For culture-lovers
Our civil life
We take it for important that the visitors get to know the participants of the civil life operating in our village. More of them are steady actors, entertainers of the summer program evenings, festivals. The Balaton M. & K. brass orchestra association, the Bárdos Lajos Women Choir have been operating for nearly forty years and over the transmitting of serious artistic values, they also take part in entertaining. Besides them there are further „younger” groups, who add to the entertainment of tourists. To these can be listed the Fergeteges Forgatag (Sensational Drift) Modern dance Association, the Balaton Old Boys nostalgia orchestra, the Grey time Pensioner Club and a folk song circle.
Wine
The wine production has been known in the area of Transdanubia for ages. Two stations of the South-Balaton wine road can be found in our settlements. The locally produced wines can be consumed in more restaurants.
Mostly those white grape kinds are indigenous in the area, which are appropriate to the production of the wines and champagne popular nowadays with fruity and mild elegance. From the red wines the climate of the area is appropriate mostly for production of Burgundy type, tasty red wines.
The grown red vine types: Kékfrankos, Pinot noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon. Criteria of the local red wines are the pleasant, mild acid content, special smell.
Our wines give back the pleasant feeling of the sunshine at Balaton.
Festival mood
The brass band culture has already been retrospecting in our village for nearly 40 years. With the foundation, our brass band (1977) acclimatized and became organic part of our village and of the cultural life of the surroundings. The Balatonkeresztúr International Brass Band Meeting is held in the organisation of our brass band and our brass association since 1981, every summer, which is the biggest and oldest brass band meeting in Hungary. Its unbroken development is verified by the renewing demand for the brass music year by year, whose gratifying is nowadays an event bearing significant touristic charm for the visitors coming to the surrounding.
The new face of our village is built on this tradition, the music village, and our new and successfully starting festivals; the Mária Merlot Rosé festival in the pre-season in June, and the Mária Dixieland festival in the post-season in September.
Events
We offer high-standard programs at different points of our settlements during the touristic season on weekly regularity especially for families with young children. Puppet theatre performances, instrument building, animation serve the children’s entertainment. Besides, our civil organisations also make the summer events colourful.
Arts
Aurél Bernáth artist (1895-1982)
One of the first villas was the famous Béla-castle, which was built by the lawyer Béla Bernáth from Marcali. The later celebrated Kossuth-prized artist spent unforgettable summers here in his childhood, who described the “heroic age” of Balatonmária suggestively, in his autobiography titled Így éltünk Pannóniában (We lived like that in Pannonia). Unfortunately the former Bernáth villa was totally converted during the times.
Lajos Bárdos composer, music scientist (1897-1986)
Lajos Bárdos music scientist was student of Zoltán Kodály. Lajos Bárdos often spent his free time in Balatonmáriafürdő, a lot of his creations can be bound to the surroundings. The „Áldás villa” guards the scene of his summer holidays even today. The Woman Choir got its name after the famous composer. His work Jubilate Lajos Bárdos wrote especially for this choir.
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Wine and Guest House Viktor
Balatonmáriafürdő
Info: +36-30/377 9389, +36-30/938 9207 -
Youth camp
Balatonberény
Info: +3630/902-9599