{"id":3592,"date":"2024-04-05T17:01:23","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T17:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/?p=3592"},"modified":"2026-09-30T16:19:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:19:25","slug":"filming-in-hungary-a-palace-to-rival-versailles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/?p=3592","title":{"rendered":"Filming in Hungary: A Palace to Rival Versailles"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this instalment of our series on castles in Hungary, we\u2019re travelling west to the Austrian border. Eszterh\u00e1zy Palace, a grand complex envisaged by Prince Mikl\u00f3s Eszterh\u00e1zy to rival Versailles, was built near the southern shore of the Neusiedler See (Fert\u00f5 t\u00f3 in Hungary), a vast lake that straddles the Hungarian-Austrian border.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

The kernel for this extensive estate had humble beginnings. Prince Mikl\u00f3s spent a lot of his time here in what was originally nothing more than a hunting lodge called S\u00fctt\u00f6r. But the man had big dreams\u2013and the funds\u2013to build something quite spectacular. <\/p>\n

It may be the most elaborate and ambitious pimp my house project in history. <\/p>\n

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 M\u00f6dlhammer and Melchior Hefele), drawing inspiration from Vienna\u2019s Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace, completed the project in 1784.<\/p>\n

The hunting lodge that grew into an imposing palace, considered the greatest Baroque-Rococo building in Hungary and somewhat incongruously nestled in the picturesque Fert\u00f5-Hans\u00e1g National Nature Park, became home to the Hungarian Eszterh\u00e1zy family.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Image via Wikipedia, Szvitek P\u00e9ter<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u2019s musical and theatrical programs in 1761. Haydn conducted his own and others\u2019 operas here, often more than 100 a year. <\/p>\n

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. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Although no longer an issue, it\u2019s interesting to note the effect the castle\u2019s 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\u2019s location led to feelings of boredom and loneliness.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Flatpack Films<\/strong> has years of experience servicing international brands, agencies, and production companies. Filming in Hungary is easy when relying on their knowledge of the market and ability to solve complex needs. They bring the best that Hungary has to offer in terms of unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top-of-the-line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more.<\/p>\n

Get in touch and learn more about Budapest film locations, Hungarian film incentives, film tax credits in Hungary and how Flatpack Films can bring your project to life through a highly bespoke approach. <\/p>\n

Sources & further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Eszterh\u00e1za<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.eszterhaza.hu\/szolgaltatasok\/filmforgatas<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wmf.org\/project\/eszterh\u00e1za-castle<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.europeanhistoricgardens.eu\/en\/esterhazy-palace760<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this instalment of our series on castles in Hungary, we\u2019re travelling west to the Austrian border. Eszterh\u00e1zy Palace, a grand complex envisaged by Prince Mikl\u00f3s Eszterh\u00e1zy to rival Versailles, was built near the southern shore of the Neusiedler See (Fert\u00f5 t\u00f3 in Hungary), a vast lake that straddles the Hungarian-Austrian border. The kernel for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3595,"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592\/revisions\/3595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatpackfilms.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}