Veszprem

Veszprém 

a megye (county) in Hungary, north of Lake Balaton. Area, 5,200 sq km. Population, 417,000 (1968). Administrative center: Veszprém.

The wooded Bakony Mountains (elevations to 704 m) lie in the central part of Veszprém; in the northwest, they gradually give way to the Kisalföld, and in the southeast they drop off to the northern shores of Lake Balaton. Annual precipitation is 600-800 mm.

Under the people’s regime, Veszprém has changed from an agrarian to an industrially developed region: in 1970 over one-half of the economically active population was employed in industry. Coal (about 5 million tons per year: brown coal in Ajka, Padragkút, and Dudar; lignite in Várpalota), bauxites (over 1 million tons: Halimba, Nyirád), and manganic ore (over 150,000 tons: Úrkút and Eplény) are mined in the Bakony mountains. The chemical industry (Várpalota, Berhida, Papkeszi, and elsewhere), aluminum industry (Ajka), and machine-building industry are well developed. Arable land occupies 38.8 percent of the total area, forests 24.6 percent, meadows and pastures 17.2 percent, and orchards and vineyards 3.2 percent (particularly in the area of Lake Balaton, which is known for its white wines). Rye, oats, and barley predominate in the mountains; wheat and corn in the Kisalföld. Livestock raising is not highly developed. The area of health resorts—the so-called Balaton Riviera—attracts many foreign and local tourists (Balatonkenese, Balatonalmádi, Balatonfüred, Tihany, Keszthely, and other cities).