In this instalment of our series on castles in Hungary, we’re travelling west to the Austrian border. Eszterháza, a grand palace envisaged by Prince Miklós Eszterházy to rival Versailles, was built near the southern shore of the Neusiedler See (Fertõ tó in Hungary), a vast lake that straddles the Hungarian-Austrian border.

The kernel for this extensive estate had humble beginnings. Prince Miklós spent a lot of his time here in what was originally nothing more than a hunting lodge called Süttör. But the man had big dreams–and the funds–to build something quite spectacular.

It may be the most elaborate and ambitious pimp my house project in history.

To make things interesting, the swampy land upon which the lodge sat was considered a health hazard at the time. Undeterred, the prince, and his team of architects (Johann Ferdinand Mödlhammer and Melchior Hefele), drawing inspiration from Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace, completed the project in 1784.

The hunting lodge that grew into an imposing palace, considered the greatest Baroque-Rococo building in Hungary and somewhat incongruously nestled in the picturesque Fertõ-Hanság National Nature Park, became home to the Hungarian Eszterházy family.

With its 126 rooms and extensive gardens, the castle was also home to the composer Joseph Haydn for 29 years when he became director of the Eszterhazy’s musical and theatrical programs in 1761. Haydn conducted his own and others’ operas here, often more than 100 a year.

Although the palace contained an opera house and theatre, Haydn held many of his concerts in the picture gallery on the ground floor. Regular cultural programs were also held free to the public in the Marionette theatre.  

The palace's extensive grounds include a French Garden adorned with yew trees and intersecting garden paths; an English garden with Caucasian linden trees; and the Rosary, with 9,000 rose bushes, extensive pergola structures and octagonal Chinese pavilion at its centre.

Although no longer an issue, it’s interesting to note the effect the castle’s geographic isolation had on Haydn and his musicians, apparent from the letters he wrote at the time. Far from the madding crowd, to be sure, but it seems all that quiet impacted their mental health; the remote nature of the estate’s location led to feelings of boredom and loneliness.

Not anymore. The palace has more that 200,000 visitors a year and has served as a popular filming location in Hungary for several decades.

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Sources & further reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eszterháza

http://www.eszterhaza.hu/szolgaltatasok/filmforgatas

https://www.wmf.org/project/eszterháza-castle

https://www.europeanhistoricgardens.eu/en/esterhazy-palace760