Keszthely - Festetics Castle 
In a large park to the north of the town center lies the Palace which was the residence of the Festetics family for two hundred years. The first palace, built for Kristóf Festetics in 1745, was a comparatively modest affair with "only" 34 rooms and a French Baroque garden. The enlarged and changed building we see today was the work of the Viennese architect Viktor Rumpelmayer, carried out between 1883 and 1887 on the instructions of the future Duke Tasziló Festetics.
|
Must-see attractions nearby:
|
The result is a spacious, horseshoe-shaped complex with 101 rooms. The uniform Neo-Baroque façade, built on the lines of French palaces, is accentuated by the tower in the central wing. The garden at the rear was designed by the English landscape gardener E.H. Miller, and a wall with a gateway separates the palace from the town.
Related Attractions
Georgikon House
From 1808 the students of the Agricultural College received their tuition in the single-story building near the Palace. Adjoining it to the south is the former Festetics family estate which was later used to provide practical instruction for the students; it includes three yards, a dairy, office buildings, stables and workshops. On the ground floor of the old corn-store there is an exhibition on the history of the Festetics family, while the upper floor and attic house a Dairy Farming Museum with old tools and equipment and machinery used in viticulture and farming in the Lake Balaton region.
Hours
May 1 to October 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Closed | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| Close | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 | 17:00 |
Palace Museum
The Palace Museum in the south wing takes in several rooms with their original furnishings, including the Chapel, the great Dining Room, which is now used for concerts and other events, and the famous Helikon Library, with its 80,000 volumes.
