Reconstruction of Andrássy Castle in Tiszadob Complete

Surrounded by a 500-hectare forest of ancient trees, the Romantic-style building was built between 1880 and 1885 by Gyula Andrássy, the joint foreign minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The building is influenced by the late Gothic and Renaissance châteaux of the Loire Valley.

The decoration of the castle and the landscaping of the surroundings were already carried out by the Count's son, J. Gyula Andrássy. The walls of the building were once hung with works by Italian and German-Alpine painters in the Baroque style, as well as modern French works of art, along with old and contemporary Hungarian paintings. The castle is surrounded by artistically designed and maintained English and French parks, with famously beautiful rose gardens.

The concept of the project was to reconstruct the former living space of the Andrássy family.  For 12 years prior to the handover, paintings, sculptures, furniture, and utensils from the family's legacy were collected from all over the world. In the renovated castle, a living space has been created in which most of the furniture and objects have been restored to their original places. The Tiszadob castle's art collection is priceless, with the most valuable piece being the Palma Vecchio: with the Infant Mary, the infant St John the Baptist, and a holy bishop. The historical restoration of the castle park has also been completed, the bank of the Holt-Tisza has been rehabilitated, and a boat harbor, as well as a playground, have been created.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, János Lázár, Minister of Construction and Transport, said, "We are trying a new experiment that will be open to public debate now and in the future, as we are organizing the buildings into several groups for the first time. Some buildings will be returned to the Hungarian National Trust because they are in such a poor state of repair or of such a size that they cannot be used in the 21st century. The Hungarian State will have to consider whether to put these minor buildings on the market or sell them. There will be some buildings that we would like to see adopted by large Hungarian companies, financial and economic operators, as they are of a size that is beyond the capacity of the taxpayers to maintain, operate and rationally exploit without market capital."

He added, "And there are buildings such as Keszthely, Eszterháza, Nagycenk and Tiszadob whose significance in the history of the country justifies their long-term ownership by the Hungarian State. In other words, these buildings should be managed by the state, their history should be presented and their significance should be remembered by their users, their builders and the people who lived in them."

Zsanett Oláh, managing director of NÖF Nonprofit., stressed,"I hope that the visiting public will welcome the exhibition with the same love and enthusiasm that we have created with the help of our curators, experts, and colleagues." 

The renovation of the Andrássy Castle in Tiszadob will provide visitors with an experience that will bring to life how the Andrássy family lived and what objects they surrounded themselves with in their summer residence, allowing Tiszadob to become a center and symbol of cultural tourism in the Northern Great Plain region. The renovated castle building its park will provide a venue for high-quality events that will be a national attraction for both historical heritage and cultural event visitors.

The project "Development of the Andrássy Castle in Tiszadob for Tourism" (GINOP-7.1.1-15-2017-00033) was implemented with the help of HUF 1.5 billion of European Union funding. Within the framework of the currently running National Castle and Forts Program, a total of 17 castles and 12 forts will be renovated nationwide.