Károlyi Palace, BudapestA museum to literatureThe mansion is one of Hungary’s most significant neo-C
Károlyi Palace, BudapestA museum to literatureThe mansion is one of Hungary’s most significant neo-Classical listed buildings. It was refashioned with almost every new owner, and what can be seen today is a result of major reconstruction undertaken between 1832 and 1847. What is possibly the most noble example of aristocratic taste during the Hungarian Reform Age greets visitors like a true jewel in the centre of Pest – together with the municipal park, which dates from the same era and is today known as the Károlyi Garden – in the same manner as when the leading figures of political and cultural life stepped over the threshold.The two-storey building, in the centre of the main façade of which there is a stone parapet supporting a balcony with iron railing, with its pure forms, serene proportions and huge trees in its courtyard, represents a real oasis for all those eager for culture. From the three-aisle, carriage entrance with wooden-block flooring, you reach the imposing, three-part stairway with red marble steps. This connects with the Ceremonial Hall and the Ancestors’ Gallery, from where you can proceed to a series of halls with mirrors and original, white marble fireplaces, the neo-Renaissance former family chapel with wood panelling, as well as the library with its mahogany-lined galleries and intimate harmony.The Károlyi family’s coat-of-arms, depicting lions holding a shield below a crown adorned with nine jewels, is the mansion building’s only ornamentation. The high-cost work of Viennese academic sculptor Josef Klieber was probably placed on the stepped gable in the 1830s. The coat of arms was subsequently pulled down, but following reconstruction an authentic copy can today be seen in its place.The Petőfi Museum of Literature moved into the building in 1957. The museum gained possession of the entire building following reconstruction between 1997 and 2000, which took into consideration the latest art historical research. -- source link
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