Siófok (; ; ) is a town in Somogy County, Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton. It is the second largest municipality in Somogy County and the seat of Siófok District. It covers an area of about between Lake Balaton, the Mezőföld and the Outer Somogy-Hills. Lying at the firth of the Sió Channel, it serves as the most important logistic station for goods between Lake Balaton and the River Danube.

The town is Hungary's second most popular holiday destination (after Budapest) due to its coast, over 1,000 hotels, and plenty of bars, restaurants and nightclubs. 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 tourist hub of the northern part of Somogy County and the southern shore of Lake Balaton.

Etymology

Fuk was first mentioned as a village name in 1137 among the taxpayer communities. In the Tabula Hungariae (published in 1528) it appears as Fok. The word composition Siófok has been in use since 1790.

Middle Ages

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. It also states that people had a passage through an older bridge and a ford as well.

The Baroque parish church was built in honor of the Immaculate Conception in 1736. At the beginning of the 1860s, their number was 347, with 70 merchants living here, who played a major role in making the city an attractive resort in Europe.

In 1866, the first advertisement of the settlement was published in the Zala-Somogy Bulletin entitled Balatontavi Fürdő Siófok. Ignác Vég' tenant made a 12-year bathing lease contract with the Chapter of Veszprém, which has been extended for another 12 years. Built in 1878, the Magyar Tenger ("Hungarian Sea") bathhouse, created according to the plans of the Neuschlass construction company, in Swiss style, with an ornate façade, a hundred-person lounge, large windows that looked at the water, a double-deck viewing room, eighty bath cabins.

At the end of World War II, the settlement was heavily damaged because the frontline got stuck for two months there.

During World War II, nearly 500 Jews were deported in 1944, of whom only 72 returned.

Soviet era

In 1947, within the framework of the construction works of the Sió Channel, the new sluice was completed, which made it possible for ships to move through. From 1950, the settlement belongs to Somogy County and in the same year it became a district seat.

On December 31, 1968, Siófok became a city. Before that, the 400-bed hospital was built, and then the cultural center and town library. In 1971, the M7 motorway from the direction of Budapest reached the settlement. Later, Siófok became the most famous corporate holiday destination.

After 1989

After 1990, a local newspaper and open-air local television began to operate in the city. The first high-speed telegraphy World Championship was hosted in Siófok in 1995.

Geography

right|thumb|Siófok at sunset

In Siófok, the canal Sió flows out of the lake.

Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate is "Cfa" (humid subtropical climate).

Economy

Although Siófok is known for its tourism and service sector there are some companies working in production. Several smaller firms and farmers are in the agricultural industry, especially in fruit production. The town's famous products are the Sió fruit juices in several tastes. Their producer is the Sió-Eckes company (part of the German Eckes).

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 are all based in the town.

The Norwegian cable producer Kongsberg Automotive and the Hungarian gas transport infrastructure manufacturer OV Industries have production facilities here.

Most of the companies can be found in the town's industrial park, Adria Ipari Park.

Siófok is home to the headquarter of Bahart (Balatoni Hajózási Zrt, ') which is the owner and operator of 11 sailing ports around Lake Balaton (Balatonföldvár, Balatonszemes, Balatonlelle, Balatonboglár, Fonyód, Szigliget, Badacsony, Balatonfüred, Csopak, Alsóörs and Siófok), as well as provider of scheduled cruise ship voyages, ferries, water taxis and organizer of regattas.

Top companies

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! #

! Company

! Net income

! # of Employees

! Link

|-

| 1

| FGSZ Földgázszállító

| 326 million EUR

| 719

|

|-

| 2

| DRV

| 62 million EUR

| 1,932

|

|-

| 3

| Sió ECKES

| 34 million EUR

| 165

|

|-

| 4

| SIÓMENTE KERESKEDŐHÁZ

| 24 million EUR

| 123

|

|-

| 5

| OT Industries

| 23 million EUR

| 365

|

|}thumb|right|300px|Building of the Sió Pláza shopping center

thumb|Siófok Railway Station

Services and public transportation

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 every day and are operated by DDKK.

thumb|Local bus at Siófok bus station

Demographics

{| style="border-style: none;"

|

The majority of the residents are Hungarian (77.6%). Notable minorities are Germans (1.9%) and Romani (1.7%). Others are all under 1%. The religious affiliation of the population shows a Catholic (Roman Catholic (39.9%) and Greek Catholic (0.4%)) majority, a Calvinist (7.7%) and a smaller Lutheran (1.9%) minority, while 13.3% is irreligious.

Sports

  • BFC Siófok – football team
  • Siófok KC – EHF Cup winner women's handball team

Literature

Siófok appears in numerous literary works as location of the events, especially in the Hungarian literature. The most well-known examples are the novels Hosszúhajú veszedelem by Géza Gárdonyi and Sajkások serege by Gábor Lipták.

Notable residents

thumb|right|200px|Portrait of Hungarian composer, [[Emmerich Kálmán by Estonian artist, Mart Sander. Kálmán is the most famous former resident of Siófok.]]

Science

  • Géza Révész (1878–1955), Hungarian psychologist

Media/Art/Entertainment

  • Ágota Bozai (born 1965), Hungarian writer
  • John Hirsch (1930–1989), or Hirsch János, Hungarian-Canadian theater director
  • Emmerich Kálmán (1882–1953), or Kálmán Imre, Hungarian composer of operettas
  • Frigyes Karinthy (1887–1938), Hungarian author, playwright, poet, journalist, and translator
  • Imre Varga (1923–2019), Hungarian renowned sculptor
  • Lilla Vincze (born 1961), Hungarian singer

Sports

  • Dávid Barczi (born 1989), Hungarian football player
  • Csilla Borsányi, (born 1987), Hungarian tennis player
  • Virág Csurgó (born 1972), Hungarian tennis player
  • Réka Luca Jani (born 1991), Hungarian tennis player
  • Vivien Léránt (born 1990), Hungarian handball player
  • Kálmán Marvalits (1901–1982), Hungarian athlete
  • Dániel Sallói (born 1996), Hungarian football player
  • Mihály Szeróvay (born 1982), Hungarian football player
  • Petra Teveli (born 1979), Hungarian marathon runner

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Siófok is twinned with:

{| class="wikitable"

|- valign="top"

|

  • Oulu, Finland <small>(since 1978)</small>
  • Landsberg am Lech, Germany
  • Walnut Creek, California, United States
  • Netanya, Israel
  • Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France

||

  • Poreč, Croatia
  • Pärnu, Estonia
  • Waldheim, Germany
  • Brenna, Poland

|}

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File:Lake Balaton in Siofok, Hungary 02.jpg

File:Szántód (ship)01.jpg

File:Siofok beach.jpg|Plázs Siófok

File:Ładny domek przy promenadzie Petofiego w Siofok - panoramio.jpg

File:Zenepavilon Siofok.jpg

</gallery>

Transportation

thumb|right|300px|Building of the main train station in Siófok

Road transport

Siófok is considered to be a transportation hub. The town lies on the meeting point of the M7 motorway and the main roads, 65 and 6401. There are several local bus lines and long-distance buses also stop there. Taxi companies operate in the town as well.

  • M7 motorway
  • Main Road 7 ('Old 7')
  • Main Road 65
  • Main Road 6401

Rail transport

Siófok can be reached by train from three directions either on the Budapest–Murakeresztúr railway or on the Tab-Siófok railway. The town has six train stations: Szabadisóstó, Szabadifürdő, Sióvölgy, Siófok Main Station, Balatonszéplak felső and Balatonszéplak alsó. Siófok is easily accessible from the capital, Budapest, from the main train stations 'Déli Pályaudvar' and 'Kelenföld'. Székesfehérvár is also a main hub to catch connecting trains to Siófok.

  • Budapest–Murakeresztúr railway
  • Siófok–Tab railway

Water transport

Siófok is also famous for its ports for motor and sailing boats. Bigger tourist boats have their docks in the Port of Siófok.

  • Port of Siófok
  • Ezüstpart Yacht Port

Air transport

Siófok is home to a sport airport called Siófok-Kiliti Airport. No commercial airlines operate from here.

See also

  • Lake Balaton
  • Museum of Minerals in Siófok

References

  • in Hungarian, English and German
  • Official tourism website
  • Tourism website
  • Siófok flag and Coat of Arms
  • Accommodations in Siófok
  • Siófok at funiq.hu

|}