The village was featured in the ZAOL tourism series “Because Your Village is on the Map!” in 2017.
At that time we could only report about the tourist development concept of the settlement, which was prepared by three council members, István Kaj, Ferenc Bedő and Ferenc Koltai. The plans have now become reality and are still being implemented. This is also due to the fact that in the meantime István Kaj – after the death of the former mayor János Varga, who invited me to write about the implementation of the ideas – was elected and re-elected to office by the majority of the village.
– It is important for us to strengthen the tourist potential of Pusztaszentlászló, to show the spiritual, landscape and architectural heritage of the village. We have reviewed the previous ideas and approached the concrete planning of this with a different approach. The old bridge over the fishing lake was dismantled and replaced with a floating metal structure, not a wooden bridge on stilts, but one that could withstand the wet environment and the elements. We had dreamed of a lookout tower on the vineyard, but we felt that we should not build it out of wood because we see the fate of the wooden towers built so far: in a few years they will all need a lot of money, they will rot and become dangerous. The reopening of the thermal bath, which was closed for four years, was one of the most important goals, as it attracted more than 15,000 guests in its last year, 2015. I helped the potential new owners with communication and contact, the municipality does not charge them any construction or tourist tax, in return the local population can visit the spa at a discount – summarizes István Kaj, who holds a social mandate as mayor and is also the Zala County regional representative for the Hungarian National Rural Network of the Ministry of Agriculture. A native of Pusztaszentlászló, he is the first patron of the village’s public garden, Újhegy. He and his friends founded the Újhegyi Wine Friends Association, of which he is also the chairman.
In the village, large vertical signs on power poles show where to turn to the bath. In pleasant sunshine, several people are “enjoying” themselves in one of the outdoor pools. Klaudia Puskár, Marketing Manager, summarizes the experience of the launch:
– It was a very good start. First there were a hundred people, then five hundred the next weekend, then more. I come from Pest, but I like the village and the area very much. We decided to keep open in winter. We will develop further, we are building a sauna house and apartments, so we can offer our guests a pleasant environment even in winter.
The full article can be read on zaol.huSource: zaol.hu