Fenékpuszta Manor

Where the horses’ lightning-fast hooves gallop into history: the Festetics legacy reborn in Fenékpuszta

Just six kilometers from Keszthely, at the end of Fenyves Grove, a different era awaits you. The Fenékpuszta Manor is not merely a restored complex of buildings, but a time machine that opens its doors to the world of 18th- and 19th-century Hungarian nobility.

The development of the Festetics estate began in the mid-18th century under the leadership of Count Kristóf Festetics. Over the decades, the estate grew into a stud farm renowned throughout Europe. The Festetics family imported horses and jockeys from England, and the Hungarian racing stable performed exceptionally well in the derbies in Vienna, Berlin, and Hamburg. Among the horses raised on the estate were some considered worthy successors to Kincsem, including the legendary Patience, perhaps Fenékpuszta’s most celebrated racehorse.

The decades following 1945 were unkind to the estate. The buildings in Fenékpuszta were converted into a farmers’ cooperative, a dairy farm, an elementary school, a textile factory, and apartments. The once-stately walls crumbled for decades until, at the end of 2023, the ruined site was reborn as the Fenékpuszta Manor.

Today, the estate is divided into three distinct sections, and anyone can easily spend a whole day here. In the small mansion at the heart of the central courtyard, the history of the estate and five generations of the Festetics dynasty comes to life—from the count’s room and the gallery of period portraits to the family’s everyday life. The interactive exhibition, housed in the former calf barn, explores the science of horse breeding in an engaging, hands-on way, while in the mare barn, visitors can explore the family trees and career histories of the stud farm’s stars.

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