Tihany History

History

There was a Roman settlement in the area, but Tihany first appeared on the map in 1055, when King Andrew I (r 1046-60), a son of King Stephen's great nemesis, Vászoly, founded a Benedictine monastery here. The Deed of Foundation of the Abbey Church of Tihany, now in the archives of the Benedictine abbey at Pannonhalma, is one of the earliest known documents bearing any Hungarian words - some 50 place names within a mostly Latin text. It's a linguistic treasure in a country where, until the 19th century, the vernacular in its written form was spurned - particularly in schools - in favour of the more 'cultured' Latin and German.

In 1267 a fortress was built around the church and was able to keep the Turks at bay when they arrived 300 years later. But the castle was demolished by Habsburg forces in 1702 and all you'll see today are ruins.

Tihany Peninsula is a popular recre- ational area with beaches on its eastern and western coasts and a big resort complex on its southern tip. The waters of the so-called Tihany Well, off the southern end of the peninsula, are the deepest - and coldest - in the lake, reaching an unprecedented 12m in some parts.