Balatonszárszó is a village along the southern shore of

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton () is a freshwater rift lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the larges ...

in Somogy county,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

. 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 Kap ...

, and belongs to the region of

Southern Transdanubia Southern Transdanubia ( ) is a subdivision of Hungary as defined by the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). It is one of the eight classified NUTS-2 statistical regions of Hungary. The region incorporates the south-western pa ...

. The village is famous for being the home and place of death of the renowned Hungarian poet József Attila.

History

The village was first inhabited in the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, and archeological remains suggest it has been continuously inhabited since then. It is first mentioned in writing in 1082 by the name ''Zarrosozow'', but this early

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

village lays about 1km south of the current village. Under the Turkish occupation, the village was depopulated and repopulated multiple times. Following

Rákóczi's War of Independence Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703–1711) was the first significant attempt to topple the rule of the Habsburgs over Royal Hungary, Hungary. The war was conducted by a group of noblemen, wealthy and high-ranking progressives and was led by F ...

, the village entered a more stable and prosperous period, and in 1733, the village came under control of the

Hunyady family The House of Hunyadi was one of the most powerful Hungarian nobility, 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 (ru ...

. Education was available in

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

schools starting in 1743, and in

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

schools starting in 1800. The village's classical-style reformed church was built in 1843. In the 19th century, the village underwent rapid development and industrialization. by the end of the 19th century, tourism and bathing culture began to develop in the village as well. The village lost 50 young men in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and 34 in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1943, the village hosted a famous conference called the "Szárszó Conference" discussing the state, fate, and future of the Hungarian people following the Second World War.

Demographics

As of 2023, the village had a total population of 2067. As of 2022, the town was 87.9% Hungarian, 2.5%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 0.2%

Gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

, and 3% of non-European origin. The remainder chose not to respond. The population was 30.1%

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 14.8%

, and 4.7%

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Gallery

File:Memorial to Attila József in Balatonszemes.jpg, Memorial to Attila József

Notable residents

* Attila József (1905-1937), Hungarian poet * Gyula J. Obádovics (born 1927), Hungarian mathematician, Dr. Techn., Dr. Rer. nat., professor emeritus * Tivadar Farkasházy (born 1945), Hungarian humorist, author, and journalist

External links

Street map (Hungarian)

Street map (Google)

References

Populated places in Somogy County {{Somogy-geo-stub