THE SETTLEMENTS AND TRAFFIC NETWORK FROM LAKE BALATON TO THE RIVER DRAVA

Abstract

The hilly Somogy landscape located between Lake Balaton and the Drava, which is in the western part of the South Transdanubian Region, has always been an underdeveloped area of Hungary with a sparse texture and week settlement network. The modernization of transportation could be the main organizing principle of territorial development, which was detrimental to internal areas of the county and it is considered to be one of the determining factors of the decline today. Previously, the rail network made connection to the modern world. The highways induce development in the modern transport approaching the Millennium, in which the whole region is a "stepchild" of Hungary because of the highways run in the north-western and eastern edges exclusively serving only the through traffic. The most important task for the near future is the same as 150 years ago: to improve connectivity of the region through the connection to the main lines running along the boundary.