Royal Palace of Gödöllő

The construction began around 1733, under the direction of András Mayerhoffer (1690–1771) a famous builder from Salzburg who worked in Baroque and Zopf style.

The building underwent several enlargements and modifications during the 18th century; its present shape being established in the time of the third generation of the Grassalkovich family.

By then the building had 8 wings, and - besides the residential part - it contained a church, a theatre, a riding-hall, a hothouse, a greenhouse for flowers and an orangery.

This state lasted until 1918, thus Francis Joseph (1867–1916) and later Charles IV and the royal family spent several months in Gödöllő every year.

It was Queen Elisabeth (1837–1898) who specially loved staying in Gödöllő, where the Hungarian personnel and neighbourhood of the palace always warmly welcomed her.

Soviet and Hungarian troops used the building, some of the beautifully decorated rooms were used for an old people's home, and the park was divided into smaller plots of land.

During this time the roof of the riding-hall and the stable-wing was reconstructed, the façade of the building was renovated, as well as the trussing of the central wings and the double cupola.

The visitor service units and the connected infrastructure are situated on the ground floor: cloak-room, ticket office, tourist information centre, toilets (also for the disabled), payphone, etc.

The northern front garden, at the main façade with its so-called Italian bastions and walkways was reconstructed with historical authenticity in 1998.