Expat Community > Hungary

Mirin123
Joined 2018
Posts: 11

Tiszadob Andrassy Castle

6 years ago

My wife and I visited the Andrássy Castle in northern Hungary last weekend. It’s not a very common tourist site but one of the best castles we have been too here in Central Europe. One reason for this is that it was recently renovated. The castle reminds me a lot of the fantasy castle of Walt Disney and the castles of Southern Bavaria. It’s a little difficult to find and you should fuel up but it’s not expensive at all. Great afternoon spent here after staying in Tarcal and relaxing in the Andrássy Hotel and Spa. You can spend a day in Tokaj tasting wines and visiting the local cellars. Below, is a brief description of the castle found in Wikipedia.

Andrássy Castle is located in the north-eastern part of Hungary, in Tiszadob, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County. It was designed by Artúr Meinig for Count Gyula Andrássy, who was the second Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary and first Hungarian prime minister. The legend says that the count built the castle in honour of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (also called Sissi) but it is not proven that she ever stayed in Tiszadob.
History
The castle and the surrounding park was built between 1880 and 1885. The architect, Artúr Meining built the castle, showing the characteristics of neo-Gothic and Romantic style. The building has 4 entrances in accordance with the 4 seasons, 12 towers for the 12 months, 52 rooms for the 52 weeks of the year and 365 windows for the 365 days of the year. Meining got his inspiration from European castles, one of the most obvious example for that is the ceiling of L shaped large salon on the ground floor, which is the exact copy of the ceiling stucco of the Cartoon Gallery room of Knole Castle in Kent, England.
The castle was raided by savages from the nearby town, Polgár in 1918 during the Aster Revolution. They destroyed not only the furniture but all the paintings, Venetian mirrors, ceramics, books. Locals say that the count never returned to Tiszadob after the incident.
The Andrássy era ended in 1945. First it was an army hospital for the Romanian army. Many soldiers were laid to rest in the park of the castle. Later, in 1948 the state confiscated the castle and from 1950 it became an orphanage and worked as one until 2007.
Renovation
A large renovation was carried out by the order of Szabolcs- Szatmár- Bereg county's local government between 2011-2014. The renovation was funded by both the Hungarian government and the European Union, and cost approx. EUR 7,1 million. The aim of the refurbishment was to enable Tiszadob and the Andrássy Castle to host a range of cultural attractions. It reopened its gate to visitors in 2015 and since it offers a variety of programs for the locals and tourists.

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