Royal Palace Postcard

Windows, Grassalkovich palace, Gödöllő, Hungary This late building was designed by Andreas Mayerhofer in 1735 for Count Anton Grassalkovich. The Grassalkovich were one of the wealthiest families of the Hapsburg Empire. They had several grandiose palaces in the Empire (one of them today is the Palace of the President of Slovakia). Count Anton was the secretary of economy of Hungary (president of the Hungarian Chamber). The last member of the family died in 1841. Since then, the palace had several owners. It was bought by the Hungarian Parliament in the mid 18th century and it was designated to be the summer residence of the royal family. It meant that Queen Elisabeth (Empress of the Hapsburg Empire) spent a lot of time here. Between the two World Wars the palace was used by the Governor of Hungary. Several bunkers were built during the war and the palace was designed to be a command centre. After the war the palace was pilfered. The stable was used by a Soviet armoured division and the rest of the building served as an old people's home. For several decades there was no maintenance. The park was simply abandoned. The rehabilitation started in the 80ies. The last Russian soldier left the building in 1990. The management capitalized the "cult of Sissy" and created a permanent exhibition centred on Elisabeth. Many rooms were restored but part of the palace and the park are either still under reconstruction or are abandoned.