Grassalkovich Castle

The Grassalkovich Castle or Grassalkovich Palace is one of the famous buildings in Bratislava. The building is a fine example of late Baroque-Rococo architecture. The castle also has an imposing French garden, and in front of it is Tibor Bártfay's work called The Fountain of Peace. The palace was designed and built by András Mayerhoffer, a Hungarian nobleman of Croatian origin, on behalf of Count Antal Grassalkovich of Győrak in 1760, directly next to the former summer palace of the Archbishop of Esztergom. At the time, the Count was the President of the Hungarian Royal Chamber (quasi-Minister of Finance), and as such, he needed an apartment in the capital. The castle's many rooms and Spanish Hall all praise the work of the designer and builder, as does the staircase richly decorated with sculptures. ; Soon after its completion, the palace became the center of Baroque music in Bratislava, so much so that Joseph Haydn himself first performed some of his works here. Grassalkovich himself maintained an orchestra in the castle, and Prince Miklós Esterházy 'lent' his favorite conductor, Haydn, to conduct his orchestra on several occasions. The Count, being a favorite of the Queen, often organized balls and various celebrations for the royal court in his castle in Bratislava. For example, Haydn conducted the Grassalkovich orchestra at the wedding of Archduchess Maria Christina and Prince Albert Casimir of Saxony-Teschen (who was the royal regent of Hungary in Bratislava at the time) (although the location of the wedding is disputed). ; The Grassalkovich family later became indebted and finally died out in 1841, so the ownership rights passed from owner to owner until it came into the hands of the royal house. The last owners of the building before the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy were Archduke Frederick of Habsburg-Teschen and his wife Princess Isabella of Croÿ-Dülmen. However, in 1905, Archduke Frederick was appointed Chief Inspector of the Imperial and Royal Forces by Franz Joseph, and as a result, they moved from Bratislava to Vienna with their children, to Archduke Albert's inner-city palace, today's Albertina. After that, the building stood empty for years. ; The building was first used in earnest after the fall of the Monarchy between 1939 and 1945, as the residence of the President of the Slovak Republic, Jozef Tiso. During the communist era, from 1945 onwards, it became the headquarters of the Slovak communist leaders, the Board of Commissioners – quasi-rulers of Slovakia within Czechoslovakia. In 1950, the palace became home to the Klement Gottwald Pioneer and Youth House. This was practically a leisure center for Bratislava's students and young people, the pioneers of socialism. However, the little pioneers caused significant damage to the building over the past four decades, but the due renovation work did not take place until the change of regime. ; After 1989, the change of regime began in the former Czechoslovakia, which, among other things, made it possible to restore this building in late 1989 and early 1990. Three years later, on January 1, 1993, independent Slovakia was formed, and thus this building was also needed. On September 30, 1996, the castle became the residence of the then President of the Slovak Republic. The former huge park is now a public park, complemented by a statue of a locally born composer and piano virtuoso, Johann Nepomuk Hummel. There is also a statue of Maria Theresa in the garden, which is a copy of the statue at the Archbishop's Palace in Nitra. Every head of state visiting Slovakia has planted a small oak tree on the Presidential Avenue, also located in the garden. ; At the corner of the Grassalkovich Palace on Stefánia Street, the ornamental gate stood the entire width of the street, which was built in 1909 on the occasion of the visit of the Austrian Emperor and King of Hungary Franz Joseph I to Bratislava. ; The rich and famous Grassalkovich family had several castles built within the Monarchy. The most famous are perhaps the huge residence in Gödöllő and the Vienna Summer Palace in the 2nd district. ; There used to be a Grassalkovich palace in the Hungarian capital, but the building no longer stands. Only a few engravings of the mansion remain.