Gárdony
The city lying on the southern shore of Lake Velence has a population of 8000.
Attractions
In the Bóné Kálmán Street is the Baroque reformed church built in 1784.
The modern Roman Catholic church on the corner of Bóné Kálmán Street and Posta Street was built between 1942-44 with a Szekler style wooden tower.
Also in the Bóné Kálmán Street is the Gárdonyi Gallery where the Géza Gárdonyi Memorial Exhibition can be seen. The bust of Géza Gárdonyi is on the Balatoni Street.
At the southern end of Agárd, in the Bika Valley 50°C thermal water has been found in 1984 and a thermal bath was built here which was turned into a spa complex in 2004. Near to the train station is the Napsugár (Sunshine) Beach (1 Chernel Street).
In a separated area is the Pop Beach whose stage have been meeting place for the country’s pop and rock bands every summer for 30 years.
At the western end of Agárd is the Park Beach Camping with a 500 meters long beach line and sports grounds (56-58 Chernel Street).
The Nádasdy Obelisk, the Romantic grave of Forray Júlia, the wife of Nádasdy Lipót is located in the old part Agárd Cemetery.
Down at the lake shore, at the Cigánytanya (Gypsy Camp) is the Chernel István Bird Watching Post which is open for researchers and children alike.
Géza Gárdonyi, the author of Eclipse of the Crescent Moon was born here in 1863. He used this last name in honor of the city where he grew up. In the house he was born in is the Géza Gárdonyi Memorial Museum.
On the left side of the road coming from the Museum to Gárdony stands the St. Anne Chapel built in Classical style. It was built by the Nádasdys between 1855-56.
In Dinnyés, on Templom Square is the Classical Roman Catholic church which was built in around 1820. In front of the entrance is the stone statue of its builder, György Vajki.
In the Géza Gárdonyi Street is the Provost Hall which today operates as a post office, pensioner’s club and cultural center.
To the west of Dinnyés is the Dinnyés-fertő, a 560 hectares large nature reserve and to the north is the 420 hectares large Lake Velence Bird Reserve.
History
The archaeological findings from this area are from remains of Bronze and early Iron Ages settlements. In the Roman times the region was inhabited by Celts but also Roman graves have been found.
Originally Gárdony and its vicinity belonged to the king. The name of the city is from one of its later owners who was called Gardun. The plains of Gárdony were first mentioned in a document from 1260 and as a settlement from 1410. During the Ottoman Occupation it was uninhabited due to the high taxes. In 1870, Agárd, Dinnyés and Szerecseny were joined to Gárdony. The construction of the Budapest–Székesfehérvár–Nagykanizsa–Fiume railway line from 1860 caused a boost in the development of Gárdony, agricultural factory were built and from the 1930’s the Agárd holiday zone was established. The beaches were constructed, hotels, ship and sailing ports, water sport areas were built, the ship transport of Velence began to operate.
Agárd’s first written record as „Ágor” is from 1193 when King Bela III gave a part of the village to the crusaders. On the king’s part, servant were living, later it was given to the provost of Csút by Béla IV in 1264. It had many owners during the centuries, amongst them the Nádasdy family from the 1830’s to 1930.
The holiday one started to develop with the Nádasdys parceling the land and the the new street system. From the 1930’s until World War II, more than 700 vacation houses were built in Agárd but the war halted its development which only continued in the 1960’s. By the 1970’s, Agárd became one of Hungary’s most popular tourist destinations.
At the southwestern shore of Lake Velence is Dinnyés. It was first mentioned in 1410 as „Dinnyésméd”. After the Ottoman times, it was the property of the provost until 1945.