Do you want to get Hungarian castles for free? New bill makes that possible

A new bill allows construction and transport minister János Lázár to distribute the state’s castles. Lázár’s ministry may give the ownership or asset management rights of the monuments concerned to natural and legal persons, including even private individuals for free.

Furthermore, some of the castles Lázár’s ministry would like to “privatise” have been recently renewed. Válasz Online mentioned the castles of Edelény, Pécel and Iszkaszentgyörgy in their article. Lázár defended his idea by saying the Hungarian state is not a good owner. Only private or church owners can take care of those assets, he added.

The bill appeared on the ministry’s website, and the report stage ended on 2 June. If the parliament accepts it (and Lázár’s Fidesz had a supermajority in the Hungarian legislation), it will become law by 1 July. As a result, all state-owned castles can be privatised this summer.

Natural or legal persons (for example, private individuals, companies or churches) will be allowed to submit a plea to the minister for the castles’ ownership or asset management rights. In practice, everybody can get a castle who can maintain it. However, they cannot sell it for at least 99 years. If the asset management right owner breaks the contract, dies without an heir or ceases operation without a successor, the state gets back the castles.

Hungarian castles to be given away in shady deals?

Interestingly, the bill’s first draft had an annex listing the castles concerned. The new version does not include that document. There are 50 castles under Lázár’s ministry, 12 recently renovated.

Furthermore, the new owners will not have to open the castle buildings to the public, only the park (between 10 AM and 7 PM, for free). The castle has to remain open only if it hosts a public collection. That means there will be some castles with new owners who get that right for free, their only task will be to maintain, renovate and operate the buildings. But they will not have to allow any visitors. That means they may use the property as their own castle.

Válasz Online wrote that it would depend on deals between the new owner(s) and János Lázár who will get a castle and under what conditions. Since Fidesz has a 2/3rd majority, they can rewrite each law and modify the aforementioned conditions.

Featured image: the astonishing Baroque castle of Edelény. That asset is not concerned in the new “program” because it is no longer under Lázár’s ministery but belongs to the local government of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County.