Hungary guards her folk traditions jealously, and this applies equally around Lake Balaton. All the settlements around the lake and in the environs hold some manner of summer festival, wine week, or fair and the most colourful attraction is folk dancing. The special feature of Hungarian folk dances is that they always give a place to individual bravura. For the solos (the lads’ dances, shepherds’ stick dances, and girls’ bottle dances) hours of practice and almost acrobatic dexterity are required. The “csárda” (a rustic restaurant) is one of the birthplaces of dance. In times of old, it was most often here, in the yard, on the beaten floor, that people would dance, and large communal parties were held here. The girls strutted around in their best costumes, and the lads would compete to be best in the village, showing their strength and nimbleness with tempestuous dances. It is a pleasure to record that today dances can be seen in the renovated old csárdas once more. The everyday life and business of village folk of times gone by is represented by a rich collection of monuments on the southern shore, not far from the ferry landing stage, in Szántódpuszta (G 3). Around 30 intact buildings in the puszta give a picture of 19thcentury farm life. Barns, stables, smithy, farmhouse, inn – here you can find everything that would have been a necessary accessory for the business centre of a large piece of land. The buildings are furnished in contemporary style, and art exhibitions are often held here, the theme being, naturally, Lake Balaton. The puszta has a wonderful stud farm, and from June to September a horse show is held every morning. The only aquarium showing the fauna and flora of Lake Balaton is also to be seen in Szántódpuszta.