Nagyvazsony Tourist Attractions

This tranquil village on the southern foothills of the Bakony Forest and at the foot of Mount Kab (599m (1965ft)) is a popular place to visit in the hinterland of Lake Balaton, not far from either Veszprém (21km (13mi.) in a southwest direction) or Balatonfüred (20km (12mi.) northwest).

Kinizsi Castle

In Nagvázsony the fortification is relatively well preserved, having been converted in the early 15th C, into a residential castle. In 1472 King Matthias I presented the castle together with the surrounding estates to Pál Kinizsi, a former miller's boy, born in Nagvázsony. Kinizsi had won the king's favor through his victorious leadership of the royal army, the so-called "Black Troops". Kinizsi had the castle extended to its present form. During the wars of the following centuries it withstood numerous attacks; in the middle of the 17th C both castle and village became the property of the counts of Zichy. The Zichys' loyalty to the emperor prevented the castle from being destroyed by Habsburg troops at the beginning of the 18th C.
Access to the inside of the castle is through the outer round gatetower and a bridge over the moat. Here the 28m (99ft) high Gothic residential tower has dungeons in the lower part. The upper floors with rooms for the servants, banquet hall and living quarters for the lady of the castle have been restored in their original style and fitted with Renaissance furniture (castle museum).
In the castle chapel in the northwest the first lord of the castle Pál Kinizsi lies below a red marble memorial slab. His grave was originally in the Paulinist monastery, which he founded, remains of which can be seen on the northern edge of the town. Below the vaulting in the castle chapel there is a lapidarium.

St Stephen's Church

The Catholic church of this medieval settlement built around 1400, was built in Gothic style by Pál Kinizsi around 1480. The polygonal choir, the cross-vaulting in the sacristy and the fan vaulting in the nave date from this period. The church was rebuilt in Baroque style about 1740 when the counts of Zichy had the church rebuilt after it was badly damaged by the Turks.

Zichy House

The 18th C Baroque palace on the main thoroughfare, nowadays a riding school, displays Classical features. The middle of the front façade has a tympanium supported by four Ionian columns. In the surrounding park and castle, riding displays take place annually in summer.

Néprajzi Múzeum

A pretty house with a typical pergola from 1825 features furniture, household objects and exhibits of local history that are collected and displayed here. There are also stables, a cellar and a barn.

Postal Museum

The horses of the post coaches on their way from Buda via Fehérvár and Veszprém to Tapoica used to be changed in front of the building opposite. Today it is a small but not uninteresting postal museum (Postamúzeum).
Nagyvazsony Pictures