Lake Velence Lake Velence Lake Velence is the third largest lake in Hungary. It is a popular holiday destination among Hungarians. The lake has an area of 26 km, one third of which is covered by the common reed. Because of the sunny climate of the area and the shallowness of the lake, it is one of the warmest lakes in Europe: its temperature in the summer may reach 26 to 28 °C. Lake Velence is located in Fejér county, close to the M7 motorway between Budapest and Székesfehérvár, at the foot of the Velence Mountains. The lake is a bird reserve.
Lake Balaton on Lake Balaton, including Balatonfüred and Hévíz, have long been resort centres for the Hungarian aristocracy, it was only in the late 19th century that the Hungarian middle class began to visit the lake. The construction of railways in 1861 and 1909 increased tourism substantially, but the post-war boom of the 1950s was much larger. The last major German offensive of World War II, Operation Frühlingserwachen, was conducted in the region of Lake Balaton in March 1945, being referred to as "the Lake Balaton Offensive" in many British histories of the war. The battle was a German attack by Sepp