lake mentioned above and is located where people can go across an ancient bridge and a ford, too...."

That is to say Fok is not mentioned as a village in the original deed of endowment despite the fact that the word "river" refers to the village. (Dr. László Erdélyi: Questionable deeds of the Abbey of Tihany, HAS, 1909.)

Sources of reference from the 11th-14th centuries mention seven settlements in the surroundings of our present town of Siófok, along Fok, or as it is called today Sió: Holovogy, Losta, Töreki, Kiliti, Fok, Igám and Jód. As to these last two settlements, only their names have remained in the name of some baulks or hills.

Based on these descriptions, one can assume that two settlements might be the same: Holovogy estate close to the ford in the ancient times and the village of Fok was settled on the same location later on. The village of Losta was settled on one of the isles of Siófok, along the brook Fok in the Age of the Arpads.

The name of the village Fok appears among the tax-paying settlements first in 1137, while the compound word of Siófok has been known since 1790.

After the devastations caused by the Mongols Fok was reconstructed and a parish was also established there. Its church was consecrated to Peter and Paul. Until the Turkish conquest it was the district seat of the archdeacon.

In 1541 the Turkish invadors kept moving forward and after having seized Szigetvár they reached Lake Balaton. In 1552 Veszprém was also occupied and Fok along with its surroundings got also taken up. Siófok was turned into a naval port and a fortification was erected here. Besides the commandant of town two "aghas of the navy" were also resided here. The Turkish fortification was established near the present hospital on the "Hill of Granarium". (According to unwritten tradition, not approved by archeology.)

The country-side was liberated from the Turkish yoke in 1688. Fok got into the possession of the collegiate church who installed settlers there and in 1693 had a wooden church built for the inhabitants.

During Rákóczi's fight for freedom Bottyán the Blind's famous Sió-line stretched here and the final headstone was the fortification of Siófok. The fortification was constructed on the location of the fromer Turkish fortification, according to the French staff engineer, De la Reviere's project.

In 1705 Ferenc Rákóczi II donated the village of Fok a seal serving today as a basis for the present coat of arm.

In 1709, after Bottyán's death the "labanc" armies (nickname of pro-Austrian soldiers during the 18th century Hungarian wars of independence) managed to capture the settlement.

In 1717, in a contract concluded with the collegiate church of Veszprém, the inhabitants of Fok managed to get the lease-holder status.

The parish church of Baroque style consacrated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin was erected in 1736.

In the course of the 18th century before the blotting paper came into general use, the fine sand of the shore at Siófok had been used as writing-sand. Piling up fine quicksand was the occupation of young girls and wives of Siófok.

The settlement started to develop as of the years of the 1800s. The Transylvania-Adria speed mail coach reached Siófok as of 1810. (Note: since 1867 an independent post-office administration and since 1946 a state post-office has been operating at Siófok).

The 19th century was an important period in the regulation of water-ways. In 1810 Joseph, the palatine of Hungary appointed Joseph Beszédes to accomplish the works of regulating the water-ways of Sárvíz. The works of Sió Water-system completed between 1810-1825 on the southern shore of Lake Balaton are as follows:

1. The mill of Fok was pulled down (It burnt down in 1812 and it was not restored any more.)
2. Sió bed was cleaned out.
3. The mills were adjusted.
4. the water-level of Lake Balaton fell one metre thus 51.000 acres of dry land were gained.
5. By regulating Sió brook 6.000 acres of dry land were gained.

The epidemy of cholera hit the settlement in 1831.

In 1842 the Association for the Regulation of the Balaton Water was established which buyed and pulled down the mill and dam of Kiliti, being the biggest obstacles to water regulation. By the falling water level another 6.000 acres were gained.

In the life of the settlement an important change was brought by the foundation of the Steamboating Incorporation of Balaton under the life presidence of Earl Széchenyi in compliance with the rules of association made by Lajos Kossuth in 1846. The paddle-steamer named Kisfaludy was launched on water on September 21. Ádám Clark and József Beszédes took part at the ceremony among others.

In the 1850s the area of Siófok having belonged to Somogy County, got annexed to Veszprém. The border was split by Sió brook.

In 1858 started the construction of the railway between Buda and Nagykanizsa which was opened to the public in 1861.

The railway embankment having started in 1858 also contributed to the stabilization of the southern shore as filling up the banks of the railway formed a real dam against the spring inundations. The construction of the Southern railway started with an extremely low water-level. It was thought that a bank of 88 cm high would offer safety against inundation. The higher water levels in the years to come damaged the banks several times: this is the way how the "Southern Railway Sociatey" got a leading part in regulating the lake.

On June 16, 1862, János Michel director on behalf of the railway offered to accomplish the regulation works with his own engineers in compliance with the projects of the Draining Association at the meeting on Füred presided by Earl Zichy jr., government commissioner. The chancellary gave instructions even in the same year to construct Sió-Dike that was opened on October 25, 1863. The plans of the construction were provided by George Türk, engineer of Kéthely. The main goal with the dike was to lower the water level by at least one metre as compared to the minimum level of December, 1862. (104.096 m A.F. It is the "0" point of Siófok water measure even today.)

The dike was in operation with larger and smaller reparations by 1891 when the Board of Agriculture made a new, iron dike constructed instead of the old, decayed wooden dike in 1893.

At Siófok the railway station got finished in 1863 and by 1864 the harbour defended by breakwaters was also completed. The year of 1863 is considered to be the year of birth of Siófok as a holiday resort.

The year of 1865 is a remarkable anniversary in the history of Siófok as the settlement of not more than 200 houses and 1500 inhabitants was permitted to make country market thus it got the rank of market-town.

In 1866 was published the first announcement titled "Siófok, Bathing Resort of Balaton" in Zala-Somogy Gazette. Ignác Végh leaseholder concluded an agreement with the collegiate church of Veszprém on a 12-year rent of bathing-place which was extended for another 12 years.

The Bathing-house titled "Hungarian Sea" was constructed in 1878 according to the plans of Neuschlass constructing company, in the Swiss style. The bathing-house had a richly ornamented facade, a parlour for 100 persons, 80 bathing-boxes, a storied belvedere and large windows opening to the water.

The collegiate church of Veszprém started dividing the "estates of ebbing" into lots. That is how the present holiday resort started developing. It marks the fascinating and inspiring beauty of the landscape that the majority of the first villa-owners were painters, like Mór Than, Pál Vágó, Tivadar Feledi-Flesch (Mihály Zichy's son-in-low), Arthur Tölgyessy.

In 1888 it was Gábor Baross who granted a state loan to the reorganization of the Steamboating Incorporation of Balaton. Steamboat Kelén was launched on water in 1889 and renamed Baross in 1891. Helka and the new Kelén got finished also that year.

The concern called Siófok, Resort on Balaton established in April, 1891, bought up the bathing licence from the collegiate church as well as a 60-acre moorland necessary for constructing buildings and parks. The soggy and shrubby land was backfilled with earth. The head of the concern, Henrik Glatz (1884-1905) was the founder of Franklin Literature and Press Incorporation.

Some major hotels were constructed at that time: Sió and Hullám and later the Central Hotel. The new resort was opened with a gala ceremony on July 18, 1893. It was on that occasion that the Minister of Inner Affairs gave permission to use the name of "spa". Part of this soothing atmosphere was the theatre life of Siófok starting in 1875 that attracted great personalities of the time.

The hyppodrome was constructed in 1900 with its grand-stands for 1500 people and the targets of the Balaton cross-swimming race were also set here. The swimming and tennis concours held each year also added to the richness of the summer events at Siófok. Due to its busy resort life, Siófok became a popular spa for artists, actors and the upper-middle class of Budapest (Karinthy, Krúdy, Latabár).

At the end of the World War II the settlement was badly damaged. The front-line lasting here for two months destroyed or damaged a number of buildings, villas, hotels, family houses, the ship-yard. By destroying the road and railway bridge it made the reconstruction works extremely difficult. After 1948 the settlement started to develop in another direction.

Siófok became the centre for holidays organized by companies and trade unions. Its reconstructed summer houses, hotels and the new canalization, sewage system the new water works have made the site the biggest and most important resort receiving crowds of people every summer.

Since 1950 the settlement has been belonging to Somogy County and has become a seat of district rank.

It was in 1955 when the cult of Imre Kálmán started. the Tourism Office placed a memorial tablet on the house of the district's great composer.

Tourism started to develop in 1958 since when foreigners have been returning. In 1962 started the construction of the hotel line and by the mid-sixties the pride of "Silver Coast", the Hotel for International Journalists was completed too. Services meeting with the demands of the site have also been organized.

On December 29, 1968, Ferenc Jankó, president of the town committee took over the deed of town rank set forth in the decision No. 20/1968 NET by the Presidential Council.

The 400-bed hospital was inaugurated. The education started developing.

The 70s were the years of rapid development. The construction of the infrastructure of town was almost finished. The Cultural Centre and the library was opened to the public in 1976. At the beginning of the 80s the town started to build up its international relationships and to improve its connections with fraternal towns.

In 1988 the local paper "Siófok News" was established.
New bridges were built across Sió for the traffic. In 1989 Sió TV started to transmit its programmes. This institute is the first local television with open transmission.

The "Society for Preserving and Decorating the Town of Siófok" was given the Water Tower, symbol of town for three years on the ground-floor of which an exhibition has been installed.

As a result of the local elections in 1990, an 18-member board of representatives governed the town. The Mayor was Árpád Molnár and the Notary was Dr. Tamás Pongor.

The town keeps developing. BALATEL has settled a long-lasting problem of the inhabitants and visitors by setting up a new telephone network.

In 1994 as a result of the second local elections a 17-member board of directors started to rule the town. The Mayor is Dr. Árpád Balázs. From 1995 to 1997 the Notary was Dr. Ildikó M. Horváth.

Owing to the management profiting well from the endowments of the site, today it is one of the towns the operation of which is not threatened, on the contrary, it shows steady development.

The school network has been enlarged. Besides the basic requirements, education is also supported: in addition to the 8 kinder-gardens, 4 elementary schools, 3 secondary schools and the music school in 1996 the local faculty of tourism economy of the College János Kodolányi was launched here.

Today Siófok is one of the most important tourist centre, as it is said: "Siófok is the capital of Lake Balaton." It has been made capital by its public transport of high level and its shallow shore offering safe bathing to holiday-makers. Besides the mild water of the lake visitors coming here may enjoy the organized programmes and the Hungarian hospitality as well.

The town itself is an open-air exhibition with its sculptures and monuments on public squares. (Among others one of the greatest Hungarian contemporary sculptor, Imre Varga who was born at Siófok, exhibited his sculpture of Imre Kálmán, titled "Vanishing Time".

In addition to the historic buildings,some modern churches offer an exciting sight by their queer architecture. Due to the development in recent years the town has become a site of flowers and parks. An outstanding park in town is the Millenium Park in front of the railway station.

The town 106 kms far from Budapest can be easily reached by rail, road or air from every direction.