Svätý Anton Manor

The Koháry family rebuilt this manor in 1744-1750, and legend says its plan follows the calendar: four entrances for the seasons, seven arcades for the days of the week, twelve chimneys for the months, fifty-two rooms for the weeks and three hundred and sixty-five windows for the days, though after many rebuildings this can no longer be checked. It passed to the Coburg family and its interiors survive with furniture and hunting collections. A museum of hunting and forestry occupies part of it and a landscape park runs behind.

History

The village is first recorded in 1266, and a small castle was built here in 1415 to guard a toll station. The Koháry family acquired the estate in 1622, and in 1744-1750 Count Andrew Koháry rebuilt the manor with four wings round a courtyard, its Baroque interior finished in 1752; through Maria Antonia Koháry, who married Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1815, it passed to the Coburgs. In the 1950s it became a museum of forestry, wood and hunting (Wikipedia, Svätý Anton manor house).

Highlights

• The calendar legend - four entrances, twelve chimneys, fifty-two rooms, 365 windows.
• The furnished interiors - Kohary and Coburg rooms with original furniture.
• The hunting museum - a museum of forestry, wood and hunting.
• The park - a landscape garden behind the manor.

When to go

April to October is the main season; winter hours are reduced. Tours run to set times. September brings a hunting and forestry festival.

What to expect

Access is by guided tour on a fixed schedule, in Slovak with printed translations. The hunting collection includes a great many trophies and will not suit everyone. The park is modest.

Nearby

Banska Stiavnica is north, and Zvolen is northeast.

Key facts