A historic event is being commemorated at Güssing Castle this year: 500 years ago, on 30 June 1524, Franz Batthyány acquired the castle and its lands from the Hungarian king Louis II. To mark this anniversary, the exhibition Der Pelikan über Güssing (The Pelican over Güssing) offers an insight into the castle’s development across five centuries in the hands of the Batthyány dynasty.
“The Pelican over Güssing”
The exhibition is the result of collaboration between the state of Burgenland and the Burgstiftung Güssing foundation, and will be presented in three languages: German, Hungarian and English. It spans nine rooms, the first two illustrating the castle’s role as the ancestral home and seat of power of the Batthyány dynasty. Family treasures and part of the archives will be on display. The family history of Balthasar III and his son Franz II is explored in great detail, both of whom presided over Güssing’s heyday as the centre of power and the family’s main residence. The last Batthyány to hold all the family estates, Adam I, is considered the forebear of all later descendents. He founded the Franciscan monastery where the family crypt is located ‒ a special chapter in his story.
The exhibition Der Pelikan über Güssing (The Pelican over Güssing) is a unique opportunity to discover the rich history of Güssing Castle and the House of Batthyány.
