One of Hungary's wealthiest aristocratic families, the Esterházys had
their splendid palace, the 'Hungarian Versailles' built between 1720 and
1766. Today the centre for Hungarian Haydn research is a museum and an
important cultural venue.
Apart from the Baroque theatre, the building
complex of this resplendent palace has remained intact. Much of the exhibitions
in the museum housed here conjure up the building's heyday under Miklós
Esterházy Fényes (1762-1790). Rich gold-plated halls, period wall paintings,
lacquer plates brought from China, 18th-century furniture with embroidered
upholstery and porcelain display the fashion of the period, befitting of a
Baroque-Rococo princely court.
The great Austrian composer Joseph Haydn
lived and worked here for nearly half of his active period, namely from 1766
until 1790. An exhibition and a room in the palace commemorates him, while
concerts held in the summer and the plan for a Haydn Centre are to evoke the
spirit of the era.
Palace museum opens from 15Mar - 30 Oct. Tue-Sun 10am till 6pm 2 Nov - 14 Mar
Fri-Sun 10am till 4pm More info : phone : +36-99-537640 fax:
+36-99-537642