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TOPOLCIANKY CASTLE
Topolcianky Castle, with its English-style park, is a Slovak national cultural treasure. The castle was mentioned in literature for the first time in the l3 th century. Archeological research performed in 1990 has revealed much more ancient settlement of the area - as far back as the sixth and seventh centuries, with evidence of settlement during the Greater Moravia period. Beginning in 1561, and for two- hundred years after, the community of Topolcianky was designed and built by its first owner, Count Rakoczi, together with his wife Alzbeta. From 1818 to 1825, a local count named Jan Keglevich rebuilt the southern wing in classical style, designed by Italian architect Luis Pichler. This wing is considered to be the most beautiful example of the style in the whole of Slovakia. During the 1920s, the architect Harmine directed modifications in three of the Renaissance wings, and the castle became a summer residence for presidents of the Republic. T. G. Masaryk, the first president of the Czechoslovak state visited Topolcianky nearly every year from 1924 to 1934. After 1951, the Trade Union Movement took over the castle for recreational purposes, for which the castle still serves. The classical wing now holds a museum of castle interiors examples of historical furniture and household implements, paintings, clocks, ceramics, embroidered oriental tapestries, and weapons. The entire structure of the castle is original, just as the last noblemen left it in October 1918. The castle was owned by Joseph August Habsburg and his wife Augustina, daughter of the Emperor Franz Joseph I. The visitor will walk through lounges furnished in renaissance, baroque, rococo, classical (luiseze), Empire and biedermeier styles, contrasted by elements of the late l9th century decorative style. Among the painting decorating these rooms are original portraits of the castle's owner, the Counts Keglevich, and duplications from the Pitti Gallery in Florence as well. The collection of porcelain and other ceramics is one of the largest in Slovakia, and deserves particular attention. Meissen and Wien porcelain are the best represented. Today, the historical and architectural significance of Topolcianky Castle, and its outstanding incorporation of an English-style park, make it truly a precious national treasure. |