Amade-Bajzáth-Pappenheim-Károlyi Castle

The Amadé–Bajzáth–Pappenheim Castle is located in Iszkaszentgyörgy, Fejér County.

History

The name Iszkaszentgyörgy appears in 1691 on a round seal with its then name "ISKA ZENT GIORG", which at that time was already the property of the Amadé family. The oldest part of the castle was built in 1735 by Antal Amadé, the eastern side wing and the gate were built by Tádé Amadé in 1764. The foundation of the central building was probably a 18th‑century castle. In 1800 the castle came into the ownership of Bishop József Bajzáth of Veszprém, who began significant construction in 1820. He extended both ends of the main wing laterally in a classicist style. Around 1840 the openings of the façade facing the park received new stone frames, whose designs were probably made by the master builder Mihály Langmasy.

In 1870, through the marriage of the daughter of the nephew of József Bajzáth, the castle passed into the possession of the Counts Pappenheim; its major reconstruction is linked to Count Siegfried Pappenheim between 1904 and 1909, the costs of which were covered by his wife, Erzsébet Károlyi's dowry. The western side wings were demolished, and in their place a one‑storey, richly stone‑sculptured Neo‑Baroque building was erected, with ornate window and balcony grilles, stone heads above the upper‑storey windows, and a sculptural composition above the central risalite. The reconstruction was carried out according to the plans of the Munich architect professor Gabriel Seidl.

A one‑storey corridor connects to the western end of the building from the south; its floor was covered, but the sides divided by stone pillars were originally open. This leads to a circular building that was used as a lounge. To the western end of the new building, from the north, rooms with Czech‑glass vaults and compartmented rib vaults were attached, with a passage in line with the Baroque gate tower. Perpendicular to this is the stable wing. The stable was built between 1906 and 1909. It contained red marble water troughs, but the horses were not kept there for long. On the ground floor of the central castle the count and countess lived in three rooms each (bedroom–salon–study), the dining room was on the upper floor, with a richly furnished library on one side. The couple’s four children lived partly in the old and partly in the new wing. The new building housed guest rooms and a second library. In the eastern side wing there were a kitchen, a scullery, and ironing rooms.

The Pappenheim family owned the castle until the end of the Second World War, after which it served as a hospital, a refugee shelter, the Beszkart resort, and in the 1950s as a workers’ hostel. In the 1960s it became the local council. Because of its size, the office, the local police station, a mixed‑goods store, a pharmacy and the post office were placed here, later also a cultural house, a library, a cinema and an elementary school, as well as service and rental apartments. The castle’s renovation began in 1985, and its wall paintings were also restored. In 1995 it came into the ownership of KVI and currently the building awaits utilization. The neo‑Baroque part still houses the elementary school today. In 1994 a “duck‑foot” scene of the film *Megint tanú* was shot here.

The castle park

The castle has a park, whose terraced layout was unique in Fejér County. The garden, designed in the early 1900s by chief gardener Schusstig, also contained numerous plant rarities. The park was designed in the French style, characterized by symmetrical arrangement, geometric landforms, trimmed hedges, tree rows and many garden structures (retaining walls, stairs, pool, triumphal arch) and statues. Hungary’s only “formal garden” was surveyed by the heritage protection authority in 1991.