Alba Villa Apartmanhotel

the centre of the historic wine region

by cheesecake17

The day tour on june 29 2006 took me to lake balaton....The weather had turn very bad when we were in Herend but as we headed toward the lake the storm had stopped....but it was very cool...nothing compare to the 35C budapest had.....

We eat at the top of the hill looking over the lake.....

The town near the lake was built on the wide, shiny side of Balaton Riviera, protected by 300-metre high hills against cold winds. There are vineyards and fruit gardens on hills of southern slope.

Balatonfüred is the centre of the historic wine region named after the town. It is quite interesting and surprising that the fame of this mellow old resort is originally due not to Balaton but the aerated springs rushing up at the lake-shore.

The water had been used for the purpose of drinking treatments, and as from the 1730s also for bathing . Water of the springs was first analyzed in 1772 . Medical power of the water is applied for treating heart diseases ...

In 1846 the first steamship of Balaton called "Kisfaludy" was set afloat here.

The oldest and most significant historic monument of the city is the St. Mihály church registered in records already in 1211. It was built on the ruins of an ancient Roman villa. Today only the ruins of the church restored in 1966 can be seen. It is especially valuable because the original furniture of the church remained completely.