Wenckheim-kastély – Szabadkígyós, Hungary - Atlas Obscura

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Wenckheim-kastély

Szabadkígyós, Hungary

This castle was designed to have as many windows as there are days in the year.  

18
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During the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Franconian Wenkheim noble family became one of the most influential and powerful in the empire, owning large properties and palaces.

One of the most impressive and well-preserved of these locations is the Wenkheim Castle, located in the town of Szabadkígyós in southeastern Hungary. Constructed between 1874 and 1879, the Neo-Renaissance-style palace was highly appreciated at the time and regarded as one of the finest royal residences in the area.

One unique aspect of the castle is that it was designed to have “as many windows as there are days in a year, as many rooms as there are weeks, and as many entrances as there are seasons.” The castle is surrounded by a large Baroque-style park that has been a nature reserve since 1954 and is part of the Körös–Maros National Park.

The palace was inhabited by the Wenkheim family until 1944 when they fled to Vienna. After World War II, the mansion was used as a vocational school for agriculture and the food industry, but it was later transformed into a museum and restored between 2019 and 2022. Over the years, the castle was also used as a set for movies and music videos.

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August 22, 2022

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