Fonyód
Attractions
The sound of chimes coming from the Music Pagoda in the port amuses the visitors. The Zsolnay Well at the train station offers a refreshing sight. The 18 meters tall double cross erected in 2000 can be seen from quite a distance. The remains of the castle can be seen in the Fácánosi Forest. Close to here is the press house, a folklore monument built at the beginning of the 19th century. The Matthias King Secondary School designed by Imre Makovecz is the home of literary meetings.
History
A representative sight of the southern shore of Balaton is the Fonyód Mountain which, in case of high waters was an island until the beginning of the 20th century. Its double mountaintops emerging from the water (Vár Mountain, Sípos Mountain, is covered in a thin basalt layer which was being eroded by the wind and the water. The steep northern slopes were shaped by the waves of the water and landslides. The basalt was later used for road construction.
The mountain attracted settlers since ancient times. A document of the Pannonhalma Abbey from 1082 mention the town as Funoldi. In the Ottoman times a fort castle with trench and plank was built here. After the construction of the Souther Railway in 1861 and the Kaposvár Railway in 1896, the town began to develop rapidly. This was followed by the construction of holiday resorts. In 28 August 1911, Antal Lányi was the first to fly over the Balaton between Badacsony and Fonyód (his memorial can be seen at the port of Fonyód).
With a current population of 4800, Fonyód attained town status in 1989. Its 7 km long shoreline has 4 holiday destinations: Fonyódliget, Sándortelep, Bélatelep and Alsóbélatelep.
The first ship station was finished in 1898 which was followed by another one in 1913. Its pier with a length of 464 meters is the longest one of Balaton.