Tapolca/ Balaton area, The Lake Cave

September 2, 2008 Amusement parks in the world, Interesting cities, places worth visiting, RECREATIONAL PARKS WORLD WIDE, Sport ekstremalny, Summer holidays!!! Holidays No Comments






Tapolca town, Balaton area, Summer holidays 2008

Good evening, I would like to share some information about my family’s recent visit in August this year to Tapolca town/ Balaton area and the world wide known the Lake Cave.

 So to start please find some useful information about Tapolca town.

Tapolca

Tapolca

Location of Tapolca

Coordinates: 46°53′03″N 17°25′58″E / 46.88410, 17.43266

Country

 Hungary

County

Veszprém

Area

 - Total

63.48 km² (24.5 sq mi)

Population (2004)

 - Total

17,495

 - Density

275.59/km² (713.8/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

 - Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

8300

Area code(s)

87

Tapolca is a town in Veszprém county, Hungary, close to the Lake Balaton. It is located at around 46°52′60″N, 17°25′60″E.

The Lake Cave

The nearly 300 meter long cave-system, this unique attraction is situated in the heart of the town. It was opened to the public in 1940, after ten years of its discovery. People can rent small boats, to row around in the cave-system and that is not all! To come into that cave you must spend at least 2 hours in a queue but while you row in a boat deep inside the earth- your impressions are magnificent!

Gallery-

see my best photos from that town and the Lake Cave

Best regards

Admin

 

Miscolc

August 29, 2008 Interesting cities, places worth visiting, Summer holidays!!! Holidays No Comments



Miskolc

 The city lies at the meeting point of different geographical regions – east from the Bükk mountains, in the valley of the river Sajó and the streams Hejő and Szinva. The lowest areas are the banks of the river Sajó, with an altitude of 110-120 meters. The area belongs to the Great Plain region and is made up of sedimentary rocks. Between the Avas hill and Diósgyőr lies the hilly area of the Lower Bükk (250-300 m) consisting of sandstone, marl, clay, layers of coal, from the tertiary period, and volcanic rocks from the Miocene.

The Central Bükk, a gently sloping mountainous area with an altitude between 400 and 600 meters, is situated between Diósgyőr and Lillafüred; the area is made up of limestone, slate, dolomite and other rocks from the Triassic period. The surface was formed mostly by karstic erosions.

The highest area, the 600-900 meters high Higher Bükk bore Bükk Highlands begin at Lillafüred. This mostly consists of sea sediments (limestone, slate, dolomite) from the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, and volcanic rocks like diabase and porphyry. Several caves can be found in the area.

History

The area has been inhabited since ancient times – archaeological findings date back to the Paleolithic, proving human presence for over 70.000 years. Its first known dwellers were the Cotinus, one of the Celt tribes. The area has been occupied by Hungarians since the “Conquest” in the late 9th century. It was named after the Miskóc clan and was first mentioned by this name around 1210. The Miskóc clan lost their power when King Charles I centralized his power by curbing the power of the oligarchs.

Miskolc was elevated to the rank of oppidum (market town) in 1365 by King Louis I. He also had the castle of the nearby town Diósgyőr (now a district of Miskolc) transformed into a Gothic fortress. The city developed in a dynamic way, but during the Ottoman occupation of most of Hungary the development of Miskolc was brought to a standstill. The Turks burnt Miskolc in 1544 and the city had to pay heavy taxes until 1687. It was during these years that Miskolc became an important centre of wine-growing. By the end of the 17th century the population of the city was as large as that of Kassa, and 13 guilds had been founded.

During the war of independence against Habsburg rule in the early 18th century Prince Francis II Rákóczi, the leader of the Hungarians put his headquarters in Miskolc. The imperial forces sacked and burnt the city in 1707. Four years later half of the population fell victim of a cholera epidemic. Miskolc recovered quickly, and another age of prosperity began again. In 1724 Miskolc was chosen to be the city where the county hall of Borsod county would be built. Many other significant buildings were built in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the city hall, schools, churches, the synagogue, and the theatre. The theatre is commonly regarded as the first stone-built theatre of Hungary, although the first one was actually built in Kolozsvár (then a part of Hungary, now Cluj-Napoca, Romania). According to the first nationally held census (1786) the city had a population of 14.719, and 2414 houses.

These years brought prosperity, but the cholera epidemic of 1873 and the flood of 1878 took many lives. Several buildings were destroyed by the flood, but bigger and more beautiful buildings were built in their places. World War I did not affect the city directly, but many people died, either from warfare or from the cholera epidemic.

After the Treaty of Trianon, Hungary lost Kassa (Košice, Slovakia) and Miskolc became the sole regional center of Northern Hungary. This was one of the reasons for the enormous growth of the city during the 1930s and 1940s. The preparation for World War II established Miskolc as the national centre of heavy industry, a position the city maintained until the 1990s. Although Miskolc suffered a lot during the last year of the war, it recovered quickly, and by absorbing the surrounding villages, it became the second-largest city of Hungary with more than 200.000 inhabitants. In 1949 the University of Miskolc was founded (as a successor of the Academy of Mining, formerly in Selmecbánya, which is now Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia).

During its long history Miskolc survived fires, floods, plagues and foreign invasions, but maintained its position as centre of North-East Hungary. The 1990s brought a crisis in the iron industry with a decline in the population. Currently Debrecen is leading in the race for being the second-largest city, while Nyíregyháza is fast becoming a rival for the role of the most important city of the area.

Miskolc is now trying to become known as a cultural– instead of merely an industrial–city. Among the various cultural events, one of the most important festivities is the International Opera Festival, held in every summer.

The most popular tourist destinations in Miskolc are Tapolca, Lillafüred and Felsőhámor. Tapolca has a beautiful park with a boating pond and the famous and unique Cave Bath- please se he applied in the article Caving the photos from the Cave Bath and my trip under the earth in a boat,- Administrator.

Lillafüred and Felsőhámor are pretty villages in a valley surrounded by mountains and forests; their most famous sights are the Hotel Palace on the shore of the Lake Hámori, the “Fátyol-vízesés” in the Szalajka valley (Veil Waterfalls, the highest waterfalls of the country), the Anna Cave and the István Cave.

City parts of Miskolc

The Avas is a hill (234 m / 780 ft) in the heart of Miskolc. On the hilltop stands the Avas lookout tower, the symbol of the city. On the northern part of the hill, close to downtown Erzsébet Square, is the Gothic Protestant Church of Avas, one of the two oldest buildings of Miskolc (the other is the Castle of Diósgyőr.) The limestone caves of Avas are used as wine cellars; the narrow, winding streets give a Mediterranean atmosphere to this part of Avas Hill. The southern part of Avas, also called Avas-South, is where the largest housing estate of the city stands, with 10-storey Socialist-style concrete buildings providing homes for about one-third of the city’s population.

Belváros (Downtown)

The historical centre of Miskolc isn’t as rich in monuments as that of other cities; only the Main Street (Széchenyi St.), Városház tér (City Hall Square) and Erzsébet tér (Elizabeth Square) preserved the style of the 19th century town. There are not only historical buildings but modern shopping malls in the downtown, too.

Diósgyőr

The other town forming today’s Greater Miskolc is mostly famous for its medieval castle. Miskolc’s football team also got its name from Diósgyőr, since their stadium stands here. Historical Diósgyőr is connected to Historical Miskolc by a district called Új(diós)győr (Újgyőr); its main square is an important traffic hub. Also in Új(diós)győr (Diósgyőr-Vasgyár) stands the steel factory that made Miskolc the most important heavy industrial city of Hungary (and earned her the nickname “Steel City”.)

Egyetemváros (University Town)

The University of Miskolc is among the newer ones, it was founded in the 1950s, so its buildings aren’t old, historical ones. University Town is one of the newer parts of the city and can be found between Miskolc and the holiday resort Miskolctapolca. The university, the campus and the sport facilities are surrounded by a large park.

Hejőcsaba and Görömböly

Two former villages that were annexed to the city in 1945 and 1950. Görömböly still looks like a small town of its own.

Lillafüred

The other famous holiday resort, Miskolc-Lillafüred is a picturesque village surrounded by the Bükk mountains. Its most famous building is the beautiful Palace Hotel (Palotaszálló).

Martin-Kertváros

Martin-Kertváros (in Slovak: Martinská osada) is a garden town area.

Miskolctapolca

One of the most known holiday resorts of the country, Tapolca (officially Miskolctapolca or Miskolc-Tapolca to avoid confusion with the Transdanubian town of the same name) is the home of the unique Cave Bath, a natural cave with thermal water. Tapolca is quite far from the city centre and counts as one of the posh areas of Miskolc. It is a popular tourist attraction.

Alsóhámor, Bükkszentlászló, Felsőhámor, Ómassa, Szirma

These former villages were annexed to the city in 1950 (Bükkszentlászló in 1981) and are still separated villages, connected to the city by only its public transport system.

Tourist sights

 Downtown

Diósgyőr

Lillafüred

There is a narrow-gauge railway that connects Lillafüred to Miskolc known as the Lillafüredi Állami Erdei Vasút (Lillafüred Forest State Railway). It winds through scenic forests, and takes between a half hour and 45 minutes for the train to go between the two major stops. The Miskolc stop is located in Diósgyőr.

Miskolctapolca

Near to the city

Festivals

My best photos from Miscolc are applied before- I’ve done them on 03.08.08 while traveling from Balatoin back to Poland, just to BIESZCZADY!

What do you think about the article, possibly you would like to share your own experience, maybe fine photos? History? Whatsoever?

Your 

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Interesting cities, places worth visiting- Košice

August 28, 2008 Interesting cities, places worth visiting, Summer holidays!!! Holidays No Comments




Košice

This summer me and my family travel across Hungary and Slovak republic.

The lovely city worth talking about is Košice , what do we know about this city?

Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the Hornád River at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the borders with Hungary. With a population of nearly 235,000 Košice is the second largest city after Bratislava.

Being the economic and cultural centre of eastern Slovakia, Košice is the seat of the Košice Region and Košice Self-governing Region, the Slovak Constitutional Court, three universities, various dioceses, and other institutions. The city has a well-preserved historical centre, with Slovakia’s biggest Gothic cathedral.

Names

The first written mention of the city was in 1230 as “villa Cassa”. The name of the city comes from the Slavic personal name “Koša” with the patronymic suffix “-ice”. Although according to another sources the city name probaply stames from an ancient Hungarian first name which begins with “Ko” such as Kokos-Kakas, Kolumbán-Kálmán, Kopov-Kopó. Historically, the city has been known as Kaschau in German, Kassa in Hungarian, Cassovia or Caschovia in Latin, Cassovie in French, Caşovia in Romanian and Koszyce in Polish .

History

The first evidence of inhabitance can be traced back to the end of the Paleolithic era. However, the first written reference to Košice (its southern suburb) comes only from 1230. After the invasion of Mongols in 1241, King Béla IV invited German colonists to fill the gaps in population. The city was made of two independent settlements: Lower Košice and Upper Košice, amalgamated in the 13th century. The first known town privileges come from 1290. The city grew quickly because of its strategic location on an international trade route to Poland. The privileges given by the king were helpful in developing crafts, business, increasing importance and for the development of this city. The oldest guild regulations were registered in 1307. In 1321 Košice became a free royal town after it reinforced the king’s troops in the crucial moment of the bloody Battle of Rozhanovce against the Amadé family. In 1347, Košice became the second placed city in the hierarchy of the Hungarian free royal towns, after the capital Buda. As the first city in Europe, Košice received its own coat of arms in 1369 from Louis the Great.[4] The Diet convened by Louis the Great to Košice decided that women can inherit the Hungarian throne. Since the beginning of the 15th century, the city had been playing a leading role in the Pentapolitana - a league of towns of five most important cities of present-day eastern Slovakia (Bardejov, Levoča, Košice, Prešov, and Sabinov).[6]

The history of Košice in the subsequent centuries was influenced by the dynastic disputes over the Hungarian throne. Władysław III of Poland failed to capture the city in 1441. Johann Giskra’s mercenaries from Bohemia defeated Tamás Székely’s Hungarian army in 1449. Albert, Prince of Poland could not capture the city during a six months long siege in 1491. In 1526 the city homaged for Ferdinand I. János Szapolyai captured the city in 1536 but Ferdinand I reconquered the city in 1551. In 1604 Stephen Bocskay occupied Košice during his insurrection against the Habsburg dynasty. Giorgio Basta, commander of the Habsburg forces, failed to capture the city, but Ferdinand I eventually conquered it in 1606. Stephen Bocskay died in Košice on 29 December 1606 and was also interred there. On 5 September 1619 Gabriel Bethlen captured Košice in another anti-Habsubrg insurrection. Košice also became the place of his wedding with Katalin Brandenburgi. On 18 January 1644 the Diet in Košice elected George I Rákóczi the prince of Hungary. In 1657 a printing house and a college were founded by the Jesuits there. The city was besieged by kuruc armies several times in the 1670s and it revolted against the Habsburg emperor. The rebel leaders were massacred by emperor’s soldiers on 26 November 1677. A modern pentagonal fortress was built by the Habsburgs south of the city in 1670. Another rebel leader, Imre Thököly captured it in 1682 but the Austrian field marshal Aeneas de Caprara got it back on 25 October 1685. The fortress was demolished by 1713.

In the 17th century it was the de facto capital of Upper Hungary (in 1563–1686 as the seat of the “Captaincy of Upper Hungary”, and in 1567–1848 as the seat of the Spiš Chamber, which was a subsidiary of the supreme financial agency in Vienna responsible for eastern Slovakia). The city was residence of Eger’s bishop from 1596 to 1700. Since 1657 it was also seat of the historic Košice University, which was promoted to a Royal Academy in 1777. It was transformed into a Law Academy in the 19th century and ceased to exist in the turbulent year of 1921. After the end of the anti-Habsburg uprisings in the early 18th century, the victorious Austrian armies drove the Ottoman forces back to the south and this major territorial change also created new trade routes, now circumventing Košice. The city came into decay and turned from a rich medieval town into a provincial town, dependent mainly on agriculture. In 1723, there was erected the Immaculata statue at the place of a former gallows at Hlavná ulica (Main Street) commemorating the plague from the years 1710–1711. There was a centre of the Hungarian language regenerate movement which published the first Hungarian language periodical called Magyar Museum in Hungary in 1788. The city’s walls were demolished step by step from the late 18th century to 1856; only the Executioner’s Bastion remained with few parts of the wall. The city became a seat of its own bishopric in 1802. The city’s surroundings became a theatre of war again during the Revolutions of 1848, when the Imperial cavalry general Franz Schlik defeated the Hungarian army on 8 December 1848 and on 4 January 1849. The city was captured by the Hungarian army on 15 February 1849, but the Russian troops drove them back on 24 June 1849.

 

At the beginning of the 19th century there were three manufactures and 460 workshops in 1828. The first factories were established in the 1840s (sugar and nail factories). The first telegram message arrived in 1856 and the railway connected the city to Miskolc in 1860. In 1873 there were already connections to Prešov, Žilina and Chop (in present-day Ukraine). The city gained a public transit system in 1891 when track was laid down for a horse-drawn tramway. The traction was electrified in 1914. In 1906, Francis II Rákóczi’s house of Rodosto was reproduced in Košice and his remains were buried in the St. Elisabeth Cathedral.

After World War I and during the gradual break-up of Austria-Hungary, the city at first became a part of the transient “Eastern Slovak Republic”, declared on 11 December 1918 in Košice and earlier in Prešov under protection of Hungary. On 29 December 1918 the Czechoslovak Legions entered the city, making it part of the newly established Czechoslovakia. However, in June 1919 Košice was occupied again, as part of the Slovak Soviet Republic, a proletarian puppet state of Hungary. The Czechoslovak troops secured the city for Czechoslovakia in July 1919, confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920.

Košice was awarded to Hungary, by the First Vienna Award, from 1938 until early 1945. The town was bombarded on 26 June 1941, in what became a welcome pretext for the Hungarian government to declare war on Soviet Union a day later. Hungary’s collaboration with the Third Reich led to the easy deportation of Košice’s entire Jewish population of 12,000 and an additional 2,000 from surrounding areas via cattle cars to the concentration camps for their eventual murder. Thus their fate was identical to that of the other Jews of Slovakia and those from Hungary. The town was captured by Soviets in January 1945 and for a short time it became a temporary capital city of the restored Czechoslovak Republic until the Soviet Red Army reached Prague. Among other acts, the Košice Government Programme was declared on 5 April 1945.

After the Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, the city became part of the Eastern Bloc. Several present-day cultural institutions were founded and large residential areas around the city were built. and the construction and expansion of the East Slovak Ironworks caused population growth from population of 60,700 in 1950 to 235,000 in 1991 and before break-up of Czechoslovakia, it was the fifth largest city in the country. Following the Velvet Divorce and creation of the Slovak Republic, Košice became the second largest city in the country, became a seat of a constitutional court and since 1995 is the seat of the Archdiocese of Košice.

Geography

Košice lies at an altitude of 206 metres (676 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 242.77 square kilometres (93.7 sq mi). It is located in eastern Slovakia, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Hungarian, 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Ukrainian and 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Polish borders. It is about 400 kilometres (249 mi) east from Slovakia’s capital Bratislava and a chain of villages connects it to Prešov about 36 kilometres (22 mi) to the north.

Košice is situated on the Hornád River in the Košice Basin, at the easternmost reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, more precisely its subdivisions of Čierna hora mountains in the north-west and Volovské vrchy mountains in the south-west. The basin is surrounded from the east by the Slanské vrchy mountains.

Sites

The city centre and most historical monuments are located in or around the Main Street (Hlavná ulica) and the town has the largest Town Monument Reserve in Slovakia.[31] The dominant monument of the city is Slovakia’s biggest church, the 14th-century Gothic St. Elisabeth Cathedral, the easternmost Gothic cathedral of western type in Central Europe,[31] and is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Košice. In addition to the cathedral, there is also the 14th-century St. Michael Chapel, the St. Urban Tower and the Neo-baroque State Theatre