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I gave a lecture about panoramic photography. I was invited to give a workshop at the
Urban 3D Modelling International Summer School. The study area was the historical town
center of Székesfehérvár (Alba Regia), the town where Hungarian kings were crowned.
During the summer school students could take part in keynote lectures, practical hands-on
exercises and fieldwork.

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For more info about the Summer School visit it’s website at http://www.geo.info.hu/urban3d/

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For more info about the Summer School visit it’s website at http://www.geo.info.hu/urban3d/

This picture was made at the city center in Szekesfehervar,
during a visit to the historical center. If you were there,
and have a question about my presentation or anything about photography
or panoramics, just write me an email and I’ll gladly answer you.
You can find my email address at the bottom of this page, in the footer.
Later I will upload the other panoramas too, and there will be a new
menu where you can download my presentation, and other stuffs.
Hopefully you will get the sources on DVD, I gave it to Mr. Bela Markus.

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The ex-residence of the Podmaniczky family resides in Aszód, a small historical town located 50 km east from Budapest. The building was started at 7. Mai 1727, and it reached its current shape in 1772.

Aerial view of the Podmaniczky palace

The ceiling of the ceremonial room of the Baroque Podmaniczky palace, situated on the first floor of one of the corner pavilions, is covered entirely by a Baroque-style allegoric painting made by Lukács Kracker.

The baroque fresco at the top of the left corner pavilion

The single-storey central section oriented towards the former Palace Square is the oldest wing. The two-storey wing pointing inside was designed by József Jung and built between 1767 and 1772. Making the best use of the landscape the first storey windows were aligned with the row of windows in the central wing. József Jung enlarged the ends of both wings into corner pavilions with mansard roofs. In front of the central section of the palace is an intricately formed terrace. The window is ornamented with a stepped arched dripstone. Above the central opening the family coats-of-arms are depicted. The side facade, too, has been richly decorated. Pillars with Ionic capitals lend structure to the rounded corner pavilions.

Interior of the palace

The largest room of the Sándor wing is the ceremonial hall on the first floor. Its ceiling is entirely covered by János Kracker’s large wall painting titled The triumph of virtues (Az erények diadala, 1776). Allegoric figures personify virtues such as faith and love, amongst them figures from mythology. Large sections of the sidewalls have been grisaille-painted and are adorned with herms, vases, and painted sculptures.

The relocated gateway to be seen in the garden of the old palace used to be the entrance to an independent botanical garden next to the palace. The Podmaniczky family lived here until 1870. From 1880 until the 1950’s, a Lutheran girls’ school functioned in the building which presently serves as a dormitory and as a public archive.

The lutheran girlschool

The main square of Aszod with the Podmaniczky palace in the background

Nowadays this residence is abandoned, and you must have the permissions to get in. The owner of the palace is unknown to me, but there is a company called Aszód Castle Ltd, whose goal is to restore the castle and turn it to a 6-star full service luxury hotel with conference facilities, wellness spa, and a 27-hole golf course. But these are only future plans, it sure will need a lot of money to make these plans real…

…and the future.

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