Hungarian "Maldives": floating houses of Lake Bokodi

Typically, artificial ponds near thermal plants, where water is drained after cooling, have the form of unattractive ponds that perform an exclusively production function. But the artificial lake in Hungary has become a popular tourist attraction, where vacationers from all over the country seek. Why Lake Bokody is so interesting, we will tell in our review.

The artificial Lake Bokodi is located between the settlements of Bokod and Oroslan, 80 kilometers from Budapest. This is a fairly large reservoir with an area of 160 hectares.

It arose in 1961 during the flooding of the lowlands and served to meet the needs of the power plant, which is located on its shore. Ice never formed on Lake Bokody, and even at low subzero temperatures, the water remained relatively warm. That is, the water discharged from the power plant always maintained the overall positive temperature of the reservoir and prevented the formation of ice. This feature is largely the reason for the incredible popularity of the lake among vacationers.

Local residents began to build small houses on the lake, which were used for recreation in the summer. And today, in the middle of the lake and along all its shores, dozens of small houses are located on wooden stilts, each of which is unique in its own way.

From afar, they are very reminiscent of similar buildings somewhere on the tropical coast, but dense thickets of reeds and willows instead of coconut palms eloquently indicate that this floating village is located somewhere in temperate latitudes.

The houses are connected to the shore and to each other using wooden bridges. In the summer in this picturesque place there are always a lot of vacationers, but in winter these houses are not empty. There are always many fishermen who come to the lake on weekends. Even after the power plant was closed 3 years ago and the lake ceased to be ice-free, it still attracts tourists. Unusual stilt houses, wooden bridges and the water surface of the lake beckon to spend a vacation here.