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 Tapolca has more than 18 000 inhabitants.
It is situated in a basin named after itself, in the junction of
ancient service roads. The city lies on a low ridge, rising out from
the lowlands. The place has been populated since the Stone Age. On
the way from Kisapáti we first reach the Szent György street then
the Arany János street, getting to the historical centre of the town:
the church-hill. The parish church was built by bailiff Turul at
the beginning of the 13. century. A Romanian-styled window refers
to this period on the southern side of the building. Opposite to
the church there was a castle giving place to the friary of Karthauz.
Today it is a school. The walls of the building were raised since
that time and on the roman wall which is under the new one a famous
work of art can be seen: László Marton: Our Past. The gate of the
castle - extended in the 17. century - was excavated on the northern
part of the school. In front of it there was a deep wolf-trap with
a drawbridge.
 The high stone wall
on the Eastern part of Malom Lake is the pantheon of Tapolca,
which cherishes the memory of the great sons of the town: János
Török, soldier of the Hungarian War of Independence in 1848-49,
Antonius Flórián Török, captain of 1848-49, Emil Felletár, chemist,
Dr. Pál Papp athlete-trainer and József Csermák hammer-thrower
Olympic athlete.  The baroque Holy well on the other side of the
Lake used to be the pride of
a little source on Véndek-hill. Along the Kossuth street from the
Main square we can reach the Cavelake in Kisfaludy street. It is
the most famous sight of the town. The unique treasure of Central-Europe
was discovered in 1903 during well-making. The cave-system - stretching
under the settlement - came into being in the limestone, as a result
of the melting effect of the karstic water. The length is about
4 kms, 2.5 kms known of it. The brook running through the cave
is 0.5-4.3 m deep. A 300 m long section in electric lighting can
be visited by the tourists on boats since 1998 again. It is a beautiful
fairyland under the earth.
More information: www.tapolca.hu |
