Manor in Svätý Anton

The Svätý Anton manor house (Slovak: Kaštieľ Svätý Anton or Kaštieľ Antol or Koháriovský kaštieľ) is a late baroque-classicist mansion constructed in 1744 with an English landscape garden park in Svätý Anton, Slovakia. It was one of the main residences of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry family. Both the mansion and park are open to the public.

The village of Svätý Anton (English: Saint Anthony) was mentioned for the first time in 1266. In 1405, the sons of Ladilaslav Kakas acquire the village from the Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxembourg (1368-1437). In 1415, a small castle was erected to protect a profitable toll station. In the second half of the 15th century, the castle came into the possession of the lords of Čabraď Castle.

In the 16th century, Cardinal Tamás Bakócz and Peter Pálffy belonged to the owners of the castle. The castle was strongly rebuilt to protect it against the Turkish invasions under the guidance of an architect called Giullio Ferrari.

In 1622, the estates of Čabraď castle and Svätý Anton came in the hands of the House of Koháry family, a family who gained its wealth due to its loyalty to the House of Habsburg. They replaced medieval castle by a two-winged manor during the 17th century.

In 1744, count Andrew Kohary (1694-1757) decided to move his ancestral seat from Čabraď castle to Svätý Anton. As part of this move, he reconstructed the manor into a four-winged manor house with an inner courtyard between 1744 and 1750. The baroque interior was finished in 1752. He was succeeded by his sons Nikolaus (1721-1769), Ignac (1726-1777), and Jan. The last Kohary to live at Svätý Anton was Ferenc József (17767-1826), who was elevated to prince by Emperor Francis I of Austria in 1815.

Ferenc József's daughter, princess Maria Antonia (1797-1862), inherited all his estates and wealth. She was one of the three largest landowners in the kingdom of Hungary. On 30 November 1815, in Vienna, Maria Antonia married Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1785-1851). He was an elder brother of Prince Leopold, future King of the Belgians but then consort to Princess Charlotte of Wales, who was expected to inherit the crown of Great Britain, and also elder brother of the Duchess of Kent, mother of the future Queen Victoria. They founded the Koháry branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (the Catholic branch).

Text adapted from “Svätý Anton manor house” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Manor in Svätý Anton ranks #3,086 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #37 of the 136 mapped in Slovakia. Founded 1744, it is older than 19% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 525 atlas entries founded in the 18th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,199 times in the last 60 days, more than 53% of the atlas. 12 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Banská Bystrica, 38 km away. See how Slovakia compares in the castle statistics.

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