Hungary · 16th century
Rákóczi Mansion, Felsővadász ranks #8,772 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #119 of the 135 mapped in Hungary. Founded c. 1550, it is older than 36% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 887 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Miskolc, 32 km away. See how Hungary compares in the castle statistics.
The Rákóczi Mansion, Felsővadász is a listed building to be seen in the area of Felsővadász. The two-storey (originally one-storey) building has a complex ground plan, banded plasterwork and a Romantic style.
The fortified castle was built by the Rákóczis in the 16th century, but in 1567 Hassan, pasha of Temesvár, besieged and set fire to it. By royal donation, in 1713 the mansion confiscated from Ferenc Rákóczi II became the property of Baron Jakab Meskó. At the beginning of the 1800s Count Ádám Vay bought it from the Meskó family, and it was in the possession of his descendants until 1945. Both families enlarged and altered the mansion; during the rebuilding of 1860 it acquired the Romantic style characteristic of it today, and it was then that the second storey was built onto it. The district's first post office was opened in the building in 1871.
At the beginning of the 1800s Count Ádám Vay (a descendant of Ferenc Rákóczi II's chief confidant) bought it from the Meskó family, and it was in the possession of the Vay family until 1945. Both families enlarged and altered the mansion; during the rebuilding of 1860 it acquired its Romantic style. From the years after the Second World War the mansion became a primary school.
The park around the mansion abounded in botanical rarities in keeping with the fashion of the time, but after the Second World War these trees were cut down. Only a ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) survived. Of the mansion's furniture and the Vay family's book collection, too, only a fraction has survived.
The mansion has been a primary school since 1954, and since 1956 it has operated as a district primary school.
Machine-translated from “Rákóczi-kastély (Felsővadász)” on the Hungarian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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