Mansions, Castles, Palaces [antikvár]

TMXPOrHirTTnM Mansions, castles, palaces X i\ 1 rv V_/ LA 1 1 W i\ Who could have built these beautiful buildings? Obviously those who had the money for it. But not only money was needed for these grandiose construction works, but also high rank, and education, but most of all good connections. It is also worth noting who were the prolifically building noble families: the majority of the upper class establishing the basis of dynasties worked for the "chamber", because until 1848 the Hungarian State Chamber was first and foremost responsible for maintaining and safeguarding the income of the State Treasury. This was the contemporary version of the Treasury Coroner Fund. But the peers in question could also hold important posts in the County Council: either a general bailiff or a judge at the court of appeal. In this case they were also "close to the fire". Let us take the example of Antal Grassalkovich. He had several dozen country and town mansions, manors, churches, calvarias built, and inspired even more similar constructions; he embodied a unique attitude and way of life. This kind of social role was not only motivated by the drive for gaining more and more estates, but also by the challenge of continuous building activity and building patronage. A passion for building seemed to be only partly connected with the financial status of the family only partly; obviously a lot of money was needed for it, but at the same time so was the ambition to gain recognition at the court based on "status construction works". Rank and representation were mutually dependent, and they also strengthened each other. Or let us take the Széchenyi family At Nagycenk they not only built a castle with a fine garden, stud farm and an avenue of lime-trees leading to Lake Fertő, but Count István Széchenyi also had the church of the village built. The family mausoleum is in the nearby cemetery and the city mansion of the family is also not far: it is in Sopron. The Eszterházy family were able to impress Empress Mary Theresa with their outstanding mansion, but also with the opera house and puppet theatre situated in the huge park behind the mansion. Miklós Eszterházy, (the Magnificent) even built a "proper home" for his court musician, Haydn, who was even then internationally recognised. And the Nádasdys. The family's most important buildings are Sárvár Castle, and the mansion at Sopronkeresztúr (today in Austria), which were built at nearly the same time. The other important works are the mansion at Nádasladány, built in the English Gothic style and the parish church in its grounds. Or the Batthyánys. One member of the family (and his descendants) lived in the castle of Siklós, and the ashes of count Kázmér Batthyány are still kept in the chapel of the castle. The Batthyánys of Körmend lived in the local castle and beautified and developed it for centuries, and László Batthyány-Strattmann, "the doctor of the poor" even had a hospital built. The authors have looked for the architectural traditions of these noble families spanning several centuries, and tried to capture these either tangible or hidden traces in photographs and the accompanying text. November, 2002, Budapest Otto Kaiser and Tamás Lipp