{"id":7551,"date":"2025-06-02T10:02:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T08:02:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iratmentoalapitvany.hu\/felso-magyarorszag-muveszeti-emlekei\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T19:56:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:56:57","slug":"the-artistic-heritage-of-upper-hungary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iratmentoalapitvany.hu\/en\/projects\/the-artistic-heritage-of-upper-hungary\/","title":{"rendered":"The artistic heritage of Upper Hungary"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Our Foundation has set as its goal the preservation\u2014through photographic and historical documentation\u2014of the architectural monuments of historic Hungary now facing destruction or grave endangerment. This ambitious, potentially decades-long endeavor aims to create the most comprehensive visual inventory possible of the built heritage of Upper Hungary.<\/p>

The highlands of the Carpathian Basin\u2014the Felvid\u00e9k, now in Slovakia\u2014are a veritable treasury of Hungarian architectural legacy, perhaps its most precious region, which largely escaped the ravages of war, including the frontlines of the Ottoman conquests. With only mild exaggeration, one might claim that as many mansions and manor houses survive in a single noble village in the Felvid\u00e9k\u2014such as M\u00e1rkusfalva (Marku\u0161ovce, Slovakia) or Lipt\u00f3szentiv\u00e1n (Liptovsk\u00fd J\u00e1n)\u2014as in the entire region of B\u00e1cska. Moreover, this territory boasts a remarkable wealth of Renaissance buildings, a rarity in Hungary proper. Contrary to popular belief, however, many noble residences here too have fallen into disrepair; in several cases, their legal status remains unresolved\u2014or their fate already sealed.<\/p>

Most vulnerable among them are the manor houses of the lesser nobility, which, due to the tragic turns of the 20th century, have lost both their original purpose and caretakers. While aristocratic residences of outstanding artistic value can occasionally attract grant funding, and smaller mansions may be adapted for private use, the medium-sized noble estates\u2014once comprising twenty or thirty rooms\u2014have largely become hopeless cases. Stripped of their former vast estates of hundreds or thousands of acres, their maintenance imposes an unbearable burden on the small communities at whose edges they now crumble.<\/p>

In such circumstances, the role of photography gains renewed significance. Too often, a photograph may become the only surviving testament to a once-glorious residence. And yet even a well-preserved monument must be recorded\u2014for its present state, too, is part of our architectural history and may provide a foundation for future restoration.<\/p>

This project began with the photographic documentation of monuments in two closely connected regions: the northern counties of former Upper Hungary and the environs of historic Pressburg (Pozsony, now Bratislava).<\/p>

The area around Pressburg, close to the once imperial city of Vienna, holds pivotal significance in Hungarian history. Within its surrounding counties\u2014Pozsony, Moson, Sopron, and Nyitra\u2014lived court officials, high-ranking public servants, statesmen, administrators, and military officers, all serving the ruling house. Though their names and careers are largely forgotten today, a few\u2014like Field Marshal J\u00e1nos P\u00e1lffy or Palatine P\u00e1l Esterh\u00e1zy\u2014still echo faintly through the pages of schoolbooks.<\/p>

The leading figures of the Hungarian aristocracy left behind, in these counties, monuments of enduring cultural and artistic value\u2014buildings that would stand proud even by European standards. Yet many of these noble residences\u2014such as the Kollonich mansion at Nagyl\u00e9v\u00e1rd (Ve\u013ek\u00e9 Lev\u00e1re), the Cs\u00e1ky manor at Magyarb\u00e9l (Ve\u013ek\u00fd Biel), the Amad\u00e9 palace at B\u0151s (Gab\u010d\u00edkovo), or the Zichy\u2013L\u00f3nyay estate at Oroszv\u00e1r (Rusovce)\u2014have declined or fallen to ruin, or worse: found themselves put to degrading use. It is our moral imperative to record their current state and to share their forgotten magnificence with the Hungarian public\u2014many of whom remain unaware of the cultural treasures once erected by Hungarian noble families under the shadow of Vienna.<\/p>

Our second area of research lies in the lesser-known northern reaches of Upper Hungary, where the construction of many valuable monuments can be credited to families of the lower nobility. Some of the most soul-stirring manor houses here now stand abandoned or lie in decay, their restoration slow or stalled. Even the grand residences of the aristocracy across regions like Lipt\u00f3 (Liptov), \u00c1rva (Orava), Trencs\u00e9n (Tren\u010d\u00edn), or Szepes (Spi\u0161) suffer from a lack of conservation funds. One can only hope that someday the Thurz\u00f3 castles at Nagybiccse (Byt\u010da), the Szap\u00e1ry estate of V\u00e1gbeszterce\u2013V\u00e1gv\u00e1ralja (Pova\u017esk\u00e1 Bystrica), the Okolics\u00e1nyi manor at Okolicsna (Okoli\u010dno), the Kubinyi residence at Nagyolaszi (Vlachy), the M\u00e1ri\u00e1ssy ensemble at M\u00e1rkusfalva (Marku\u0161ovce), or the R\u00e9vay castle at Kisselmec (Tur\u010dianska \u0160tiavni\u010dka) may yet be brought back to life.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Esterh\u00e1zy ch\u00e2teau in \u00c1brah\u00e1m (Abrah\u00e1m) was built by Count K\u00e1roly Esterh\u00e1zy between 1899 and 1900, designed by Josef Urban. This rare example of Secessionist architecture\u2014whose interiors were partly painted by the count himself\u2014now lies hidden in a wild and overgrown English park at the village\u2019s edge, its discovery alone a challenge.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The \u201cnewer\u201d Esterh\u00e1zy palace at Gal\u00e1nta (Galanta) was commissioned around 1860 by Count J\u00f3zsef Esterh\u00e1zy\u2014a passionate researcher of the past and patriarch of the family\u2014upon the foundations of an ancient building. Designed by Antal W\u00e9ber, the residence evokes a medieval atmosphere. Today, the town and a local preservation society make serious efforts to rescue and restore this monumental structure.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The splendid baroque residence of Csekl\u00e9sz (Bernol\u00e1kovo) was born of the great wave of castle construction in the early 18th century. Built between 1714 and 1722 at the behest of Count J\u00f3zsef Esterh\u00e1zy, it was likely executed by architect A. E. Martinelli, following designs attributed to his superior, Joseph Emmanuel Fischer von Erlach. Recently restored, the palace once more shines in its former glory.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Our Foundation has set as its goal the preservation\u2014through photographic and historical documentation\u2014of the architectural monuments of historic Hungary now facing destruction or grave endangerment. 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