#festetics

FESTETICS PALACE, KESZTHELY, ZALA, HUNGARY

Festetics Palace, Keszthely, Hungary

“Corsage” biopic de Marie Kreutzer - sur l'Impératrice d'Autriche dite Sissi (1854–1898) - avec Vicky Krieps, Florian Teichtmeister, Alma Hasun, Katharina Lorenz, Jeanne Werner, Manuel Rubey, Morgan Colin, Finnegan Oldfield et Aaron Friesz, novembre 2022.

festetics kastély

The Festetics Family is one of the most significant ducal families in Hungary. The family, who was of Croatian origin, moved to Hungary in the 17th century. In 1739 ChristopherFestetics (1696-1768) bought the Keszthely estate and its appurtenances, and chose it to be the centre of his estates. He had the palace built, broughta surgeon and craftsmen to the town, and set up a pharmacy and a hospital. George I (1755-1819) was the most significant member of the family. In 1797 he founded Georgikon, the first agricultural college in Europe. He commissioned the building of the first large sailing vessel on Lake Balaton, the Phoenix Galley. He was a generous patron of culture. He added the library wing to the palace and collected newly published books. He organized the first Helikon Festivities in 1817 with the participation of the greatest poets and writers of his age. He also established a grammar school in Csurgó. The Festetics Palace in Keszthely is the third Hungarian palace in size, while it is the most popular with visitors. It functions as a museum and an events centre. Christopher Festetics began the construction of the Festetics Palacein 1745. The two-storey, U-shaped, 34-room Baroque palace was rebuilt several times in the 18th and 19th centuries. Between 1769 and 1770 Paul Festetics III, Christopher’s son had the building reconstructed. The wings were enlarged while the facades remained unaltered. His son, George Festetics I, started the next major reconstruction in 1792. He added the southern library wing to the palace. The collection is Hungary’s sole intact aristocratic private library, collected by the Festetics family for 200 years. It includes prints from the Hungarian language area as well as cultural treasures from Europe’s significant printing houses.George Festetics expanded the collection with works on Hungarian literature and science, the philosophical literature of the age of Enlightment, the newest works on economy, and a remarkable amount of newspapers and magazines. The books, which were invaluable in themselves, were bound in artistically decorated leather bindings. The family employed librarians and took care of the library’s maintenance and growth.The library, together with the ever expanding special collections, consists of more than 86.000 items. The adjacent small library houses books on eonomy and sport.

Festetics kastély  január

festetics kastély, pálmaház