Statue of Echo, Tihany
Statue of Echo in Tihany is a place where you can shout a lot and from the heart. And at the same time you will not shock the passers-by. The stone sculpture of the girl has become a true tourist mecca of the peninsula! If you shout while standing at this place, your words will immediately return to you. And this is true!
History of the monument
The Tihany echo diligently repeats all that has been said. But it will return only a few words. In one of the Balaton guidebooks, published in the 19th century, they wrote that “the echo can repeat the spoken sentence of 15 words”. Even poets praised it in their works. But now the echo has become weaker. Although it can still talk to you, but it will repeat just a couple of words. To do this, you need to stand on a hill near a stone statue and shout a few words in the direction of the abbey.
Why is it happening? The secret lies in the wall of the monastery, the sound “bounces off it and returns to the owner of the voice. Echo has settled here since the church monastery was once again rebuilt in the 19th century. It is believed that the most sonorous echo is heard on cold winter days.
Tihany echo in numbers and facts
- Echo appeared in the 19th century after the reconstruction of the abbey.
- The sound is reflected on the monastery wall.
- Previously, it was more pronounced: it returned up to 15 words.
- Echo is more audible in cold winter days.
- Because of it, the village became mega-popular.
Legend of the Tihany Echo
Of course, a beautiful legend is associated with the echo. And like any self-respecting legend, it tells a story about a beautiful princess. The princess did not know how to speak. She lived in Tihany and commanded a flock of goats with golden wool that grazed grass on local hills.
Once upon a time, the king of the waves rose from the depths of Balaton and asked the beautiful princess to give a little bit of magical goat's milk. He wanted to give them to his dying son. The princess agreed. The son of the king of the waves soon recovered. He came to thank the princess. After seeing her, he immediately fell in love with her. And proposed. But the princess refused him. The prince died from love melancholy.
The king of the waves came to a fierce rage and decided to take revenge: turned the girl into stone. Since she was mute, she could not scream and ask for help. But the spell meant that if one of the passers-by tried to talk to her, she must answer. The goats that cured the prince with their milk were punished even more. They were swallowed by the waves of Lake Balaton.
How to get there
- It is easy to find a monument: you can easily see it during a walk along the embankment of Tihany.
- It is just a 5-minute walk from the Tihany Abbey.
- It takes about an hour on foot from the ferry in Tihany to the sculpture (you will have to climb up).
- In 20–30 minutes, you can get there on bus № 7661 and № 7351 (from the Club Tihany stop to Újságíró üdülő).
- In the village of Tihany, you can catch a mini-train that takes tourists to the sights of the city and the peninsula.
Coordinates: 46.916772, 17.888792.
