Balaton, Lake – The largest freshwater body in Central Europe. It is situated 100 km southwest of Budapest in Transdanubia (Dunántúl), once Pannonia Province of the Roman Empire. It was formed by gradational subsidence along fault planes in a tectonic rift in the Earth’s crust, along the southwest-northeast running “Balaton Lineament” during late Pleistocene and Early Holocene times (500,000 - 8,000 B.C:). It is the remnant of the “Pannonian Sea” of Late Miocene to Early Pliocene period (11 million to 0.5 million years). The Lake is 78 km long with varying widths between 6 and 12.5 km. Its surface area is 598 km², 106 m a.s.l. is a relatively shallow body of water with an average depth of a mere 3.3 m. Its feeder tributary is the Zala River at the western end of the lake. The excess water is drained from the lake at Siófok and this canalized waterway flows into the Danube near Szekszárd. The lake and its environment are home to a rich and diverse flora and fauna. A large number of rare and protected plant species are found in the area together with some strictly protected and rare animal species, such as the black stork (Ciconia nigra), black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) and otter (Lutra lutra). There are 41 indigenous species of fish in Lake Balaton and its tributaries. In 1977 the government formed the Lake Balaton Highlands National Park with an area of more than 616 km². The Kis-Balaton (Lesser Balaton) wetland area, a permanent Ramsar site (some 13 km²) forms part of it. About 250 bird species inhabit the area, among them 27 strictly protected ones, such as the spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), or the long-eared owl (Asio otus). Walk-paths, educational trails and environmental showplaces explain the rich nature of the area to visitors from all over the world. Lake Balaton is one of the most significant natural treasures of Hungary, a unique ecological asset of the Central European region and a favored summer resort since the mid 19th century. – B: 1189, 7456, T: 7103, 7456.
Balaton National Park –The National Park was created in the centre of western Hungary on over 57,000 hectares in 1997. This is one of the most popular areas of Hungary for tourism including Central Europe's largest lake, the Balaton. Visitors find a host of cultural and natural attractions. The Lesser Balaton, one of the most valuable parts of the park, is a nesting site for close to 250 species of birds and among these at least a dozen are listed in the Red Data Book. The Tapolca Basin is noted for its volcanic caps and hills with vineyards on the lower slopes. Of the flora that survives on virtually bare rock surfaces the most noteworthy are the Mediterranean Fern of St. George's Hill and the Lip Fern (Cheilanthus marantae). This is the only place in Hungary where this plant is found. The climate of the low hills around Balatonfüred is characteristically Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean. Within the park a few settlements are also protected. Salföld is one such village. There is a bird-watching tower on Kányavári Island and a buffalo reserve at Kápolnapuszta. B&T: 1546.
Balázs, Árpád (Szentes, 1 October 1937 - ) – Classical music composer. He studied at the Ferenc (Franz) Liszt Academy of Music of Budapest under Ferenc (Francis) Farkas (1959-1964) and at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Music, Moscow as a student of Khatchaturian (1967). He also attended the Santa Cecilia Conservatory of Music, Rome and was a student of G. Petrassi (1970). He was President of the Alliance of Hungarian Music Artists (1972-1990). Since 1990 he has been the leader of the Hungarian Section of the World Alliance of Music Societies. His works include Musica Piccola (1966); Four Pictures(Négy kép) (1981); Prelude (Előjáték) (1983); Recruiting Fanfare Music(Fanfare verbunk) (1985); Concertino for Large Orchestra(Concertino nagyzenekarra) (1992); Singing Europe(Éneklő Európa),7 pieces for mixed choir (1973-1998), also 10 works for orchestra, 10 cantatas, 2 oratorios, 200 pieces for choir and solo instruments, chamber pieces, 33 pieces for two clarinets, 7 musicals, film music and folk song variations. He also wrote books, such as the Little Musical Alphabet (Kiszenei ábécé) (1987). He is a recipient of the Ferenc Erkel Prize (1970), the Merited Artist title (1981) and the Pro Urbe Prize, Komárom (2001). – B: 0874, 1178, 1031, T: 7103.→Farkas, Ferenc.
Balázs, Béla (1) (Herbert Bauer) (Szeged, 4 August 1884 - Budapest, 17 May 1949) – Poet, writer, film esthete. He did his higher studies of Hungarian and German Literature at the University of Budapest. He was member of the Eötvös College. 1906 saw him in Berlin and Paris on scholarships. For a short while he was a teacher; then he worked at the Teachers’ College of Budapest. He wrote poems that introduced him to the core team of the literary review West (Nyugat) and became a friend of poet Endre Ady and composers Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály and György (George) Lukács. He published a volume of poems The Wanderer Sings(A vándor énekel) in 1910. He fought and was wounded in World War I. In 1919 he became a member of the “Writers’ Directorate” of the short-lived Hungarian Soviet (Council) Republic. After its fall he emigrated to Vienna (1919), where he wrote newspaper articles and his first major work on film-esthetics, the Dersichtbare Mensch (The Visible Man) (1924). Due to his leftist views he moved to Berlin in 1927, where he became involved in film-script writing and film producing, such as Das Blaue Licht (The Blue Light) with Leni Reifenstahl. He was artistic manager of the Arbeiter-Theaterbund Deutschland (Alliance of German Theater Workers). In 1931 he was invited and moved to Moscow, USSR, where he became Professor at the Academy of Dramatic Arts and continued writing poems, dramas, and essays on film-esthetics. He returned to Hungary in 1945 and became Professor at the Academy of Dramatic Arts and Director of the Film Science Institute. His works include Der Geist des Films (The Spirit of Films) (1930); Der Film-Werden und Wesen einer neuen Kunst (Film: Beginning and Nature of a New Art) (1949); My Way (Az én utam) collected poems (1945);Bluebeard’s Castle (A kékszakállú herceg vára), libretto (music by B. Bartók) (1910); The Wooden Prince (A fából faragott királyfi), libretto (music by B. Bartók) (1912), and Ballad of Panna Czinka (Czinka Panna balladája), libretto (music by Z. Kodály) (1948). He was a recipient of the Kossuth Prize (1949). A film-studio, a prize and a street bear his name. – B: 0883, 1257, T: 7103.→Ady, Endre; Bartók,Béla; Kodály, Zoltán. Lukács, György.
Balázs, Béla (2) (Várfölde, 15 March 1932 - ) – Engineer, businessman, diplomat. He studied at the Benedictine Secondary School (1942-1948) and at the Miklós (Nicholas) Jurisics Secondary School of Kőszeg (1948-1950). Graduated from the Polytechnic of Miskolc, where he studied Engineering (1950-1952). He obtained his qualifications in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Sopron (1953-1954). He received a scholarship and continued postgraduate studies of Applied Reservoir Engineering at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, where he received a B.Sc Degree. He worked at the Lovászi oilfield in Hungary (1954-1956). He actively participated in the 1956 Revolution. In November of 1956 he fled to Austria, then emigrated to Canada in 1957 and started working in the northern oil fields. From his earnings he paid the ransom to free his father from the Internment Camp of Kistarcsa. The Hungarian Court of Justice in Zalaegerszeg sentenced him in absentia to ten years’ imprisonment for participating in the 1956 Revolution and Freedom Fight. He worked in various capacities, at the end as President of the James A. Lewis Engineering & Consulting Firm (1959-1982), Calgary, Alberta. In 1982 he established his own company, Capital Engineering Ltd. and became semi-retired in 2000. Between 1983 and 1995 he created and headed another oil company. He was Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Hungary for the Province of Alberta since 1991, and eventually that of Saskatchewan, until his retirement. He received the 1956 Commemorative Medal of Hungary in 1992, the Hungarian Presidential Gold Medal in 1996. He is Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (1994), the For Defense of Hungary Medal, 1st Class (2002), and the Pro Auxilio Civiona Hungarorum Medal (2003). – B: 1032, T: 7103.
Balázs, Dénes (Denis) (Debrecen, 17 September 1924 - Érd, 19 October 1994) – Geographer, writer on geography. He regarded Alexander Csoma de Kőrös, the great Asia researcher, as his role model. He began his career with the study of the karstic limestone cave region of the Aggtelek cave system. The exploration of the Freedom (Szabadság) Cave of Égerszög is linked to his name. His field studies in the geography of nature, over three decades, embraced five continents in 130 countries, resulting in the publication of several hundred scientific papers. During his travels, he had outstanding results in the study of deserts, karsts and volcanoes. In 1967 he organized and led the Hungarian-Polish Sahara expedition. He traversed the American continent from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego and extended his geographic explorations over Africa, Asia, Australia and the Oceanic islands. He related his traveling experiences in a delightful literary style, resulting in the publication of 27 books in five languages, some reaching publication of one million copies. He proved to be the most fertile scientific writer with a determining role in organizing societies, especially the Hungarian Karst and Cave Exploring Society (Magyar Karszt- és Barlangkutató Társulat), as well as the Hungarian Geographic Society (Magyar Földrajzi Társaság). He launched important journals, such as the Karst and Cave(A Karszt és Barlang) and also the Geographical Museological Studies (Földrajzi Múzeumi Tanulmányok). He established the Hungarian Geographical Museum (Magyar Földrajzi Múzeum) at Érd, southwest of Budapest. His work was recognized by a number of state and professional distinctions. He received the the Imre Vass Medal (1963), Great Lóczy Medal (1988), the Alexander Csoma de Kőrös Medal (1988), the Albert Szent-Györgyi Prize (1994), as well as the Ferenc Móra Prize. He was awarded the Otto Herman and Ottokár Kadic Medals by the Karst and Cave Exploring Society (1968), the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (1992), and he was elected as Honorary Freeman of the Town of Érd. – B: 0883, 1105, T: 7456.→ Kőrösi Csoma, Sándor; Galántha, Judit.
Balázs, Ferenc (Francis) (Kolozsvár, now Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 24 October 1901 - Torda, now Turda, Romania, 22 May 1937) – Unitarian minister, writer, poet. He studied at the Unitarian Theological College of Kolozsvár, then at Oxford in the UK, and at the University of Berkeley, California. He traveled the West Coast of the USA, Japan, Korea, China, Hong-Kong, Singapore, Burma, India and Asia Minor. He returned home to become first a teacher at the high school of Székelykeresztúr (now Cristuru Secuiesc, Romania). Then he was a minister at Mészkő until his death. He also organized a farmers’ cooperative in Torda and was one of the initiators of the so-called “village research movement”. He became involved in the Transylvanian Helicon (Erdélyi Helikon)group, an important society of Hungarian writers in Transylvania under Romanian rule. His books are Fairy Tale River (Mesefolyam) (1920); Wandering All Over the World (Bejárom a kerek világot) (1929, 1975, 1999); Plans of Aranyosszék (Aranyosszéki tervek) (1933); Green Flood(Zöld árvíz) (1936), and Under the Clod (A rög alatt) (1936). – B: 0879, 0876, 0877, 1257, T: 7103.
Balczó, András (Andrew) (Kondoros, 16 August 1938 - ) – Sportsman (Pentathlete), mechanic, politician. His sport career started at the Nyíregyháza Sport Club in 1954 and continued at the Csepel Sport Club (1956-1973). He won five individual titles in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1969, and five team titles in the modern pentathlon at the World Championships. He won the individual championship consecutively from 1963 to 1969. After placing fourth in the individual event at the 1960 Rome Olympics, he won a team gold medal in the same year. In 1968, at the Mexico Olympics, he won silver medal in the individual event and gold in the team event. In 1972, at the Munich Olympics, he won the individual title and a silver medal in the team event for a total of five Olympic medals: three golds, two silvers. He was a strong swimmer and runner and a consistent fencer. His overall record is the greatest of any modern pentathlete. His best event was cross-country running. His sports career was documented in the popular Mission (Küldetés). He dominated modern pentathlon in the 1960s, and is the greatest figure of Pentathlon History. He always confessed his Christian faith. He wrote a book entitled Delight Embedded in Suffering (Szenvedésbe ágyazott gyönyűség) (2005). He is a recipient of the Hungarian Heritage Prize (Magyar Örökség Díj) (1996), and the Ferenc Csík Prize (2001). He is Sportman of the Nation (2004). – B: 1051, 1768, T: 7103.→Balczó, Zoltán.
Balczó, Zoltán (Nyíregyháza, 1948 - ) – Electrical engineer, politician. He completed his high school education in his native town. He obtained his Degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Budapest Polytechnic. From 1971 to 1975, he was a designing engineer at the Power Station and Network Designing Company (Erőmű- és Hálózattervező Vállalat). Since 1975, he has been lecturing at the Kálmán Kandó Technical College. Since 1992, he has been active in politics; he became a member of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (Magyar Demokrata Fórum – MDF), which he left later; he could take part in patriotic politics by being a member of the Hungarian Life and Truth Party (Magyar Igazság és ÉletPártja – MIÉP); in October 1994, he became a member of this party’s National Presidium and, from 1994 to 1998, he was elected to be the Member for the Municipal Assembly of Budapest. Following the 2002 elections, he resigned from his position early in 2003 and discontinued his membership. In October 2003, he joined the For a Better Hungary Movement(JobbikMagyarországért Mozgalom) just being formed and, since then, he has been its Vice-President. Between 1998 and 2002, he was a Member of Parliament and, between 1999 and 2002, upon governmental request, he became Curator of the Illyés Public Foundation (Illyés Közalapítvány). The initial program of the Movement for a Better Hungary is linked to his name, which was entitled “Order Against Liberalism” (Rend a liberalizmus ellen), and he also participated in the formation of the Gábor Bethlen Program (Bethlen Gábor Program). He represents the Euro-skeptic policy of the party and, he is a Member in the 2009 Euro-Parliament representing the Party For aBetter Hungary Movement – Jobbik in Brussels. From 2010 he is a Member of Parliament and its Deputy Speaker as well. His fields of interest are education and energy-politics. He is the brother of András Balczó. – B: 0974, 1031; T: 7456.→Balczó, András; Political Parties in Hungary.
Béldi Codex – Manuscript donated to the Bishopric Library of Eger by Ferenc (Francis) Toldy, physician, author, Member of the Hungarian Academy of Science. It is a damaged manuscript, probably dating from the 16th century. It contains a partial copy of the Vienna Illuminated Chronicle (Bécsi Képes Krónika), as well as a Calendar for 1458-1459. It received its name from István (Stephen) Béldi, heraldist, Royal Assessor, one of the founders of the Transylvanian (Erdélyi) Museum Association. – B: 1031, 7617, T: 7617.→Codex Literature; Toldy, Ferenc.
Bálint, Endre (Andrew) (Budapest, 27 October 1914 - Budapest, 3 May 1986) – Painter, graphic artist. He studied graphic art at the Academy of Applied Arts, Budapest under Ferenc (Francis) Helbing (1930-1934), but was interested in modern artists as well, such as Picasso and Braque. In 1934 he was in Paris as assistant to photographer Robert Capa and friend of Lajos (Louis) Vajda. In Budapest he learned painting at the free school of János Vaszary and Vilmos Aba-Novák. He was member of the Szentendre artist colony. Later in life he created photomontages as well. His first collective exhibit was in 1938, followed by many more at home and abroad (e.g. Győr, Miskolc, Szentendre, Budapest, Paris, Brussels) He was influenced by the surreal style of the Szendendre School. His works include Homesickness (Honvágy) (1959); Wonderous Fishing(Csodálatos halászat) (1960); Grotesque Burial(Groteszk temetés) (1963); Magical Night at Szentendre(Mágikus éjjel Szentendrén) (1965), Triptichon vols. i, ii, iii, (1974). He also authored books such as From the Diary of Lies(Hazugságok naplójából) poems (1972); Autobiographical Fragments(Életrajzi töredékek) (1984), and It Is All About My Fate(Sorsomról van szó) (1987). He was a recipient of the Kossuth Prize (1985), the titles of Merited Artist (1973) and Outstanding Artist (1983). – B: 0883, 1124, T: 7103.→Capa, Robert; Vaszary, János; Aba-Novák, Vilmos; Vajda, Lajos.
Bálint, Gábor (szentkatolnai) (Gabriel) (Szentkatolna, now Cătălina, Transylvania, in Romania, 13 March 1844 - Temesvár, now Timişoara, Romania, 26 May 1913) – Linguist, orientalist. In childhood he learnt German from his father, later he learnt Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and some western languages. When he matriculated, he spoke twelve languages; in his adulthood he knew 30 languages. He mainly studied in Vienna and Pest and became interested in eastern languages. The Hungarian Turkologist Ármin Vámbéry gave him assistance. Bálint soon compiled a book of Turkish grammar, still used today. As a law student at the University of Pest he became acquainted with the scholar János (John) Fogarasi, who was engaged in writing his famous dictionary of the Hungarian language at the time. In fact, the Hungarian Academy was just looking for a young linguist, who would travel to the eastern regions of the Russian Empire in order to study the Mongolian and Manchurian languages. Fogarasi recommended Gábor Bálint, who was sent to that region in the early 1870s. He first traveled to the Mongols living on the shores of the Caspian Sea, and eventually reached present-time Mongolia by 1874. During 1875-1877 he was an honorary lecturer at the University of Budapest and took part in the Southeast-Asian expedition of Count Béla Széchenyi, traveling through India as far as Indonesia, China and Japan (unable to enter Tibet) during 1877-1879. From 1879 to 1892 he worked in the Ottoman Turkish Empire; then he was teaching Arabic at the University of Athens. Later he became professor, head of the Ural-Altaic Department at the University of Kolozsvár, Transylvania (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania), training some notable scholars. During Count Zichy’s 1895 expedition he was working in the Caucasus Mountains. On the basis of his knowledge of eastern languages he contended that Hungarian was member of the “Turanian” language family of some 150 million people, thus opposing the concepts of József Budenz and Pál Hunfalvy. During the “Ugor – Turkic (linguist) war” he did not take sides, and he adhered to his “Turanian” concept despite considerable opposition. His two books and compiled works were published in the early 1990s. In his birthplace in Transylvania, the Gábor Bálint Cultural Society was founded on 24 March 1990 to acquaint the public with his Oriental linguistic work and to keep his memory alive. – B: 1031, 1068, 1553, 1843, T: 7456.→Vámbéry, Ármin;Széchenyí, Count Béla;Zichy, Count Ágost; Hunfalvy, Pál;Fogarasi, János.
Bálint, György (George) (Budapest, 9 July 1906 - Sztarij Nyikolskoje, Soviet Union, 21 January 1943) – Writer, journalist, critic. He studied commerce at the Academy of Commerce, Budapest. From 1924 to 1939 he was a contributor to the journal Evening (Est). In the meantime he visited a number of European countries including Italy, France, Norway and England. He wrote articles in German, English and Hungarian for leftist newspapers, such as the Pest Diary (Pesti Napló), Arbeiterzeitung, Pester Lloyd. During World War II he served in a forced labor unit. He died in a military hospital in the Soviet Union. His writings are characterized by brave humanism. His works include In the Captivity of Time (Az idő rabságában) (1935); Icefloes, Books, Beggars (Jégtáblák, könyvek, koldusok) (1937); In Praiseof the Animals (Az állatok dicsérete), (1940), and TheUprising of Words (A szavak felkelése) collected articles (1947). – B: 0883, 1257, T: 7103.
Bálint, Lajos (Louis) (Újpest, 26 September 1886 - Budapest, 5 March 1974) – Critic, writer, dramaturgist, literary translator. He studied at the Universities of Budapest and Berlin. He was one of the founders of the Thalia Company (Thália Társaság) in 1904, and served as its secretary until 1906. He wrote articles for the Weekly(Hét). In 1910 he became theater critic of the Hungarian Newsletter(Magyar Hírlap). He joined the National Theater (Nemzeti Színház) in 1915, where he worked as secretary and dramaturgist. He also headed the literary section of the Geniusz Publishing Co. Bálint was one of the founders of the Hungarian National Jewish Educational Society (Országos Magyar IzraelitaKözművelődési Egyesület – OMlKE). During 1945-1947 he was Executive Secretary of the Hungarian Writers’ Association (Magyar Irók Szövetsége). From 1953 until his retirement he was Assistant Director of the Authors’ Copyright Office (SzerzőiJogvédelmi Hivatal). Several of his dramatic plays were performed, including Maria Baskircsev (1936), Csinom Palkó, script (1951). He wrote about the world of artists in his Dancers and Artists(Táncosok és artisták) (1913); Stage Door (Művészbejáró) (1964); Balcony and Box(Karzat és páholy) (1967); Thunderous Applause(Vastaps) (1969), and Brush and Chisel(Ecset és véső) (1973). He translated and adapted more than 100 plays. – B: 0883, 1257, T: 7617.
Bálint, Sándor (Alexander) (Szeged, 1 August 1904 - Budapest, 10 May 1980) – Ethnographer, folklorist, researcher of Roman Catholic Folk Heritage and the life of peoples in the area of Szeged. He studied at the Roman Catholic High School and at the University of Szeged (1922-1927); became a University Docent, then an instructor at the Teachers’ Training College of Szeged. He was a Member of Parliament representing the Democratic Party (1945-1948). Between 1947 and 1951 he was Professor of the Ethnography Department at the University of Szeged. Later he was accused of subversive activity against the Communist State, indicted and sentenced to a prison term. He retired in 1966. His works include Festivals of Our People (Népünk ünnepei) (1938); An Ethnography of the Year (Azesztendő néprajza) (1942); Vocabulary of Szeged (Szegedi szótár) (1957); Dialogues and Famous Sayings of Szeged (Szegedi párbeszédek és jeles mondások) (1972); Christmas, Easter and Pentecost (Karácsony, Húsvét és Pünkösd) (1974); Pilgrim Hungarians (Búcsújáró magyarok) (1994), and Breviary, Parts of a Notebook (Breviárium, naplórészletek) (1997). – B: 0881, 0879, 0876, 0877, 1257, T: 7103.→ Trogmayer, Ottó.