Siófok (; ; ) is a town in Somogy County, Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton. It is the second largest municipality in Somogy County and the seat of Siófok District. It covers an area of about 124.66 km2 (48.13 square miles) between Lake Balaton, the Mezőföld and the Outer Somogy-Hills. Lying at the firth of the Sió Channel, it serves as the most important logistic station for goods between Lake Balaton and the River Danube. The town is Hungary's second most popular holiday destination (right after Budapest) thanks to its 17-kilometre-long (11 miles) coast, over 1,000 hotels, and plenty of bars, restaurants and night clubs. Siófok is one of the richest municipalities of Hungary due to tourism. Hungarians often call the town "the capital of Lake Balaton", as it is the largest town on its shores and acts as the financial, cultural, media, commercial and touristic hub of the northern part of Somogy County and the southern shore of Lake Balaton. Etymology Fuk was first mentioned as a village name in 1137 among the taxpayer communities. In the Tabula Hungariae (published in 1528) it appears as Fok. The word composition Siófok has been in use since 1790. History Ancient times The area of today's Siófok was already inhabited in the time of the Roman Empire. The Roman conquest came there in the 1st century AD. The town lay on the route leading from Sopianae (today Pécs) through Tricciana (today Ságvár) to Arrabona (today Győr). According to recordings of Sextus Aurelius Victor from the 3rd to 4th century AD, Emperor Galerius built a sluice in 292 AD to drain the Lacus Pelso (the Latin name of Lake Balaton) in the area of Siófok and cleared forests. Middle Ages After the Hungarian Conquest, the settlement is mentioned in the Tihany Abbey's founding letter from 1055 as the following: "Rivulus namque, qui dicitur Fuk fluens" which means that a small brook, also called Fuk (today Sió) comes from the Lake Balaton. It also states that people had a passage through an older bridge and a ford as well. After the Second Mongol invasion of Hungary, Fok was resettled. In 1552, the Ottoman Empire took Fok and his surroundings. Siófok became a military outpost of the Ottomans who also built a fortress there. The Siófok Castle stood on the Granarium Hill near the place where the hospital is located today. Two