Festetics Castle in Dég
castle, chateau
104m
Dég, Dég

This castle, located in the small village of Dég, is less well-known than the imposing Baroque palace in Keszthely, which also belonged to the Festetics, an old and noble Hungarian family

https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/hu/degikastely/degikastely.jpg
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/hu/degikastely/degikastely1.jpg
https://media.whitetown.sk/pictures/hu/degikastely/degikastely2.jpg
Previous names
Festetics Castle in Dég, Замок в Дегу, Zamek w Degu, Festetics-kastély (Dég)
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Description

This castle, located in the small village of Dég, is less well-known than the imposing Baroque palace in Keszthely, which also belonged to the Festetics, an old and noble Hungarian family. It was built by Antal Festetics (1764–1853) between 1810 and 1815, designed in the Classicist style by Mihály Pollock, an outstanding architect of the time. Four consecutive generations of Festetics lived here from the early 19th to the mid-20th century.

In the last months of WWII, and in the period after, the castle met the common fate of Hungarian country houses. In 1944–45, the German troops used the building as a military hospital and some of the original furniture was taken away. After the war ended, the Festetics counts were stripped of all their possessions. The castle was then taken over by the Soviets, who caused serious damage by burning and by stealing the remaining furniture and equipment.

Soon after that, the castle was hastily restored and turned into a holiday home for the ministry. From 1954 to 1995 it was used as a Hungarian children’s home. Finally, in 2001 the castle and the park were transferred to The National Trust of Monuments of Hungary. Since then the castle has regained its function as the cultural centre of the village as well as of the wider locality; it regularly hosts concerts and exhibitions by prominent Hungarian artists.

At the moment, the complex is undergoing restoration work. When we got there some friendly workers greeted us, telling us that we could go inside. Seven original rooms in the castle are open to visitors. Even though most of the furniture had been stolen or destroyed, inside were some pieces being exhibited, which managed to somewhat restore the ambiance of the castle during the Festetics family’s time there.

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