The palace at Gödöllő was originally built for the aristocratic Grassalkovich family; Franz Josef, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary and his wife Elisabeth ("Sisi") later had their summer residence here.

At that time, the village consisted of a few houses with walls of wattle and daub and thatched roofs in addition to the mansion and the reform church.

In 1727, he became president of the Commission of New Acquisitions (Neoaquistica Commissio), dealing with the revision and arrangement of the chaotic ownership rights after the Turkish rule.

He began to build his palatial residence as early as 1741, which, as the greatest Baroque manor house in Hungary, is even today the principal landmark of Gödöllő.

Grassalkovich, who curried favour with King Charles III and Queen Maria Theresa, also managed very successfully the properties of the treasury.

In the centre of Gödöllő, he had rows of houses built and settled German artisans and craftsmen there, thereby increasing the number of Roman Catholics alongside the Reformed population.

In public places, Baroque works of art were also made on his initiative (such as the Calvary, the Column of the Holy Virgin, and the statue of St. John of Nepomuk).

He, and later his son, rarely stayed in Gödöllő; they considered the transaction merely a capital investment and in 1864 sold the whole of the property to a Belgian bank.

The Hungarian state bought it back from this bank in March 1867 and gave it, together with the mansion house, to Francis Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria ("Sissi") as a coronation gift.

From that time on, the royal family stayed in Gödöllő mainly in spring and autumn, and this resulted in a significant upswing in the life of the town.

The northern railway line, for instance, contrary to the original plan, passes close to Gödöllő because the royal summer resort was there.

The country town (that is, from 1864 on, a large village as an administrative division) grew into an increasingly popular summer resort, owing, in addition to the presence of the royal family, to its natural endowments and fresh air.

The legal successors of the agricultural training institutes and model farms established in the territories of the royal demesne are still operating today.

[6] This event was notable as the first international gathering where Air Scouts were represented, including the famous pilots, Hungarian László Almásy and Austrian Robert Kronfeld.

The area governor, Dr Laszlo Endre, sent many of the Jewish men to Hungarian army for forced labour, where most perished on the Eastern Front in Ukraine.

Randolph L. Braham suggests this order came directly from Hungarian government circles, citing allegations that it was "to enable Miklós Horthy to walk around the town without having to see any Jews and to make it possible for him to personally experience the consequences of the anti-Jewish measures.

This meant the completion of the community's character as an agrarian centre and resulted in a further expansion of the network of agricultural institutions linked to the university.

In 1989, the Capuchins and the Salvator Sisters received back their monasteries; in 1990, the Premonstratensian returned to Gödöllő and, after having opened their school, built their church in 1993.

In 1990, after the departure of the Soviet troops, the process of renovating the almost ruined Grassalkovich mansion house began, and although work continues, the majority of the Royal Palace is open to visitors as a museum and concert venue.

[citation needed] The town hosted The 10th ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting, an interregional forum of the 27 members of the European Union, the European Commission, the 10 members of the ASEAN Secretariat, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Australia, Russia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Norway and Switzerland.

As part of the renovation, the square has been pedestrianised, 46 Secession era-style street lights added, and a singing fountain built in front of the Reformed Church.

The gong weighs 150 kg; it is a 2m diameter bronze circle relic, the work of Djuyoto Suntani, an Indonesian sculptor.

The story of the gong is engraved in the small plaque in front and the park around it is populated with shrub species typically found in the Tropics.

From this time on, the hotel was the venue for numerous cultural and artistic events like theatre performances, and it hosted a casino and a number of balls in its ballroom.

The Commemorative Room arranged in 1927 in the school operating in the building until 1988 is home to a collection of souvenirs of Gödöllő's history and cultural life.

Open on weekday mornings through the early afternoon, it includes outdoor and indoor stands selling fresh produce, flowers, and local craft work, with some stall holders wearing traditional dress.

The university headquarters are located in the picturesque Gödöllő, but altogether nine faculties and an institution accept students in Budapest, Jászberény, Békéscsaba, Szarvas, and Gyula.

His copper relief created on an imposing 120 square metres entitled "The Apotheosis of the Nucleus" can be seen in the University Hall of the Faculty of Technical Studies.

The visitor will be introduced to the 2.5 million year-old history of food acquisition and production, through models reconstructed with the help of original designs and machines.

Some 200 agricultural models show the development of food producing machinery together with documentation on the technical history of the respective time.