Martonvasar Brunszvik Palace

The Brunszvik family rebuilt their Martonvasar house in an English neo-Gothic manner in the nineteenth century and laid out one of the earliest landscape parks in Hungary around it, with a lake and an island. Beethoven was a guest of the family from 1800, taught piano to the daughters Therese and Josephine, and dedicated works to them; the connection has fed a long argument over whether Josephine was the immortal beloved of the famous unsent letter, which is unresolved and probably unresolvable. A Beethoven memorial museum occupies rooms in the house, and summer concerts are held on the island in the lake. Therese Brunszvik went on to found the first nursery schools in central Europe, commemorated in a second small museum.

What to look for

• The neo-Gothic house in its park - one of Hungary's earliest landscape gardens.
• The Beethoven rooms - the memorial museum in the mansion.
• Island concerts in summer - performances on the lake stage.
• The nursery school museum - Therese Brunszvik's founding work.

When to go

May to September for the park and the concert season. Half a day. The house is a working agricultural research institute, so interior access is limited to the museum rooms.

Practical notes

Most of the mansion is offices and closed; the museum is a few rooms. The Beethoven material is thin and largely reproductions. The park is the real attraction and costs a separate ticket. Concerts sell out.

Nearby

Szekesfehervar is south-west; Budapest lies north-east.