The mysterious world of Kis-Balaton
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Ridikul.hu reports that Kis-Balaton has been made quite popular by István Fekete, since two of his famous novels are set there, Tüskevár (English title: Thorn Castle) and Téli berek (which has not been translated yet, but its title could be “Winter Grove”). However, the mouth of the river Zala is much more than literature coming true.
Fiction and reality
István Fekete wrote both of his novels set in the grove having good local knowledge, but if someone is looking directly for the thorn castle, they will get disappointed. Although there is a locality called Thorn Castle, it is far away from the real setting of the novel. The castle mentioned in the novel cannot be found in the Kis-Balaton region, but in the marsh near Főnyed, where one can find a small island with the remains of a castle. Apart from this, the reeds, the region of the mouth of the river Zala, the rich flora and fauna of international importance are all aspects of reality, just like the millions of mosquitoes. The Kis-Balaton Landscape Protection Area, as being part of the Balaton Uplands National Park is specially protected. The yearly schedule according to which different parts of the region can be visited (with an official companion) are regulated by the National Park. So if you would like to sit around on the Diás Island, in the reed hut of Matula, or in the István Fekete Memorial Room – which were built due to the novel – first you should find out if they are actually visitable. According to the plans, a new visitor center, a playground and an interactive botanical path will be waiting for the visitors, as from 2019 onwards three times more visitors are expected.
Amazing fauna
Nearly 300 bird species can be found on the 7000 hectare territory, though many of them do not live here permanently, they just have a rest or change their feathers in the region full of fish. There is no danger of running out of fish: catfish can grow to weigh fifty or even a hundred kilograms in these waters, but many pikes, carps and crucian carps can be found here as well. If we want to see the bustling life of Thorn Castle, we can find it here: it is worth watching the flocks of greylag gooses and grey herons with binoculars, looking for the footprints of otters, deer, foxes or even golden jackals, and in the meantime recalling the statements of the novel about the cruel but just and devoted world of nature.
[…] In the 2-hour drive from the city, I play my country music and sing my head off to Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Travis Tritt and the like. If the mood takes me, I think along to Blues. But when I pass the county line into Zala, I start to breathe more easily. When I drive through the village of Zalakomar and come out the other side (right now greeted by a haze of yellow with fields planted with oil seed rape) I can feel every ounce of tension dissipate. That couple of miles before I hit our village is one of mounting excitement. What will have budded in the garden? Will the carpenter have been to put in the windows? Will Gyöngyi Néni (my neighbour) have left some eggs on the doorstep? Will the view over the Kis Balaton have changed? […]