Happy TravellerWelcome to Siófok, the capital of Lake Balaton and one of Hungary’s most popular holiday destinations. Located on the southern bank of Lake Balaton in Somogy County, Siófok covers an area of about 124.66 km2 (48.13 square miles) between Lake Balaton, the Mezőföld and the Outer Somogy-Hills. Siófok is the second largest municipality in Somogy County and the seat of Siófok District. The town serves as the most important logistic station for goods between Lake Balaton and the River Danube. Siófok is Hungary’s second most popular holiday destination (right after Budapest) thanks to its 17-kilometre-long (11 miles) coast, over 1,000 hotels, and plenty of bars, restaurants and night clubs. Siófok is one of the richest municipalities of Hungary due to tourism. Hungarians often call the town the capital of Lake Balaton, as it is the largest town on its shores and acts as the financial, cultural, media, commercial and touristic hub of the northern part of Somogy County and the southern shore of Lake Balaton.
Siófok has a rich history dating back to the time of the Roman Empire. The Roman conquest came there in the 1st century AD. After the Hungarian Conquest, the settlement is mentioned in the Tihany Abbey’s founding letter from 1055 as the following: Rivulus namque, qui dicitur Fuk fluens which means that a small brook, also called Fuk (today Sió) comes from the Lake Balaton. Siófok became a military outpost of the Ottomans who also built a fortress there. Two years after the Siege of Buda (1686) the region was liberated from the Ottoman occupation. Siófok became the property of the Chapter of Veszprém, who settled people there, and in 1693 built a wooden church for them. Major industrial progress began in the settlement during the 19th century. From 1810 the Transylvania-Adria Mail Coach Route already ran through Siófok. The first independent post office operated there since 1867. Water regulation began in 1810 in the village. Then, based on the idea of József Beszédes, a water engineer, the bed of the Sió was cleaned, mills were re-operated, the water level of Lake Balaton dropped by one meter, so 51,000 acres of land was freed from the water of Lake Balaton, and further 6,000 acres of free land was created on the area of the Sió.
Today, Siófok is known for its tourism and service sector, with over 1,000 hotels and plenty of bars, restaurants and night clubs. The town is also home to several companies working in production, including the Hungarian stationery producer SOMOGY REHAB, the Hungarian aluminium tent manufacturer Alutent, the Hungarian water supply infrastructure manufacturer Kristály, the Hungarian ready-mixed concrete producer TBG Interbeton (part of the Mexican Cemex) and the Hungarian plastic manufacturer Kaona. The Norwegian cable producer Kongsberg Automotive and the Hungarian gas transport infrastructure manufacturer OV Industries have production facilities there. Most of the companies can be found in the town’s industrial park, Adria Ipari Park. Siófok is also home to the headquarters of Bahart (Balatoni Hajózási Zrt, English: Balaton Shipping Company) which is the owner and operator of 11 sailing ports around Lake Balaton, as well as provider of scheduled cruise ship voyages, ferries, water taxis and organizer of regattas.
Siófok is reachable by train through the main Railway station or by regional buses operated by DDKK. Siófok-Kiliti airport is a small local airport serving only smaller airplanes. The city has 8 local buslines (2, 2K, 3, 4, 7, 16, 61, 64) which run everyday and are operated by DDKK. Siófok is also a great place for shopping, with major shopping malls like Sio Plaza and Park Center, as well as supermarkets like Tesco, Lidl, Spar, Real, CBA and Coop. Siófok also has several convenience stores like Siófriss, Marci ABC and Marci Éden ABC, as well as drugstores like dm and Rossmann.
Come and experience the beauty and excitement of Siófok, Hungary’s capital of Lake Balaton!
