Balatonberény is a village in Somogy county,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, with a popular nudist beach. The country village had a population of 1,200 in 2011. Arched brows and a turned back

The settlement is part of the

Balatonboglár wine region The Balatonboglár wine region, also known as the South Balaton wine region, is the only one wine region in Somogy County, Hungary. The area consists of 37 settlements, mainly located on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, but also some near Kapo ...

History

General history

A late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

cemetery has been found near the town. Many of inhabitants escaped to the reed-woods of Small Balaton (Kis-Balaton) close to the village and

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton () is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and th ...

when the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

conquered the village. By 1733 the

Hunyady family The Hunyadi family was one of the most powerful noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th century. A member of the family, Matthias Corvinus, was King of Hungary from 1458 until 1490, King of Bohemia (ruling in Moravia, Lowe ...

had become the largest landlord in the area.

Churches

The town's first recorded church owned lands was noted in 1332. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church was built around 1350 and it got seriously damaged during the Ottoman invasion.

Castles

The Star Castle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(known locally as the Csillagvár) lies at the border with the settlement of

Balatonszentgyörgy Balatonszentgyörgy is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. It is near to the village of Balatonberény. The village is next to Lake Balaton. Etymology The village got its name after Saint George ( hu, Szent György), the patron of its church. ...

. The star-shaped, fortress-like building was constructed by

László Festetics László () is a Hungarian male given name and surname after the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095). It derives from Ladislav, a variant of Vladislav. Other versions are Lessl or Laszly. The name has a history of being frequen ...

during the 1820s as a hunting lodge and an exhibition inside the building introduces the life of knights of border castles in the 16th century.

Public bathing

In 1902 there were 170 bathing huts set up in the water, alongside each other across the beach-front as its popularity boomed during the turn of that century. The hot-water medicinal baths of

Hévíz Hévíz is a spa town in Zala County, Hungary, about from Keszthely. Description of the lake The town is located near Lake Hévíz, the world’s second-largest thermal lake, but biologically the biggest active natural lake. Its temperature i ...

and

Zalakaros Zalakaros is a town in Zala County, Hungary. Zalakaros is famous for its thermal bath, thermal spring baths. It gained its fame in 1967, when prospective oil drilling struck a nearly 96 °C (205 °F) source at a depth of 1000 metres. ...

can be visited by tourists.

Demographics

The country village had a population of 1,200 in 2011.

Population change

Geography

Balatonberény is next to

. The local hills are good for hiking and scenic experiences . A pleasant path goes to the Bokrosi wine-hill that lies above the village, Keszthely Mountain and the

monadnocks An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

of Tapolca hollow .

Transport

There are 3 main roads, 1 bus-stop and a railway station in the village. The railway goes to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and

The arts

The Transdanubia Amateur Art Festival is held in July. In summer exhibition of the fine arts in the Painters' House. Village Day is held on 1 May. .

Culture

The Hungarian folk song Elhervadt cidrusfa was collected in Balatonberény in 1906 by

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

. Balatonberény is also site of the Hungarian Emigration Memorial, situated at Balaton utca, opposite of the station.

References

External links

Street map (Hungarian)
Populated places in Somogy County {{Somogy-geo-stub