Széchényi Palace, Fertőszéplak

A 1264 document mentions a tower that stood on the site of the palace. The Széchényi family took possession of the palace in 1682, who took it from the Esterházy family as a pledge.

At the end of the 17th century, György Széchényi I, the archbishop of Esztergom became the founder of the family's wealth, who left Széplak to his nephew, Captain György Széchényi II. He was the first Széchényi to become a count for his courage in the battles against the Turks. György Széchényi built the baroque Church of All Saints in front of the palace. He died in 1732 in the palace of Széplak. Essentially, each and every of the Széchényis/Széchenyis originate from his bloodline, including his grandson Ferenc Széchényi, who was born here in 1754. In 1783 the centre of the family estates was moved to Cenk and the palace was returned to the Esterházys. The palace was in poor condition at the time, two of its original four wings were demolished. The large windows of the original building were walled up, replaced by the small lattice windows that can still be seen today, as the building was converted into a granary. By today the one-story palace consists of two wings perpendicular to each other. It was once divided by four semi-circular gates, today we can only see one of them, on its side there are Tuscan half-pillars. Above the entrance facing the courtyard you can see the coat of arms of the Széchényi family and a Latin sentence: "Deus me regit, nihil me derit! (If you trust in God, you will never be disappointed!)". The most common translation of this sentence is: " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.", which is a frequently used phrase of the Protestant Church from the Book of Psalms. For this reason, the origin of the inscription is uncertain, as the motto of the family is: Si deus pro nobis quis contra nos. (If God is with us, who is against us). There was once a lower palace to the north below the church hill, but it disappeared without a trace over time.

The renovation of the palace begun in the recent years, community spaces have been created, and in 2021 the Peisonia Visitor Centre opened here, presenting the wonders of the Fertő area. The ground floor of the north wing of the palace is primarily a venue for weddings, but exhibitions and concerts are also held here temporarily. Those interested can find information about the dates of these events on the website of the town. Looking out from the palace, the Holy Grave Calvary, the Church of All Saints and the Holy Heart Calvary form the “Triple Mound of Széplak”.

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Contact
9436, Fertőszéplak, Ady Endre utca 1.
GPS: 47.616709 / 16.835411