The Promontor palace ( or ) is a former baroque-style palace in

Budafok Budafok (; literally "Promontory near Buda, or Buda Point") is a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. It is situated in the southwestern part of Buda, near the Danube, and belongs to District XXII. Budafok was an independent municipality before ...

, a southwestern neighbourhood of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. The quadrangular castle was built between the vineyards on the hills on the right side of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

river. It was commissioned by

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

(1663–1736). The design can probably be attributed to Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (1668–1745). Today, only the stable buildings remain of the Promontor palace. Nothing is left from the main building, except an 18th-century plan by the architect Franz Xaver Hacker in the Hofkammerarchiv in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Name

The name Promontor derives from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''promontorium'', which means "headland". The village near the palace had the same name. But in 1886, the name was changed to its Hungarian equivalent, ''Budafok'', meaning "Buda cape".

History

At the

Battle of Zenta The Battle of Zenta, also known as the Battle of Senta, took place on 11 September 1697 near Zenta, in the Kingdom of Hungary, then under Ottoman occupation (present-day Serbia). It was a decisive engagement of the Great Turkish War, fought ...

in 1697, the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

armies under Prince Eugene of Savoy defeated the armies of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

under Sultan Mustafa II (1664–1703). Out of gratitude,

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

(1640–1705) granted him estates in Hungary and

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

, the eastern part of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. In 1698, the prince extended these domains by acquiring additional estates, such as Csepel Island and the opposite laying vineyards of Promontor. In 1702, prince Eugene commissioned Johan Lukas von Hildebrandt to build him a summer palace in

Ráckeve Ráckeve ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српски Ковин, Srpski Kovin) is a town on Csepel Island in the county of , Hungary. Its residents are mainly Hungarians, Magyars, with a minority of Serbs. The Serbian Kovin Monastery, the oldest in Hungary and ...

on Csepel Island, the so-called Savoy Castle. This palace was completed in 1714. It was a so-called ''

maison de plaisance In Renaissance architecture, Renaissance and Early Modern German architecture, a ''Lustschloss'' (, both meaning "pleasure palace") is a country house, château, or palace which served the private pleasure of its owner, and was seasonally inh ...

'', a retreat for relaxation and festivities. At the same time, the prince decided to construct a palace in Promontor as well. This was meant to be the managerial heart of the surrounding princely estates. The Promontor palace was quadrangular, and its design can probably be attributed to Hildebrandt as well, who was the favourite architect of the prince. It is probably as the private archives of the prince are lost. The palace was approximately 60 meters wide with its courtyard measuring 40 meters, while the Danube facing forecourt was around 85 meters wide. There were stables on either side of the forecourt. Next to the palace, a catholic church was constructed as well. The northern palace wing facing the city of Budapest contained the ''state rooms'' of the prince. Adjacent to this wing was a garden. The quadrangular plan of the Promontor palace has similarities with Prince Eugene's hunting lodge in Bilje. This lodge was also designed by Hildebrandt. The forecourt bears similarities to another work of Hildebrandt, the

Palais Schwarzenberg Palais Schwarzenberg is a Baroque palace in front of Schwarzenbergplatz, Landstraße, the 3rd district of Vienna, Austria. It is owned by the princely Schwarzenberg family. Construction started in 1697 under the architect Johann Lucas von Hild ...

in Vienna. After their completion, prince Eugene did not often visit his palaces in Ráckeve and Promontor, only three times: October 1717, and June and August 1718. The prince preferred to spent his summers closer to Vienna either in the Belvedere palace or on his estates in the Marchfeld area: Schloss Hof, Schloss Niederweiden, and Schloss Obersiebenbrunn. Here he could retreat, relax and hunt, while still being close to the imperial court. After the death of prince Eugene in 1736, his Hungarian estates passed to the Habsburg monarchs. At the start of the 20th century, the main building of the palace was demolished to make place for a sparkling wine factory. The stable buildings are still there and a gate with lions protecting the princely coats of armour.

References

Literature

External links

{{coord missing, Hungary Buildings and structures in Pest County Former palaces Palaces in Hungary

Name

History

See also

References

Literature

External links