Monday – Sunday: 10:00-18:00 +36 30 / click

Queen Elizabeth and Gödöllő

HU EN DE
Királyi Kastély

Queen Elizabeth and Gödöllő

Queen Elizabeth and Gödöllő


 
The first time that Elizabeth visited the Gödöllő palace, which was offered as Coronation gift to Elizabeth and Francis Joseph I, was on 11 May 1867. Francis Joseph I was obliged by his coronation oath, taken in 1867, to spend regular periods of time in Hungary. To this end, the Hungarian government wished to please the royal couple by placing at their disposal not only the Castle in Buda as political headquarters, but also residences in the countryside suitable for relaxation. Of these, however, only the plan for Gödöllő came to fruition.
Count Antal Grassalkovich I (1694–1771), one of the most notable aristocrats of the 18th century, began construction of the largest Baroque palace in Hungary around 1735. After his family died out it had several owners before being bought by the Hungarian government in 1867. Following a quick reconstruction the Palace and the park were placed at the disposal of Francis Joseph and Elisabeth as a coronation gift.
The Palace had 136 rooms altogether, of which 103 were living rooms, 67 of these being for the staff. Royal suites were established in the main building, to the north and south of the ceremonial hall. Comfort rather than grandeur was the main aim. The walls of the king’s apartment were covered with yellow panelling and grey silk wallpaper. The queen’s suite was characterised by her favourite colour, violet. Both were later changed to white, red and gold. Elisabeth’s suite consisted of a salon and writing-, bed-, dressing-, and reading rooms. A spiral staircase led from the upper floor to the three-room suite on the ground floor. Next to Elisabeth’s rooms was the suite of her reader Ida Ferenczy, followed by the rooms of the royal children.
The Baroque theatre fell victim to alterations made in the royal period. It was replaced by 15 rooms. (For example, Rudolph’s rooms were brought here when Marie Valerie was born.) A building for the major-domo was erected in the south section and the coach-house was extended by further stables. The Palace was surrounded by an English landscape garden, with two swan-ponds in front of the main facade.
 
The first time the royal family visited the Palace was in the autumn of 1867. From this time on they would spend several months a year here, mainly in the spring and autumn. Gödöllő soon became a favourite spot for Elisabeth where she found refuge from the protocol in Vienna. ‘Here you can get a bit of peace, no relatives, no-one bothering you, whilst there, in Vienna, there’s the whole imperial crowd! There’s nothing to annoy or constrain me here, I can live like in a village, and I can walk or ride out on my own!’  - as Elisabeth wrote to her mother from Gödöllő.
It was, in fact, the perfect spot for all her favourite pastimes. If she sought solitude no-one disturbed her: she could read, learn languages, write or walk as she liked. As Ferenc Ripka, the royal monographer of the time put it: ‘When the locals, who adored Queen Elisabeth, caught sight of her elegant figure dressed in black, they would respectfully keep out of her way, because they knew that Her Majesty does not like impertinent curiosity.’ If she desired company, grandiose horse races, hunts, greyhound races or pigeon-shooting were arranged for her. The Hungarian equestrian elite, Count Gyula Andrássy among them, frequently paid visits here. The King did not spend much time on fun or relaxation. He was extraordinarily hard-working and his sense of duty made him work from early morning till night with short breaks for walks or meals. He also took part in hunts, mainly for shooting big game. His suite and the staircase at Gödöllő were adorned by his trophies.
The queen had always been attracted to unusual, unconventional things. She loved Gipsy music, even hosting full Gipsy bands in the Palace on a number of occasions. Much excitement and bewilderment was caused by another of her ideas: Marie Valerie had a crippled Saracen boy as a playmate. Rustimo was a gift from the Shah of Persia.
In Gödöllő, everyday life and holidays were much more casual and relaxed than in Vienna. In the autumn season, the locals celebrated the queen’s nameday (19 November) with a serenade and a torch-lit procession. Christmases were very intimate, as mentioned by Marie Valerie’s tutor, Jácint Rónay in his memoirs: ‘In the evenings they played blind man’s buff at the desire of Marie Valerie, then they got busy again, colouring and cutting out figures for the picture book the kind-hearted princess wanted to give to the little patients in the children’s hospital.’ Holidays always presented an opportunity for exercising charity. The family frequently stayed on in Gödöllő till the New Year. Another note by Rónay from 1881: ‘On New Year’s Eve, the Christmas tree was once again dressed in festive splendour. In a corner of the upper garden an artificial skating rink was set up, where the princess and her close friend, Duchess Aglája Auersperg would skate happily all day long.’
The Queen spent a total of 2663 days (7.3 years!) in Hungary, of which 2000 were spent in Buda and Gödöllő. Her last visit was from the 2nd till the 24th of October 1897. Following her death in 1898, the king visited Gödöllő much less frequently. To commemorate their beloved Queen, Hungarians have erected more than 40 monuments and established 100 memorial gardens and groves in the country. The first of these parks was the one in Gödöllő, dedicated in 1901 with a full-length statue of the queen. The town is still the number one centre of the cult of Queen Elisabeth.

 

Ildikó Faludi
 

Actual

News and informations

Make summer memories in Hungary!

Make summer memories in Hungary!

Make summer memories in Hungary! Discover Sisi's favorite domestic holiday castle and its wonderful, romantic garden with your family and friends! Joining the Hungarian Tourist Agency's "Summer Experiences at Home" campaign, we will complete your visit with the use of a free audioguide device as part of the initiative! When buying your ticket, just refer to the slogan of the campaign (“Make summer memories in Hungary”) and we will give you the "electronic exhibition guide" that makes the experience even more complete. Campaign details: Period: May 20-June 30, 2023. We can provide Audioguide devices while stocks last. If a short wait is necessary, we provide you with a colorful palette of experience programs for the period!
Read more
Story cube – a new educational tool

Story cube – a new educational tool

Together with the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów and the Italian non-governmental organisation Stazione Utopia, we exchange knowledge and experiences as well as train and teach how to encourage local communities gathered around museums to engage in voluntary work and how to talk about cultural, natural and historical heritage in an interesting manner. Together with our colleagues from Hungary and Italy, we have created a publicly available educational tool – the story cube that supports volunteers and educators in learning how to build a unique story, organise arguments, build independent judgments about the object or phenomenon in question, while incorporating their own stories and experiences. Activities implemented as part of the project: International Learning, Teaching, Training (LTT) meetings, during which a group of experts from Wilanów, Gödöllő and Florence selected in the programme exchanges good practice and then trains one another in areas such as working with volunteers and immigrants as well as creating an engaged community around institutions. Four meetings: two in Warsaw and two in Florence and Gödöllő, respectively, have been held during the course of the project. Transnational Project Meetings (TPMs) in each of the participating organisations help us implement our planned activities effectively. Developing an educational tool, known as the story cube. The tool supports the adult education personnel in contacting the local community and engaging it in activities related to the voluntary programme. An online seminar to discuss the experiences we have gained and disseminate the educational tool we have developed is to be held in January 2023. Writing a series of articles on informal adult education and engaging the local community in the activities of institutions. Feel free to check out the materials on the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe (EPALE): Local community engagement in museum programs: practices, experiences and challenges and Też tak chcę! Story cube – a new educational tool   As part of the Erasmus+ project, “Museum of Communities”, along with our partners from the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów and the non-governmental organisation Stazione Utopia in Florence, we have created a new publicly available educational tool.The story cube supports our work with volunteers in terms of creating engaging and unique stories about museum items. We have designed not one but two cubes: senses cube, to support the process of experiencing objects through our senses; mind cube, to encourage users to think and reflect critically. Story cubes allow the users to ask questions about heritage objects and look at them in a new manner, inspiring them to learn collectively and have a discussion. The tool may be used with both beginners and advanced storytellers. Story cubes are a universal solution to be used in adult education. The project has been co-financed by the European Commission from the Erasmus+ programme supporting strategic partnerships at a European level. Projects related to education and training promote the development of knowledge in Europe and make it possible to achieve the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy – sustainable development and social inclusion. Download the detailed instructions and a graphic template for the story cubes: Erasmus+ Storycube black and white Erasmus+ Storycube color Erasmus+ Mindcube black and white Erasmus+ Mindcube color Instructions
Read more
CaFE IDA is waiting for you

Our Cafe is waiting for you

CaFE IDA is waiting for you! Here are some pictures:  
Read more
The queen's furniture has returned home!

The queen's furniture has returned home!

The queen's furniture has returned home! Queen Elizabeth's personal furniture, dressing table and glass showcase arrived at the Royal Castle in Gödöllő   Dr. Tamás Ujváry, the managing director of the Royal Palace of Gödöllő Public Benefit Nonprofit Ltd., reminded that the castle operates as a real Sisi cult place. The building also celebrates its anniversary, as it was abandoned by the Soviet army thirty years ago and then opened in 1996, albeit only in part, to visitors in 1996. The anniversary is also connected with the arrival of the two special pieces of furniture, which were successfully repurchased with the help of the National Castle Program and the NÖF, said Dr. Tamás Ujváry. Speaking about the National Castle Program and the National Castle Program, which he supervised as a ministerial commissioner, Zsolt Virág said that they are aimed not only at the restoration of the buildings, but also at their mental rehabilitation. This includes returning any former furnishings to the walls, he noted. According to him, Queen Elizabeth's former dressing table and glazed display case appeared at an auction in Germany, where they were bought back at a starting price, and from Friday the public can meet the artefacts in the castle's permanent exhibition in the queen's dressing room.  
Read more

Follow us on social media!

Actuality

Opening hours

Monday-Sunday 10:00-18:00   Ticket office closes at 17:00



 


Contact

Phone number:+36 30 / click
E-mail:click