|
Dear Visitor!
See the sights of our town. This short virtual walk helps you to
get acquanted with this Iittle wonderful town.
Our walk consists of 4 parts:
Millennium park -> Romai Katolikus
church
-> Viztorony
Millennium park.
In the nineties of the XXth century the
scenic site resting place was moulded in front of the railway
station. The park was planned by Dr. Imre Jambor professor of
the department of horticole. Nowadays it is the visiting card of
the town.
At this place of the administrative town
centre where the railway and the bus station runs, as well as
the busy main street hides quietly this tiny oasis of nature.
The park virtually keeps inviting to forget the worries of life,
everyday rush. Have a rest at the fountain in the shade. Siofok
is the birthplace of the of the famous Hungarian composer Imre
Kalman. Therefore from the central place of the park we can get
to the music pavilon where the sculptor Imre Varga's sculptore
of Imre Kalman can be found. Here in the park, creating a
tradition, musical evenings are organized.
After a short
semicircle we find us in the Main Street. The red brick building
on the other side of the street is the central post-office and
behind the post-office in the Szecshenyi Street the synagogue
can be found. The Roman Catholic Church is one of the oldest
buildings in the town, which has been built in neo-roman style
in 1903.
Above its entrance door work of the
international-famed painter-artist Endre MuzsinszkiNagy
(1886-1975) is visible. Neoclassic station paintings of the
church were painted by Bela Buky (1928), while the triumphal
arch, in the middle of which Patrona Hungariae is enthroned and
receives homage of the Hungarian saints, is made fascinating by
paintings of Gyorgy Leszkovszky (1938). Stained glasses of the
church have been made in workshop of Miksa Roth. Based on
dispositions of the IInd Council of the Vatican sanctuary of the
building has been rebuilt in 1980 according to scene designs of
Gyorgy Osztie. The pastoforium is work of a Tyrolean master of
the XVIIth century, the bearded, thorn crowned Christ inclining
his head to the right.
Largest organ of the whole-Balaton region is
to be found also in the church. The instrument was constructed
by Frigyes Paulus organ-builder master according to drawings of
Sandor Fabian cantor.
In the church organ concerts are
organized every summer with appearance of well-known home and
foreign artists.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Fo
st. |
Fo
st. |
Balaton |
The Roman Catholic church |
The Roman Catholic church |
In the centre of Siofok on the Szabadsag
Square
(Szabadsag tér)
the 45m high tower rises, which is one of the
characteristic buildings of the town. At present the Tourinform
office can be found there. In summer you can step up to the
balcony where a magnificent landscape of the town unfolds itself
before us. On the square you can find the Martyrs and memorial
monument of World War I., which is the work of Karoly Szekely.
Fo utca -> Kalman
udvar ->Kalman setany
Near Main
Square (Fő tere).the Liberty Square (Szabadsag tér) can be
found. Among other things the Culture Centre of the South Region
of Lake Balaton (DBKK), the library of the city, the Town Hall,
several small shops,
private services and offices can be found there. As in an
open-air museum the gallery of the sculptor Imre Varga's works
can be found on the square.
On the Main Square
(Fő ter) festivals, spectacular programs, folclore appearances,
concerts are held frequently. Siófok first of all is a holiday
resort and that's why the motto of the town is that all things
must be convenient and give the impression of convenience. Here
everything is near to one another and can be reached quickly.
Coming back to the
Liberty Square from the Main Square, turning back into a small
street we reached the Kálmán Quadrangle Yard. The shop
assistants of the pleasant inner yard keeps inviting the
visitors with smiling eyes to buy trifles, which make them think
to Siófok, Lake Balaton or even to Hungary. All possible
manufactures of the local craftsmen are displayed, earthenware
souvenirs, trifles made of leather and hand-made embroideries.
None of them let you go impassively. From one small shop to
another one we find us imperceptidly at the city centre the
Kálmán Promenade.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Kalman
Imre yard |
Kalman Imre
museum |
Kalman Imre
promenade |
But before we get
lost in the drift of shopping pay attention to a two-storeyed
yellow building, which is the birthplace of Imre Kálmán. The
composer was born and grew up here. At present a museum is
sacred at the memory of him. The Kálmán Promenade is a real
cavalcade. Passing along the small shops we are coming to the
Sió Canal.
Martirok utja
->
Jokai park
->
Molo
We turn into
Mártírok Street, have a rest at the meeting point of the Main Street
(Fő utca) and Mártírok Street at the fountain of 'On the Beach'. The
long row of small shops symbolically makes us think .that Siófok is
entirely a holiday resort next to Lake Balaton. All arrivals must
see the shore of the lake. We are also making for it.
Cross the
railway line. There are lots of people seeking for softening
under the cool leafy boughs and shady trees. Left on the bank of
Sió Canal behind a small park do we find the building of the
school of music. In front of the building of the school the
statue of the world famous Hungarian composer and reformer Béla
Bartók can be seen. Turning left the Batthyány Street starts,
which is one of the oldest parts of the holiday resort of the
town. In the course of our walk we are coming back to this place
to stare at the old row of villas but meanwhile we are walking
on the pathes of Jókai Park. We often meet squirrels here.
Here we arrived at
the shore of Lake Balaton. The Sió Canal derives from here. It
links the Balaton with the Danube. The first lock-gate vas built
in 1863, which submerged the
water level because of the southern railway building. The port
has got 2 important engineering establishments: the sluicide and
the lock. Both of them were built in the 1940s. Here a memorial
tablet brings it to our mind that the first allowing regulation
of water level of the lake was made by the lock and also the
exact regulation of water level has been realised at this place.
The first passenger boat dated back to 21st September 1846. On
that day the paddle-steamer named Kisfaludy vas launched on
water. Nowadays scheduled and pleasure boats put forth. The
rentable pleasure boats and the night disco boats are especially
popular. The monument erected to 100 th, 125 th, and 150 th
anniversary of steamboating of the Balaton stands
in the park in front of the building of the port. On the western
part of the port the 2 recent sights of the town, the port of
the sailing boats and the Yacht Club are located, as well as the
Meteorological Observatory, which gives the 1 st storm signal
for the whole Balaton region. Yard of the station is decorated
by Miklós Borsos `s statue titled "Urania".
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Meteorological Observatory |
"Urania" |
Sió lock |
Arrival of a boat |
Pleasure boat in the port |
Rozsa-liget -> Petofi setany ->
Evangelikus templom
Rozsa-liget.
The Rose Garden can be seen next too the shore of lake Balaton.
Flower beds end the variety of rose-bushes, shade given by the
gigantic might plane-trees, the humid catching of the lake creates
some kind of paradise atmosphere. The cross-Balaton-swimming is an
event, which attracts masses of people. Every year the ambitious
people can try their strength in swimming from the North to the
South shore. In the Rose garden the city put up a statue to Kálmán
Szekrényessy the first man who swam cross the lake. Besides this in
the park there are some interesting statues: the statue of Tibor
Vilt, title: Mermaid of Lake Balaton (Balatoni sello)(1974),
Fishermen (Halaszok)(1998), statues of József Somogyi, Frigyes
Karinthy, Tamás Varga.
"Coca-Cola
Beach House".
The end of the Rose Garden starts the private beach of the town in
its capacity as the Coca-Cola Beach House for years. Thousands of
tourists come to our town to have a good time here. The variety of
gambling machines, places of amusement, rentable vehicles, cafes and
bars, open-air entertaining programs attract thousands of tourists.
In the evenings discos, bars with live music or even concerts of
famous groups can be seen on the beach of " Coca-Cola Beach House".
The street in front of the private beach of the town is the Petőfi
Promenade. Bars, restaurants, pizzerias, small shops, cafes, travel
agencies, fun-fairs, gambling machines, hotel chain complexes these
all are the Petőfi Promenade.
Turn into Karinthy Frigyes Street from the Petőfi Promenade. A
beige towered building deserves attention, which is the building
of the library of the Kodolány College.
If we are talking about beautiful villas we must walk into Batthyany
Street where there are dozens of various wonderful villas.
Walking slowly among the villas in Batthyany
Street we reach the Kinizsi Street where turning left we get to Main
Street again. Oulu park is nearly opened in front of us. The new
evangelic church designed by
Imre Makovecz Ybl Prize winner
architect can be found in the Oulu park. (Oulu is Finnish sister
town of Siófok.) This Four-portal, upward-orientated building that
holds 120 people and has wooden structure in 80% is the most
beautiful and modern evangelic church not only of the town but of
the country.
On the other side of the street
can be find the
building,
which was between 1944 and 1993 the congregation house of the
evangelical church of Siófok.
In this house took place worships and Bible lessons and it was
the meeting point of east and west germans, who at home couldn’t
meet through the political block. In the old tabernacle at the
present time works the
Janus Café,
where coffee and tea specialities, magazins, free internet and
music corner wait of the guests. Formerly was the guest of the
house many times
Vera Kálmán, who’s favourite fish meal was the
"Balatoni fogas" . Further curiosity of our building is the
interesting traditional building complex, which came in to
existence through the integration of the neighbour house, the
old public scool. The plans of redevelopment made by Makovecz
Imre too.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Evangelic church |
Evangelic church |
Fő
st. |
Hotel
Janus |
Fő
st. |
The primary
direction points of the town: the Water Tower and the Roman
Catholic Church are standing in front of us again. We came back
to the railway and bus station, as well as to the Millennium
Park. |
