Exhibition of items from the Second World War

The remains of one of the largest aristocratic collections in Hungary, destroyed during the last months of World War II, have been put on public display.

The Esterhazy Artefacts, which were found in a bombed-out palace in 1945, are slowly being restored, but this is the first time the damaged remains have been shown.

On the 150th anniversary of the Museum of Applied Arts, a special but somber exhibition is taking place in Budapest.

The Esterhazy Artefacts were found in a bombed-out palace after being damaged during the siege of Budapest in January 1945. They are now on display for visitors. "Unfortunately, war is such an issue now," explains Zoltan Cselovszki, director of the Museum of Applied Arts. "In this context, it occurred to us that we have a collection of artefacts, which on the one hand define the identity of our museum and on the other hand were almost completely destroyed, in the siege of Buda Castle, in the Second World War".

Esterház's treasury, created in the era of the Ottoman wars, was constantly increased and enriched from the sixteenth century onwards through diplomatic gifts, dowries and acts of patronage.

For centuries, the treasure was housed in Forchtenstein Castle, in what was then western Hungary, built on a cliff and far from the lands conquered by the Turks and military campaigns.