Castle Under Renovation Opens Exhibition

The Festetics Castle, designed by Mihály Pollack, one of Hungary's greatest classicist architects, was built between 1810 and 1815. It was commissioned by Antal Festetics, who was once called "the richest Hungarian common noble". The castle is surrounded by 300 hectares of park, including a small house built in the Dutch style on an island in a small lake.

 

Divided into three thematic parts, the exhibition shows the history of the freemasons in Hungary (Antal Festetics was a member of the freemasons), the Estzerházy family's botanical experiments at the castle and life at the castle mainly in the first half of the 20^th century. The castle's past as an orphanage is also on display at the exhibition.

 

At the opening of the exhibition, it was noted that about half of Hungary castles were destroyed after WWII, and 99 percent of their furnishings were lost. Most of the treasures in the Festetics Castle were lost when it was used first as a German, then a Soviet field hospital in 1945. Though the only piece of furniture from the castle the exhibition shows is a Biedermeier showcase, there are doubts about the authenticity of the piece.

 

Author: Kornél Zipernovszky