Esterhazyplatz
Tel. (02682) 63854 12
Open:
Jan- March: 9am- 5pm Fri- Sun
Apr- Oct: 9am- 5pm daily
Nov- Dec 9am- 5pm Thu- Sun
Esterházy Palace, Esterházyplatz 5. Tel .: +43 (0) 2682 63004-0, E-Mail: schloss-esterhazy@esterhazy.at.
Schloss Esterhazy or Castle Esterhazy is a former residence of Esterhazy aristocratic family. Schloss Esterhazy was erected in 1663- 73 under supervision of Carlo Martino Carlone for Paul I, first Prince of Esterhazy of Galantha. Prince himself explained his love for lavish residence by claiming that he was in fact of the royal blood and even claimed to be a direct descendant of barbarian king Attila. There is no scientific proof, however, that this Hungarian noble family has any connection to the legendary war chief.
On the site of today's chateau there was a Gothic
castle, the origins of which date back to the 13th century. It was owned
by the Gutk family, who owned numerous estates in western Hungary. In
1364 the castle was acquired by the Kanizsay family and extensively
expanded. With permission from the Hungarian King Louis the Great, the
family built a wall around the entire town of Eisenstadt, which enclosed
the castle.
Between 1445 and 1464 the castle and the entire town
came into the possession of the Habsburgs. The castle was initially only
pledged by them, which is why no conversions were made. According to the
reconciliation of Emperor Frederick III with the Hungarian king Mathias
Corvinus, the city returned to the Kingdom of Hungary along with the
entirety of what was then western Hungary (approximately today's
Burgenland).
In 1622 the castle came into the administration of
the Esterházy family as a pawn - as an object of exchange after the
Peace of Nikolsburg, in which Nikolaus Count Esterházy ceded the rule of
Munkács in north-eastern Hungary to Gábor Bethlen. In 1649 Nikolaus' son
Ladislaus bought the castle from Ferdinand III; since then the area has
been in the uninterrupted ownership of the Esterházy. Since the city of
Eisenstadt (within the city walls) was not subject to them, but had
bought the rank of a royal Hungarian free city in 1648, the family
initiated settlement activity a short distance west of the castle (where
the Jewish community settled, among other things).
After the
death of Ladislaus, his brother Paul I had the castle converted into a
baroque palace in the 1650s, which remained the main residence of the
family, which was soon raised to the rank of prince, for 300 years.
Carlo Martino Carlone was commissioned with the planning, stonemason
work was assigned to the masters Hieronymus Bregno, Ambrosius Ferrethi
and the brothers Ambrosius and Giorgio Regondi from Kaisersteinbruch.
The renovation took about ten years. The work that was later necessary
came to a standstill due to the second Turkish siege in 1683.
In
the 18th century the castle was only slightly changed on the outside.
Most of the modifications concerned the interior. Deliveries of hard
stone from Kaisersteinbruch, the "Kaiserstein", were made in 1745/1746
for the stone bridge construction over the castle moat, in 1761 by
master Johann Michael Strickner for the new main staircase. 1790-1794
the opposite stable and guard buildings were built.
At the
beginning of the 19th century (1805-1815), under Nicholas II, Karl
Ehmann converted the building into a classicist palace based on plans by
the architect Charles de Moreau. In the course of this, the moat was
filled in. However, the work had to be stopped due to the occupation of
Eisenstadt by the Napoleonic troops and could no longer be continued due
to the financial burden on the Esterházy from the war against the
French. That is why only the middle part of the princely residence
planned by Moreau, more than twice as large, still exists today. Major
renovations were carried out at the end of the 19th century, but these
did not change much in terms of appearance.
Present
After the Second World War, part of the
Burgenland state government was housed in the castle during the
occupation period. After 1969, parts of the castle were leased from
the state of Burgenland and managed by a state-owned operating
company. This lease, which included extensive renovation and
adaptation work, ended on December 31, 2009, as the state was not
willing to participate financially in the Esterházy Foundation's
ambitious expansion plans.
During the renovation of the
entire roof landscape, which was carried out until 2021, all four
towers, the spiral corridor including chimneys, balustrades,
decorative attachments, onion roofs as well as a sundial and tower
clock were comprehensively renewed in four sections. During the
refurbishment, the use of certain historical plastering techniques
was taken up again and "disappeared" cornices were re-established or
the portals returned to their original, baroque position.
The
palace's historic ballroom is known as the Haydn Hall and is often
used as a concert hall. Joseph Haydn worked from 1761 to 1803 as a
court musician, conductor and composer at the Esterházy princely
court. In addition, he set up works for performances in Esterházy
Palace (Fertöd) and conducted more than 1000 performances as
Kapellmeister. Since 2009, the permanent exhibition "Haydn
explosive", dedicated to this artistic epoch, has been on display in
the Sala Terrena of Eisenstadt Castle.
Since 1986, Esterházy
Palace has also been the seat of the Burgenland Haydn Festival
Association, which took place in the palace from 1989 to 2016. For
2017, the Esterhazy companies announced HERBSTGOLD, an annual
successor festival to the Haydn Festival taking place in September,
which is intended to appeal to young audiences in Eisenstadt with a
mix of jazz, Roma, Balkan and classical music as well as culinary
delights. Esterházy Palace, along with the Orangery in the Palace
Garden, serves as the setting for the HERBSTGOLD Festival. The
musical event also focuses on works by Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart and
Schubert.
In addition to recurring cultural events, Esterházy
Palace also hosts numerous exhibitions run by Esterhazy companies.
The exhibition concept is based on comprehensive permanent
exhibitions as well as additional changing annual exhibitions. The
topics range from the 300-year construction history of the palace,
the way of life of the Esterházy princes and Melinda Esterházy, and
the life story of Josef Haydn. In the basement is the largest wine
museum in Austria, which shows over 700 exhibits, including the
oldest tree press in Burgenland.
The castle complex includes the main building with the castle chapel and the former princely stable and main guard building in the entrance area (built in 1793 by the princely master builder Joseph Ringer according to plans by the architect Johann Henrici). There is also a listed portal and the Emerikus fountain (late 19th century).
The palace park belonging to Esterházy Palace was laid out in 1624 by
Count Nikolaus Esterházy and covers an area of 50 hectares. It is one
of the most important landscape gardens of the 19th century and, like
Esterházy Palace, has been a listed building since 1925. Due to the
variety of flowers and the orangery, the palace park is considered the
oasis and green lung of the city. The Leopoldine Temple in the eastern
part of the park has established itself as a popular wedding location.
In 1962, the city of Eisenstadt signed a contract with the owner, Paul
Esterházy, which opened a large part of the park to the public. The
Esterházy Palace Park has been regularly renovated and revitalized since
1996 by the "Association for Lease, Preservation and Care of the
Esterhazy Palace Park" and the "Association of Friends of the Eisenstadt
Palace Park", which was founded in 1987. However, on September 30, 2021,
the lease agreement between the city of Eisenstadt and Esterházy, which
was signed in 1996, expired. Instead of the “Association for Lease,
Maintenance and Care of the Esterházy Castle Park”, the city of
Eisenstadt and the Esterházy companies founded a non-profit company.
Until 2051, Schlosspark GmbH regulates the cooperation in the castle
park, such as its preservation and further development. The palace park
remains open to the public.
Miscellaneous
On November 9, 1962,
the Austrian postal service issued a definitive stamp of the Austrian
Architectural Monuments stamp series with a value of 3.50 Schilling.