Balatonkenese, which includes Balatonakarattya administratively, is the north-eastern gate of the Hungarian sea. The name of the deservedly famous Balaton Gate-opening Festival refers to this fact. The festival is held in July every year attracting visitors to Balatonkenese and the surrounding villages. From the edge of the high quay there is a nice view of the eastern hollow of the lake. There are more than 5,000 holiday homes here creating a huge, 12 km long resort with parks and flowers. Near the village there is a high quay along the railway line and road no. 71. The local people called this place the High Quay or Head-Quay, on the top of which you can find the memorial column of Lajos Soós erected in 1927. The memory of the old times is preserved by the caves, called the Tatár-caves hollowed out in the side of the High Quay, where the local people could find a shelter escaping from the Mongols and later from the Turkish.
The village is proud of the beautiful plant Canbre tataria on the slopes of Soós-hill, which grows in a continuous colony only in this place. This wide-spreading, waist-high plant blossoms at the end of May and at the beginning of June. It almost completely died in the 19th century. It is an extremely rare, highly protected plant, the collecting or destroying of which is strictly prohibited! A large-scale festival is organized every year to draw the locals' attention to the plant and its protection.
Kenese was first mentioned in the Greek language foundation document of the nunnery of Veszprémvölgy in 990. In the Middle Ages the royal fishermen, hunters, stewards having privileges lived here. Vak Bottyán's and Ádám Béri Balogh' troops defeated the Austrian troops led by general Rabutin near the village in Hosszúmező in 1707. An interesting fact in the life of the village is that István Széchenyi visited Balatonkenese first on board of the steam ship Kisfaludy. The Calvinist church was built on a 13th century basis, and it was rebuilt in Baroque style after the Turkish destruction. The headboard in its garden was erected to commemorate the national assembly held in Kenese in 1532. The tree branch chained to the tower of the church is the lightning-struck branch of the famous Rákóczi plum tree from Akarattya from 1967. Several cultural and sports programmes, 5 large beaches, the most beautiful regional museum of the Balaton region, the most modern yacht port and the locals' hospitality await returning and prospective visitors.

Balatonakarattya

See Balatonkenese.