Eszterhàza Castle, a Baroque country residence completed in 1784, served as a principal home of the wealthy and influential Hungarian house of Esterhazy. In addition to the 126 rooms in the main palace, the estate grounds consist of an opera house, a marionette theater, stables, detached servant quarters, and gardens. (...)
Eszterhàza Castle, a Baroque country residence completed in 1784, served as a principal home of the wealthy and influential Hungarian house of Esterhazy. In addition to the 126 rooms in the main palace, the estate grounds consist of an opera house, a marionette theater, stables, detached servant quarters, and gardens. The composer Joseph Haydn became director of the Esterhazy’s musical and theatrical production programs in 1761, and lived there for 29 years, conducting and composing for the castle’s residents and guests. While the palace suffered from neglect and insufficient maintenance, and was subjected to looting and damage during and following World War II, it is still considered the among the best of Hungarian Baroque architecture, and the estate receives over 200,000 visitors annually.
