Lake Baláta

Baláta Lake and the surrounding Baláta Lake nature protection area and forest reserve is one of Somogy County's outstanding natural values. In order to preserve the fauna of the stagnant, peat-filled lake, it was declared protected already in 1942, thus becoming the county's first nature protection area, and in 2008 the area was also included in the list of forest reserves. The area's designations under international conventions are: the Szentai forest is a specially protected area of outstanding importance, and Inner Somogy is a special bird protection area.

Location, access

The lake lies in the western part of Somogy County, between Kaszó, Somogycsicsó and Szenta. One of the stops of the small railway that runs between Kaszó and Szenta is located near the lake, from which a short walk leads to the observation tower (birdwatching tower) built near the lake.

Visitation

The part of the forest reserve protection zone that is not strictly protected is freely visitable, except between March 1 and July 31 for areas where a highly protected bird nests. The strictly protected parts, except for the footpath between the railway stop and the birdwatching tower, are not accessible to visitors, only with permission from the nature protection authority, and even with such permission it is forbidden to drive a vehicle into the area.

On May 27, 2014, a trail system of about 540 meters in total length was handed over, named after Dr. Marián Miklós, who wrote a doctoral dissertation on the lake's researcher and on the vertebrate fauna of the original peat in the 1950s; walking this trail allows visitors to learn about the lake more closely than previously possible.

The lake and its surroundings

The explanation for the formation of Baláta Lake is that the depressions of the clay-covered, Pleistocene-origin sand dunes present in the area do not allow water to seep out, so it accumulates. Today the lake is stagnant, but in the past it is assumed to have had an outflow. The amount of precipitation and evaporation strongly influences the water level, so the lake's area can change quickly. The open water surface is usually small, the largest part is swampy, reed-covered. However, even during the greatest drought, the innermost peat area is difficult to reach, only via narrow, winding wild channels where the high reeds make navigation hard. Elderly residents of Kaszó recounted that once in the 1930s, during a dry period, a chimney sweep, looking for a shorter route, cut a channel into the lake, but it never reappeared.

History

The first written mention of the lake and its surroundings dates from 1295, then it was called Balátafő and written as Balatafew. At that time it belonged to the Hungarian queen, in the 19th century to the Festetics family, and then for almost three decades, until 1945, to Prince Christian von Hohenlohe-Oehringen. In his time the vast forest was used only for hunting; no roads were built, only clearings for hunting. From 1945 to 1950 the area was under Soviet administration, then it became part of the Hungarian State Forestry, later it was transferred to Kaszó Forestry Company Ltd. Its protection had been planned since 1929, but a decree was issued only in 1942, and in practice it was realized only in 1954.

In earlier times boats were also used on the lake, and during Prince Hohenlohe’s era a duck‑hunting platform was built in the lake, and even in the 1930s the idea of a cull arose, so that the prince could introduce bison from his Tátra (Javorina) estates into the forest. Because calculations showed that a cull would cause the local wells to lose their water, the idea was abandoned. It also posed a danger to wildlife when, in the 1970s, a nursery for seedlings was planned on the reed bed in front of the observation tower; this failed because the erratic water flow destroyed the trees.

Flora

The area around the lake is characterized by several plant associations. Floating reed vegetation islands, rush‑dominated sedge meadows, peat‑moss willow‑sedge meadows, peat‑moss alder meadows and alder‑oak forests with hazel are all present. One particular feature is the nettle‑alder meadow. The alder trees, adapted to meadow conditions, develop a root system that spreads above the soil, indicating the highest water level measurable at any given time. Other curiosities are the floating islands formed from narrow‑leaf rush and aquatic horsetail. These arise when dense, interwoven roots of aquatic plants collect dust and leaf litter, upon which other plants subsequently settle.

Among the Faja, the most significant rarity is the carnivorous plant, Aldrovanda, but the marsh gentian, the peat moss, the water crowfoot, the peat moss, the Carpathian saffron, the lake alga and the more recently appeared white fairy rose also represent important values.

Fauna

The area's most valuable animal species are the common viper (including the black form), the sand lizard, the marsh turtle and the otter, and black stork, gypsy wren, meadow pipit and brown meadow pipit also nest here. In the littoral zones live waterfowl, the speckled water rail, the kingfisher, the grey heron, as well as sandpipers, plovers and ducks. The fish fauna is poor, but many amphibians can be found in the lake, such as numerous frog species and the speckled newt.