The most beautiful castles in Hungary – PHOTOS

Hungarian castles are amazing sights to see. Here are five castles worth visiting at least once.

Festetics Castle in Keszthely

One of the most important Hungarian families of counts and princes owned this castle for 200 years. The place they called home was built thanks to Kristóf Festetics, who started the construction works. The part of the building that was constructed between 1745 and 1750 wears the signs of Baroque style. György Festetics I, the grandson of Kristóf Festetics, added the part of the building in late-Baroque style. The interior works ended in 1804. Between 1883 and 1887, Tasziló Festetics II was responsible for the reconstruction and expansion of the building. Under these construction works based on the plans of Victor Rumpelmayer, the castle gained its final form. The parts built last have Neo-Baroque and Neo-Rococo elements.

The items in the castle remained intact during World War II. After the departure of the Festetics family, the castle was looted by German and Hungarian soldiers and the local population. Many original objects, however, survived. After the Soviet occupation of Keszthely, the city commander walled up the library and some of the rooms next to it. The most valuable furnishings were collected in these sealed rooms. The other part of the survived objects was probably taken from the castle to a bathhouse in Hévíz, owned by the Festetics family, before people took them during the lootings. After the nationalisation, only the library wing and the previously walled-up rooms could be visited in the castle. The rest of the building was used by soldiers, but a school and a library operated in the castle as well. In 1974, the Helikon Castle Museum was founded, which was renamed Helikon Castle in 2012. Six permanent exhibitions await visitors, in five buildings.

Royal Palace of Gödöllő

Count Antal Grassalkovich I started the construction of the castle in Gödöllő after 1735, based on the plans of András Mayhoffer. Even Queen Maria Theresa saw the castle when she arrived in Gödöllő in 1751 to visit the count. The count continued the expansion of the castle. His son and grandson also ordered some construction works to be done. The castle eventually became an example of Hungarian Baroque castles.

Antal Grassalkovich III was the last male member of the family. After his death, the castle was inherited through the female family members’ branch of the family. The castle was sold in 1864 to a Belgian bank. In 1867, the Hungarian state brought it back as a coronation gift, thus, the building became the property of King József Ferenc I and Queen Erzsébet. In 1920, governor Miklós Horthy used it as his summer residence.

After World War II, this building suffered some losses. Items from the castle were stolen or destroyed. The building’s condition deteriorated over the years. In 1985, necessary renovation works started. Today, it is one of the most beautiful castles in Hungary.

Nádasdy Castle

The Baroque manor house was built by the Schmidegg family, who rose to the rank of count in 1738. The estate and their residence were sold to Count Lipót Nádasdy in 1851. His son, Ferenc, and daughter-in-law built a new castle, based on the plans of István Linzbauer. The works started in 1873 and ended in 1876. The works consisted of the expansion of the existing Baroque building. This is how the renewed castle became a Neo-Gothic, English Tudor-style building.