The Episcopal Summer Palace ( sk, Letný arcibiskupský palác, hu, érseki nyári palota) is the former residence of the archbishop of
Pozsony
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
.
The palace was originally in the 17th century a
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
summer seat for the
archbishops of Esztergom
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
(since Esztergom had been occupied by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in 1543, the archbishops were based in Bratislava). The baroque sculptor
Georg Rafael Donner had a studio in the palace garden for almost 10 years. The palace now houses the
government of Slovakia
The Government of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Vláda Slovenskej republiky) exercises executive authority in Slovakia. It is led by the Prime Minister of Slovakia, who is nominated by the President of Slovakia, and is usually the leader of majority ...
.
History
When the Turks started invading
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
,
Hungarian nobility
The Hungarian nobility consisted of a privileged group of individuals, most of whom owned landed property, in the Kingdom of Hungary. Initially, a diverse body of people were described as noblemen, but from the late 12th century only high ...
started fleeing into the northern parts of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
(present-day
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
). After the Turks captured
Buda in 1541, Pozsony (german: Pressburg or Preßburg) (since 1918
Bratislava) became the capital city of Hungary. After the city of
Esztergom
Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...
was captured, the seat of the Esztergom
archbishop (highest ranking Hungarian church official at that time) had to be moved. At first, he lived in the building of his predecessors at the place of today's
Primate's Palace
The Primate's Palace ( sk, Primaciálny palác) is a neoclassical palace in the Old Town of Bratislava the capital of Slovakia. It was built from 1778 to 1781 for Archbishop József Batthyány, after the design of architect Melchior Hefele. I ...
in the city center. The old gothic residence, however, despite its many reconstructions failed to provide the comfort the archbishop was accustomed to. In spite of Hungary being decimated by the Turks, the nobility started to emulate the foreign custom of building summer palaces in the countryside.
The land for the Summer Archbishop's Palace, just behind the second ring of city defences, was at that time considered to be countryside. It was acquired at the beginning of the 17th century by archbishop
Ferenc Forgách (who was archbishop from 1607 to 1615) and a garden was established there. The archbishop's summer residence was built probably in 1614.
Archbishop
György Lippay (who was archbishop from 1642 to 1666) had the garden converted into a
renaissance garden by filling it with exotic plants and trees,
fountain
A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect.
Fountains were ori ...
s that used water taken from the mountain springs,
artificial caves and a big water pool where horses used to bathe. The garden's masterpiece was a garden pavillon with walls encased in mosaic and streams of water flowing through a musical instrument similar to an
organ. Neither the garden or the pavillon survived this period of time. Lippay also had a new residence built sometime during his tenure as archbishop.
Archbishop
Imre Esterházy (who was archbishop from 1725 to 1751) had the garden reconfigured in a
baroque style. It was under archbishop
Ferenc Barkóczy (who was archbishop from 1761 to 1776) that the current version of the palace was built. Between 1761 and 1765, Barkóczy had
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
architect
F. A. Hillebrandt convert the old Lippay building into a large
baroque palace. Also,
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
style decorations, a Rococo fence and a yard of honour were added.
In the 19th century, the seat of Esztergom archbishops was moved back to
Esztergom
Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...
and the Hungarian capital was moved to
Buda. After the
Napoleonic wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
a strong garrison of king-emperor's army remained in the city. Summer Archbishop's Palace was converted into a military hospital and its garden was used as a military exercising ground. Statues from the garden were sold and an outside staircase leading from the garden directly to a hall on the first floor was demolished. The hall was split into two rooms full of beds for wounded soldiers. The palace remained a military hospital until the 1930s. After the breakup of
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
the newly created
Slovak State
Slovak may refer to:
* Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'')
* Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group
* Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages
* Slovak, Arka ...
was in need of administrative and office buildings in the capital city to house the government and ministries. Summer Archbishop's Palace was chosen to house the Ministry of foreign affairs and a whole government district was supposed to be constructed in the vicinity, this plan however did not materialise.
A project by Slovak
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Emil Belluš from 1940-1941 was implemented by removing all buildings from the garden and adding the two wings of the palace, creating the building we see today. Belluš probably secured the deal with his previous work on the nearby
Grassalkovich Palace
The Grassalkovich Palace ( sk, Grasalkovičov palác) is a palace in Bratislava and the residence of the president of Slovakia. It is situated on Hodžovo námestie, near the Summer Archbishop's Palace. The building is a Rococo-late Baroque summe ...
.
The palace building was reconstructed for the purposes of the Ministry of foreign affairs. It served as that ministry's seat in the 1940s. Also the interior of the Summer Archbishop's Palace was reconfigured somewhat during this reconstruction.
As of today, most of the statues were lost; the St. John statue now stands in the courtyard of the
Primate's Palace
The Primate's Palace ( sk, Primaciálny palác) is a neoclassical palace in the Old Town of Bratislava the capital of Slovakia. It was built from 1778 to 1781 for Archbishop József Batthyány, after the design of architect Melchior Hefele. I ...
, and the statues of
atlant Atlant may refer to:
* Atlant (book), the first Slovene-language atlas
* Atlant-Soyuz Airlines, a Russian airline
* Atlant Moscow Oblast, a Russian professional ice hockey team
* The Myasishchev VM-T ''Atlant'', a Russian heavy transport aircraft
...
s are in the town of
Kittsee. In the palace interior only two original pieces remain - a
fresco on the ceiling of the palace's 18th century chapel and an
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
. Today, the restored palace with its
English garden
The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...
houses the government of
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
.
Gardens
Summer Archbishop's Palace and its garden are inaccessible to the public, except for a few hours during one day each year as part of a
Doors Open Days
Doors Open Days (also known as Open House or Open Days in some communities) provide free access to buildings not normally open to the public. The first Doors Open Day took place in France in 1984, and the concept has spread to other places in Eur ...
program. Access on this day is guided, not everything is accessible and the place gets crowded. Slovak politicians and mainstream media frequent the place year-round, especially almost every Wednesday, when Slovak government usually convenes.
Access
In 2009 the palace was open for 5 hours and the guided public tour included:
* Mirror hall (''Zrkadlová sála'')
* Yellow room (''Žltý salónik'')
* Green room (''Zelený salónik'')
* Pink room (''Ružový salónik'')
* Conference room of the Vice Prime minister of the Slovak Republic
* Chapel of the government office
See also
*
Politics of Slovakia
Politics of Slovakia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in the parliament and it can be exercised in some cases also by the government or direc ...
*
History of Bratislava
Bratislava ( hu, Pozsony, german: Preßburg/Pressburg), currently the capital of Slovakia and the country's largest city, has existed for about a thousand years. Because of the city's strategic geographical location, it was an important European ...
*
Episcopal Palace, Vienna
References
Further reading
* Bratislavske Noviny 5/2011, page 7.
External links
History of the palace at the Slovak Government website
{{coord, 48, 09, 09, N, 17, 06, 34, E, display=title, region:SK-BL_type:landmark_source:dewiki
Episcopal palaces
Palaces in Bratislava
Rococo architecture in Slovakia
18th-century architecture in Slovakia
Houses completed in 1765
1765 establishments in Europe
Baroque palaces in Slovakia