The palace and its most famous chamber, the Hall of Mirrors, were the location of the signing of the
fourth Peace of Pressburg by
Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein,
Ignácz Gyulay and
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand in 1805 after the
Battle of Austerlitz, which effectively ended the
War of the Third Coalition. As a result of the Peace of Pressburg, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, and
Emperor Francis II proclaimed himself Emperor Francis I of Austria; this is commemorated today by a Roman-style bust of the Emperor on the staircase next to the Hall of Mirrors. The opening sessions of the
Hungarian Diet, which convened in the University Library, took place here as well.
István Széchenyi offered his yearly income to establish here the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Here
Ferdinand V of Hungary promoted the first responsible Hungarian government
(első felelős magyar kormány) and signed the
April laws, where
Lajos Batthyány,
Lajos Kossuth,
Bertalan Szemere,
Ferenc Deák,
Pál Esterházy,
István Széchenyi,
Lázár Mészáros,
József Eötvös and
Gábor Klauzál Hungarian ministers were also present. The city purchased the palace in 1903. During reconstruction in 1903, a series of six previously unknown
tapestries were found behind a wall, depicting the legend of
Hero and Leander and their tragic love. The tapestries were woven in the 1630s at the
Mortlake Tapestry Works, near
London. According to old
Hungarian newspapers, literary lectures and author evenings were arranged in its Hall of Mirrors between the two
world wars.
Zseni Várnai,
Aladár Schöpflin,
Zsigmond Móricz,
Thomas Mann also took part in these events. The scholar
Paracelsus used to live here briefly and there is a memorial plate commemorating his visit. The Palace served as a temporary seat of the
President of Slovakia before the
Grassalkovich Palace became the permanent presidential residence in 1996. The Palace is open to the public as a tourist attraction. The famous Hall of Mirrors serves as the location for Bratislava City Council meetings. ==References==