Festetics mansion - Castles - Keszthely

This is the most well-known and the most visited listed building in Keszthely. Kristóf Festetics started its construction in 1745. A decade later, it was added to and rebuilt, becoming a U-shaped single-storey building with 34 rooms. Around 1770, its floor space was doubled . Later György Festetics continued the reconstruction.
The ornamental furnishing of the famous library was completed in 1801 and the chapel in 1804. At that time it was a two-storey mansion, richly decorated and luxuriously furnished. It was further enlarged by Tasziló Festetics between 1883 and 1887. During the significant reconstruction work, the interior furnishing was refurbished as well. The building received a uniform external decoration and the new building was attached to the old one with a tall tower. A few years later, the road in front of the mansion was moved further away and the ornamental fountain was created. The beautiful main gate has been in place since l893. In front of the entrance to the mansion stands Lajos Lukácsy's statue of György Festetics, which was moved there from the main square of the town in 1945.
After World War II, the mansion gave temporary home to several institutions. Some parts of it became extensively damaged in that period. Renovation was completed in the l980's. Today, the greater part of the mansion is a museum. Besides its 90,000-volume library, 16 showrooms, a collection of old Hungarian weapons, the Windischgrätz collection of African trophies, there are temporary exhibitions for the several thousand visitors that come each year. In the mansion, conferences and art masterclasses are organised as well.
The area of the originally 42-hectare park has been reduced to 7.2 hectares.