Page 140 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Hungary

138  HUNGAR Y REGION B Y REGION AROUND BUD APEST  139

Royal Palace of Gödöllő . Grand Hall VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
A vast ballroom, with
Seemingly lifted directly from a fairytale, the Baroque marble and gilded stucco Practical Information
decoration on walls and
Gödöllő Royal Palace is as enchanting now as it was ceiling, the Hall also has a Gödöllő, 28 km (17 miles)
the day it was completed in 1748. Designed by András hidden music room above northeast of Buda pest.
Road Map D3. Tel (28) 41 01 24.
Mayerhoffer, the palace was commissioned by the the entrance. Open Apr–Oct: 10am–6pm daily;
flamboyant Hungarian aristocrat Antal Grassalkovich I, Nov–Mar: 10am–4pm (to 5pm
a confidant of Empress Maria Theresa. Home to Hungarian Sat & Sun). & 8 tours of palace
rulers from Emperor Franz Joseph to Governor Horthy, and grounds available. 7 - =
_ check website for special
it is Franz Joseph’s wife, the beautiful Sisi, who has left events. ∑ kiralyikastely.hu
the most indelible mark on the palace.
Transport
£ @
. Franz Joseph’s Reception Room
The walls of the Emperor’s suite
are covered in the finest red silks.
The wooden floor is the original, Grand Staircase
from the 18th century. The elegant double
stair case features
stucco decoration and
Main entrance Rococo motifs. The
balustrade is a simple,
open design in
painted stone.

. Chapel
The Chapel, consecrated
in 1749, replaced the original
Calvinist village church. It features
two Rococo pulpits and a mosaic
portrait of Antal Grassalkovich I.

KEY Baroque Painted Room
This informal room, its walls
1 Bath and Orangerie Minor Coronation Hall covered with paintings, is
2 The Oratory has a full-size Originally the king’s today furnished with items
portrait of Antal Grassal kovich I bedroom, an oversized from Queen Elizabeth’s
above the marble fireplace. and stunning depiction of private waiting room
3 The Wardrobe of Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph’s coronation at Budapest Nyugati
contains replicas of his vast in 1867, commissioned by railway station.
collection of uniforms, with which himself, is the centre piece
the Emperor was obsessed – he of this room.
was rarely seen out of uniform.
4 Below the Dressing Room of
Queen Elizabeth is a secret room in
which key negotiations leading to
the Austro-Hungarian Compromise The Palace
of 1867 (see p46) were held. from the Park
5 The Queen Elizabeth Memorial Used as an old
Exhibition suite has been restored people’s home and to . Queen Elizabeth’s Reception Room
to its original violet, the Queen’s house Soviet troops A symbolic portrait here depicts
favourite colour. On display are after World War II, the Elizabeth as a Hungarian queen, dressed
her most cherished paintings. palace was rebuilt and in traditional Hungarian costume and
reno vated in 1986–91. mending the coronation robe.
For hotels and restaurants see pp264–269 and pp276–285 The spectacular ruins of the Citadel in Visegrád

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