Festetics Castle Renovation, Dég

Architects: Kinga Garaguly, Kálmán Gábor
Text: Eszter Götz
Photos: Attila Gulyás

The three-storey, U-shaped castle in Dég was built between 1802 and 1812 after designs by Mihály Pollack. The composition is a true masterpiece: the portico, which rises from the central colonnade, is accentuated by Doric columns and topped by a tympanum, and can be reached via a curved driveway with stone balustrades on both sides. The simplicity of the entrance further emphasises the harmonious proportions. The relationship between the landscape and the building is highlighted, which is also expressed in all its beauty on the other main façade overlooking the park. There, the composition of the entrance is repeated in a much broader form, but the two columns enclosed by the wide corner balustrades have been replaced by eight Doric columns that project deeply towards the park. The interior is more sophisticated, and is interspersed with Baroque elements. The ground-floor rooms are enfilade-style so that guests entering from the spacious foyer are greeted on both sides by the sight of interconnecting rooms. Kinga Garaguly set about restoring the building after several castle renovations. The two-hundred-year-old deck, which was in a very poor state of repair, has been reinforced and the slabs above the entrance hall have been replaced with ferroconcrete. A spacious guest washroom and cloakroom have been furnished in the dilapidated basement. The ground-floor lobby has been converted into an elegant reception area with a reception desk and a museum vault, and the café is now located in a room off the ground floor, with a shaded terrace under the rear portico. The landscaped gardens surrounding the castle are one of the largest and most beautiful landscaped heritage sites in Central Europe: they were renovated in 2015. By now, the restoration of the exterior and parts of the interiors of the building as well as some of the minor structures in the park are also complete.

Leading architects: Kinga Garaguly– NÖF Nonprofit Ltd., Kálmán Gábor– Gábor and Svejkovszky Architects
Fellow architects: Bernadett Hild-Csorba, Boglárka Szentirmai, Róbert Fülöpp, Márton Lénárd, Zsuzsa Lőrinczi; Csaba Fekete J., Réka Szabó, Mátyás Ágó
Interiors: Tamás Pintér – Dpi Design
Landscape: Péter István Balogh, Ida Bogáta Bugnics, Krisztina Bálint – s73 Ltd.
Structure: Emese Olosz– NÖF Nonprofit Ltd.; Péter Árva, Sándor Klenóczky
HVAC: András Domina
Electrical engineering: András Klosz, László Kralicsek – Rio Lámpastúdió; Dávid Sándor – SDesign Electric Kft.; Zoltán Tóth, Péter Nádasi – Planet Ltd.
Monument history survey: György Bartos, Zsuzsanna Galamb, András Koppány – MMA-MÉM MDK
Garden historical survey: Gábor Alföldy
Garden aerchology: András Koppány – MMA-MÉM MDK; Zita Németh – NÖF Nonprofit Ltd.
Restorators: Kinga Enikő Papp, Tivadar Lehoczky, Szabolcs Csányi, Attila Kovács, Mentartis Ltd., Zsuzsanna Herling, Gábor Ludányi
Main contractor: FEHÉRÉP Kft.