Almásy castle’s Stefánia wing is open to mesmerise the public – PHOTOS!
The Hungarian government allocates 100 billion forints (€ 285.7 million) to restore castles in the country, emphasising the importance of preserving values.
“More importantly, investments are for the future, serve communities, and by attracting many visitors, they create new economic bases at a local level,” said Balázs Orbán.
In addition to the restoration of the castle located in Gyula, many other buildings received the same treatment. Five billion forints were spent on Erkel House, Vigadó, Kohán Képtár, the cultural centre, and the castle. However, there were also developments worth tens of millions of forints in the library and the castle theatre, writes hirado.hu.
The Castle
In 1839, the castle was home to a concert where Ferenc Erkel performed. The aim of the event was to raise money to build a hospital.
MTI/Rosta Tibor
The castle consists of two wings connected in an L shape, the main building and a smaller wing. The name of the latter is Stefánia wing, called after Stefánia Jankovich. She married József Wenckheim in 1838. Construction of the wing ended in 1807, based on Antal Czigler’s plans. The noble family became poor during the world economic crisis and moved to this wing from the main building. Maids received housing in another building.
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In 1849, the family took care of the military officers arriving in Gyula. Six years later, in 1857, they hosted Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth. Stefánia founded the Gyula Women’s Association and also became the association’s first president in 1870, writes hellomagyar.hu.
The Renovation
The renovated main wing Finished in March 2016 for 2 billion forints (€ 5.7 million). Today, it houses an interactive exhibition. The renovation of the other wing started in October 2019, using 705 million forints from European funds and 250 million forints from domestic funds.
MTI/Rosta Tibor
Today, the castle can pride itself on having the largest ballroom in Hungary, providing complex services to its visitors.
The ballroom and event space awaits guests as an exclusive venue with an elegant atmosphere. At the delicatessen storage, the gastronomic specialities of Gyula and the region can be bought. In the show kitchen, visitors have the chance to be acquainted with old cooking techniques, seeing how people in the past prepared for a noble feast, and how they set the table. Guests can also get a taste of the dishes that noble people consumed in the 17-19th centuries.
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Source: hirado.hu, hellomagyar.hu
