This two-storey
Baroque mansion was built in the first half of the 18th century on two parcels of
medieval land. It was built using
Gothic and
Renaissance masonry from previous buildings. The mansion was built by the Count of
Torna County, Joseph
Keglevich. From 1601 to 1608 the owner was S. Alter. By the 18th century, the ownership had changed several times. In 1634, the owner was Thomas Baranay. From 1646 to 1656, the owner was H. Ch. Pärtinger. At the beginning of the 18th century, Ladislav Petray and his wife Sophia Ilaas sold the house with some debts to Gabriel Skaricz and his wife Anne Sophia for 50 golden crowns. In 1730, after Gabriel's death, Anne Sophia sold the house to Rosalie Amadeus Simonits for 400 golden crowns. Then Rosalie sold it to counsellor Joseph Duchoň for 7,000 crowns. And after a long time of non-Keglevich ownership, on 15 February 1745 Joseph Duchoň sold the house to Countess Teresa Keglevich (born as von Tavonath) for 7,000 golden crowns. In 1750, the owner became Count Joseph I. Keglevich. He offered his palace as accommodation for members of Diet of Hungary (Uhorský snem). Joseph I. Keglevich was mentioned as a great owner of the Keglevich Palace in 1764. Later sources do not provide the complete name of the owners, but only the hereditary name of the family, Keglevich. In 1796 Ludwig van Beethoven stayed here, where he wrote his Grand Sonata for the piano, which he dedicated to Babette Keglevich, his student. Arguably, Joseph I. had been the owner of the palace until his death in 1813 when it was inherited by his widow and her son Carl Keglevich. After some architectural improvements and baroque reconstruction, the Keglevich Palace was owned by the Keglevich family until 1850. In 1850, the mansion became the property of the
Pálffy family. It was first owned by Maria Pálffy and later, from 1880 to 1911, by Count Stephen Pálffy.
The House of Keglevich The
Kelgevichs partly come from Croatia. They played a significant role in Croatian history during 16th century. One of the most well-known ancestors was George III. Kelgevich. He lived in the 16th century and had two sons, Nicholas and Peter. Peter created the Croatian dynasty while Nicholas began the
Hungarian dynasty. In 1646, Nicholas was granted the title of Baron and then in 1687, he and his brother were granted the title of
Count. In 1732, Joseph I. Keglevich was the Vice-counsellor, the counsellor of the secret council, the protector of the Royal Crown and Main District Administrator of
Torna County. His son, Joseph II. Keglevich was the secretary of the Vice-council, member of the Diet of Hungary ("Hungarian Parliament") and also, like his father, the protector of the Royal Crown. == Keglevich Palace and Ludwig van Beethoven ==