Kapolcs is situated in the Káli-basin Nature Conservation Area in the Eger valley of Balaton Highlands surrounded by springs and forests. The nearby Pokol (Hell)-hole was a dwelling place of the prehistoric man. The basalt columns of Királykő (King's stone) could probably border the 80x50 m earthwork, Attila's castle. Kapolcs was already inhabited in the Roman times, its relics are the excavated graves, the big military road, which connected Buda and the Adriatic, the remains of Via Magna. In 1091 the Kumans headed by chieftain Kapolcs made a raid on Transsylvania, the army of King László I. warded off the intruders and killed chieftain Kapolcs. According to the traditions of the age the defeated who were left alive and settled there named the settlement after the chieftain, so the name of the village Kapulch was already mentioned in a letter of the abbey of Pannonhalma in 1092. From the 13th century royal chamberlains, ducal servers, royal villeins could be found in Kapolcs, but the devastations of the Turkish times and the plague took their tithe of the people. The Roman Catholic church of Kapolcs was renovated by bishop, Márton Padányi Bíró. Its most beautiful treasure is the black Maria altar-piece. The Calvinist church was built soon after this. Its 600 kg bell was made with a special licence. Religious conflicts were very rare in the village except for an incident in 1740. The Jews had a special role in the history of Kapolcs, great number of them participated in the industrial and commercial life of the village. Up to 1945 they had had a rabbi and an own synagogue in the village. By the 19th century Kapolcs had already 700-800 inhabitants. It had developed milling industry and crafts. This period is evoked by the artists, craftsmen and artisans in the series of events of the Valley of Arts at the end of July, beginning of August in each year.