Rusovce Mansion or Rusovce manor house ( sk, Rusovský kaštieľ, Hungarian: Oroszvár; German: Karlburg) is a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

located in the

Rusovce Rusovce ( hu, Oroszvár, hr, Rosvar german: Karlburg, Rossenburg, Kerchenburg) is a borough in southern Bratislava on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the Austrian border. History In the 1st century, there was a Roman settlement n ...

borough, part of

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, 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 — approxim ...

, capital 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 ...

. The mansion was built on the site of an older manor house from the 16th century, with a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

structure incorporated into the following buildings. The façade got its current look by application of the Tudor and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Neogothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

styles. The manor house is surrounded by an

English park 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 ...

. The premises cover 24 km² on both banks of the Danube river. In the twentieth century, mansion and premises have been owned by Hungarian Prince Elemer Lonyay, husband to Princess

Stéphanie of Belgium Stéphanie is a feminine French feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (born 1984), Belgian noble; wife of Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg * Princess Stéphani ...

, widow of Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria-Hungary. The couple lived in the mansion until early in 1945. Lonyay, who died in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

in 1946, left the estate to the

Benedictine Order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

, who had given refuge to him and his wife during the last weeks of World War II at

Pannonhalma Archabbey The Benedictine Pannonhalma Archabbey or Territorial Abbey of Pannonhalma (lat. ''Archiabbatia'' or ''Abbatia Territorialis Sancti Martini in Monte Pannoniae'') is a medieval building in Pannonhalma, one of the oldest historical monuments in Hung ...

. In 1947, due to the

Paris Peace Treaty The Paris Peace Treaties (french: Traités de Paris) were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (princi ...

, Hungary had to cede the area to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. The then communist government seized the premises in 1948. Currently, the building is managed by the Slovak Republic Government Office and closed to the public. The government has refused to return the estate to the Benedictine Order, who after unsuccessfully calling to the Slovak Constitutional Court is said to seek a decision at the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...

in 2009.

References

External links

Manor house in Rusovce
a
Slovakia.travel
Buildings and structures in Bratislava {{Slovakia-struct-stub