Anna Ball

Anna Ball

The history of the ball:

The traditional Anna Ball was first held on 26th July, 1825 in Balatonfüred. The building built in 1798 by the Szentgyörgyi Horváth family standing in the centre of the settlement was not only the centre of the society life that time, but also a kind of intellectual creative workshop, where the greats of the reform age developing at the beginning of the century have met time to time. Among the guest were often Lajos Kossuth, István Széchenyi and Miklós Wesselényi as well.
Anna Szentgyörgyi has met Ernő Kiss, her future husband, on the first ball. He was later a lieutenant general in the war of independence and one of the 13 martyrs in Arad.

Since this first ball the Anna Balls are held every year on Saturday nearest to Anna-day. These have been always among the most fashionable balls in Hungary, where the most illustrious artists and politicians of the nation have met on summers. Several times were a welcome guest Mór Jókai, Lujza Blaha und Mihály Vörösmarty. After the First World War the character of the bath life has changed, so the Anna Balls has lost their importance. Between the two world wars the tradition existed also only quietly. After the II. world war, the Anna Ball was held again officially in the Balaton Restaurant on 31^st July 1954, then from 1957 it has been held in the theatre of the former renovated medicinal bath, (now Anna Grand Hotel). According to the tradition renewed this time the Ball Queen is rewarded by the gold apple of Eris, and the two ladies of honour each is presented with a vase from Herend.

Jenő Huszka, the famous composer was also inspired by the magic of the Anna Balls. His last composition was the Anna Ball waltz, which was performed for the first time in 1962 as opening dance beside of the traditional Palotás. After 1975, the year of the 150. Anna Ball the folk art has also entered into the ball room, where the Hungarian regions were introduced. In 1976 Kalocsa, in 1977 Hódmezővásárhely, in 1980 Karcag was the guest of Balatonfüred.

Since 2003 the person who contributes the most to the cultural development of Balatonfüred is awarded by the bust of Ernő Kiss, made by Herend china. This time Tibor Gyurkovics, in 2004 Pál Kő, sculptor awarded with Kossuth-prize, in 2005 Miklós Melocco, in 2006-ban András Sugár, in 2007-ben Sándor Zettwitz has taken over the prize as an acknowledgement their binding to Balatonfüred and their activity.

The winner in Anna Ball gets a china vase from Herend with Victoria-ornament, the lady on the second place gets it with Rotschild-ornament and the lady on the III. place gets it with Aponyi-ornament as an offering of the China Manufacture of Herend