Project Launched to Display Botticelli Murals in Esztergom Castle

Hungary Today 2024.05.07.

The Hungarian National Museum has won a tender for the renovation of the Esztergom Castle Museum and the Esterházy Castle in Želiezovce (Zselíz, Slovakia), to invest more than EUR 2 million in tourism development. Under the Interreg V-A SK-HU – Slovakia-Hungary Program, the European Development Fund will provide more than EUR 1.5 million of the almost EUR 2 million in funding for the planned projects, writes Magyar Nemzet.

The main objective of this initiative is to develop the Esztergom Castle Museum, reconstruct the deteriorated castle wall by professional insulation and drainage, and open the Studiolo (a study that belonged to John Vitéz de Zredna, the Archbishop of Esztergom from 1465 until 1472), decorated with frescoes presumably painted by Sandro Botticelli, to visitors.

Prudentia -Temperantia – Fortitudo. Photo via Wikipedia

The complex development will also include the creation of a new one-hour circular tour of the 16 rooms of the castle, with the latest 3D and virtual content.

The development will be worth almost EUR 1 million.

The restoration of the frescoes. Photo via Wikipedia.

The other part of the project is the continuation of the renovation of the Esterházy Castle in Želiezovce (Esterházy manor house), allowing the premises to become a cultural and educational center. The grant will also help to renovate the southeastern part of the castle at a total cost of EUR 950,000.

The project partners have decided to work together with the Catholic church, running the Church of St. James (Kostol sv. Jakuba apoštola), with EUR 640,000 of the total funding available for the renovation.

The Esterházy Castle in Želiezovce. Photo via Wikipedia.

This is not the first time that the Hungarian National Museum and the Municipality of Želiezovce have applied for a joint project. The current cooperation was preceded by an initiative where the castle successfully won and implemented a tourism development project together with another member institution of the museum, the Balassa Bálint Museum.

Fact

The initiative is financed by the Interreg V-A SK-HU Hungary-Slovakia program aiming to jointly protect, develop, and exploit for tourism the common natural and cultural heritage of the border regions. This includes joint water management, disaster prevention, the creation of appropriate conditions for the restoration of cultural and architectural heritage, and the development of sustainable cross-border tourism. The program also focuses on creating the main conditions for improving labor mobility and pays particular attention to the integration of the cross-border labor market. Finally, the initiative also supports cooperation between public institutions and communities living on both sides of the border.

Six Museums Organized into Public Collections Center

The integration process requires significant real estate development funds valued at approximately HUF 1,300B (EUR 3.3B).Continue reading

Via Magyar Nemzet; Featured image via Facebook/Visit Esztergom