Keszthely

Keszthely (Kesthell, Blatenski Kostel) is a city of 20,895 inhabitants in Zala County, Western Transdanubia Region Hungary, located on the western shore of Lake Balaton. It's the largest city by the lake and one of the more important cultural, educational and economic hubs in the region. Due to its favorable location and accessibility by both road and rail, Keszthely and the surrounding area is a preferred holiday destination.

Though settled since at least Roman times (the Keszthely culture of Romance pannonian language), the first historical evidence of the town Keszthely dates from a 1247 document. Since 1421, Keszthely has been a market town.

The Faculty for Agriculture of University of Pannonia is located in Keszthely. George Fejer, Hungarian author and librarian at the University of Pest, was born in Keszthely in 1766.

Location
The city of Keszthely is located in the northern west end of Lake Balaton, on the shore of one of the biggest lakes in Central Europe. The city is surrounded by forests and rolling hills to the north, plains to the south east and the lake. South from the city lies Kis-Balaton (Little Balaton), a swamp which is a part of the Zala river delta of and which acts as a natural water purifier for Lake Balaton. The swamp is particularly known as a water fowl habitat and enjoys international recognition and protection as a natural reserve.

The city also enjoys the proximity of Hévíz, a town famous for its spa and health services. Keszthely is very close to some northern Balaton wine regions which are known to produce high quality white wines from locally cultivated varieties.

Keszthely is easily and rather quickly accessible by car from both Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and Vienna, the capital of Austria. Direct bus services between Keszthely and Budapest run several times a day.

Twin towns — sister cities
Keszthely is twinned with:
 * 🇸🇰 Levoča, Slovakia
 * 🇵🇱 Stary Sącz, Poland
 * 🇵🇱 Łańcut, Poland
 * 🇵🇱 Piwniczna, Poland
 * 🇵🇱 Jędrzejów, Poland
 * 🇸🇮 Piran, Slovenia
 * 🇩🇪 Boppard,  Germany
 * Hof van Twente, Netherlands
 * 🇨🇿 Litomyšl, Czech Republic
 * 🇨🇿 Turnov, Czech Republic
 * 🇹🇷 Alanya, Turkey