Festetics Palace
One of Hungary's three largest country houses.
The Festetics Palace is a Baroque palace in Keszthely, Zala, Hungary, now housing the Helikon Palace Museum. Construction began in 1745 on the foundations of a ruined castle and continued for over a century, with the building tripled in size during two later campaigns. The final expansion in the 1880s, designed by Viktor Rumpelmayer and completed after his death by Gusztáv Haas and Miksa Paschkisch, made it one of the three largest country houses in Hungary.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Keszthely, Zala, Hungary
- Construction started
- 1745
- Original builder
- Kristóf Festetics
- Completion architects
- Gusztáv Haas and Miksa Paschkisch
- Current use
- Helikon Palace Museum (since 1974)
- Annual visitors
- 200,000
Facts from the source article.
History
The Counts Festetics were progressive landowners: Kristóf Festetics founded a hospital, Pál Festetics established a school, and in 1797 Count György Festetics opened the Georgikon, Europe's first agricultural college, now a faculty of the University of Pannonia. The library wing was built for Count György Festetics in 1799–1801 with guidance from András Fischer of the Vienna Academy, and local artisans executed the work. The dining room, now a concert hall, features stucco by Mátyás Vathner of Pápa; stonework by József Zitterbart; locksmithing by József Dobrolán; tiled stoves by József Pittermann; and inlaid floors and woodwork by János Kerbl, who also fitted the library. The book collection was made available to Georgikon students. In 1815 Dr Richard Bright lived here. The garden front's central axis aligns with one pavilion of the corps de logis, not the prominent central tower of the 1880s extension, which has mansard roofs and dormer windows in the neo-Baroque French Second Empire style and neo-Renaissance woodwork. The entrance side retains its axis on the original Baroque structure, now a flanking wing. The expansion was for Count Tasziló Festetics, who married Lady Mary Douglas-Hamilton in 1880. He entertained Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, in October 1885 and again in 1888. The parterres were extended with a naturalistic English landscape park. Prince Tasziló Festetics died in 1933; the palace was undamaged in the Second World War and remained in the family until nationalization in 1949.
Recent history
Since 1974, the Helikon Palace Museum has operated independently within the palace, drawing 200,000 visitors annually. Its vast book collection is the last significant aristocratic library still intact in Hungary. Family portraits, some showing the Festetics in tartans, remain on display. The former stables now exhibit a carriage and coach collection. Summer open-air concerts take place on the grounds. From late 2019 to early 2020, the palace served as the primary filming location for the Little Palace in Netflix’s Shadow and Bone.
More in Castles in Hungary
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced