Szigetvar - Turkish-Hungarian Friendship Park - Keszthely - Festetics Palace - Heviz lake

Route: Pecs - Szigetvar - Turkish-Hungarian Friendship Park - Keszthely - Festetics Palace - Heviz lake - Pecs
Duration: 11 h
Our first short stop we will make at the Zrínyi Castle which in spite of its modafications the layout of the castle tipically represents the mud castles of the 16th century. The four towers and walls are enclosing an irregular square area. From East, West and South there are wide embankments rising almost the height of the walls. The town’s past goes back thousands of years, however it became  generally known for the heroic battles against the Ottomans. With this, it is also became one of the most famous castles in Hungary. Suleiman I.  outnumbered the 2500 castle defenders by 30-40 times and encamped on a plain, east side of the wall, on the 5th of August 1566. The Turkish  sent ambassadors to Zrínyi and warned him to give up the castle. Zrínyi declined the offer and the siege began. Despite a month of fierce battle, Zrínyi chose to fight till the end instead of surrender: at dawn on the 7th of September he galloped out from the castle, heading  his 200 men in one of history's great death-and-glory cavalry charges. Our next short stop we will make at the Turkish-Hungarian Friendship Park which was established on the 500th anniversary of Suleiman’s birthday. It is said that the tent of the Turkish Sultan stood there at the siege of Szigetvár in 1566. Suleiman I. couldn’t see the occupation of the castle since he passed away two days before victory. Although the  sultan's body was taken to Constantinople for burial, it was said that his heart remained behind in Hungary. The construction of the Hungarian- Turkish Friendship Park was  taken place after long diplomatic reconciliations and negotiations. On the September of 1994, the Turkish president of the republic, Süleyman Demirel and the Hungarian cultural and educational minister Gábor Fodor inaugurated the park. Next we will reach Keszthely is a town of  grand town houses perched at the western edge of Lake Balaton. It's hands down one of the loveliest spots to stay in the area, and far removed from the tourist hot spots on the lake. There we will visit to the beautiful baroque palace is the highlight of Keszthely and also one of the three largest country houses in Hungary. Festetics Palace belonged to a ducal family of Croatian origin who moved to Hungary in the 17th century. They chose Keszthely to be the centre of their estates and decided to have the palace built, as well as a pharmacy and a hospital. Next we will visit to Heviz lake where you can spend the time for relax or wellness and know many legends about it. Despite the fact that the colonization of lake-environs is documented even from Roman time period, the spa tradition could be followed since the 17th century. The thermal water lake is the unique attraction of Hévíz-spa. The temperature is consistently around 30° C. Another interesting fact: the main part of this thermal bathing place, with its typical small towers, is constructed on columns. So, you can comfortably enter the water (where you can touch many pieces of dark-green leaves of water-lilies with white-violet flowers) up to its centre. Moderately radioactive water, with high content of minerals, sulphur, iodine and another effective matters, can help heal the diseases of moving apparatus and rheaumatism, as well as many other health troubles. After we will return to Pecs.
Price: Per person