The beauty of its landscape, the fertility of its land, its forest rich in game, its crystal-clear waters were often praised by chroniclers, travellers and poets alike. The unrivalled fresh water lake of Central Europe, lake Balaton borders it on the north and the fast waters of the river Drava on the south. Its western and eastern borders have been changed often in the past. Its present surface area was established in 1950, when the region around Szigetvár was annexed to county Baranya and a narrow strip on the west went to county Zala.