As part of the Gizella Days Arts Festival, the Archdiocese of Veszprém reopened the Castle District to locals and those interested in culture, religion and history. The first phase of the renovation works of the Castle District between 2020 and 2025 is now complete.
Religious, pastoral, family and music programmes, professional lectures and wine tasting programmes awaited visitors in the Castle District between 12th and 14th May. As part of the Gizella Days Arts Festival, the Archdiocese of Veszprém reopened the Castle District to locals and those interested in culture, religion and history. The first phase of the renovation works of the Castle District between 2020 and 2025 is now complete. The facades and roof structures of 18 buildings have been renovated, and the Biró-Giczey House, the Körmendy House, the Saint Michael’s Cathedral and some parts of the Archbishop’s Palace are now open to the public again, and the Work In Progress 2023 (WIP’23) exhibition has started.
The Work In Progress 2023 (WIP’23) exhibition is permanently open to visitors. There are traditional exhibitions in the Körmendy House and the Biró-Giczey House. At the exhibition that has opened at the Körmendy House, visitors can explore the ten dilemmas of renovation and renewal, giving an insight into the different phases of the works.
As part of the Work In Progress 2023 (WIP’23) series of programmes, visitors can take part in guided tours of some of the buildings in the renewed Castle District and go behind the scenes to discover the curiosities of this phase of construction. Registration can be made on the wip2023.hu website.
The aim of the WIP’23 series of programmes is not to keep the construction and restoration work at a distance, but to bring visitors closer to the renewed Castle District.
In the first phase of the Castle District project, which is being implemented between 2020 and 2025 with the support of the Hungarian Government, the facades and roof structures of 18 historical monuments owned by the Archdiocese of Veszprém were renewed. Several buildings, including the Biró-Giczey House, the Körmendy House, the Saint Michael’s Cathedral and some parts of the Archbishop’s Palace are now open to the public again. Construction works will be on hold this year, and the investor (Castellum Property Management Directorate) will only carry out tasks that do not interfere with the experience of the visitors. This also means that by 12 May, all the scaffolding and cranes had been dismantled and the asphalt laid as a protective layer in Vár Street had been removed. By the end of the project, around 35 thousand square metres of built area and 10 thousand square metres of open space and garden will have been renovated within the framework of this historic-scale investment. Several of the latter have already been completed in the first phase, so the garden of the Nagyszeminárium, the Körmendy House and the Biró-Giczey House has become open to visitors. The development, which will last until 2025, will be an investment in faith, tourism and qualified job creation. It contributes to strengthening the local community, the regional role of Veszprém and its international visibility.
You can read more about the attractions of the Castle District here.
