Summer Archbishop's Palace: a baroque residence in Bratislava
The Summer Archbishop's Palace (Letný arcibiskupský palác) stands on the western side of Námestie slobody, just north of the old town of Bratislava. Built as a summer retreat for the archbishops of Esztergom and given its baroque face in the 1760s, it is one of the city's lesser-known historic residences and a pleasant stop for anyone exploring the quieter corners of the capital.
Archbishops once bathed their horses in a garden pool here and listened to an organ played by water. Today the palace is the seat of the Slovak government and rarely opens its doors.
The history of the Summer Archbishop's Palace
The palace owes its existence to the Ottoman advance. After the Turks captured Buda in 1541 and Esztergom in 1543, the archbishops of Esztergom, the highest-ranking church officials of Hungary, could no longer live in their own see. Pressburg, as Bratislava was then known, had become the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, and the archbishops settled in the city. Their town residence was an old Gothic building on the site of today's Primate's Palace, but despite many alterations it never offered the comfort they were used to. Meanwhile the nobility began to copy the foreign custom of building summer houses in the countryside.
The land for the future palace lay just behind the second ring of the city defences, which was then regarded as open country. Archbishop Ferenc Forgách, who held the office from 1607 to 1615, acquired it at the beginning of the 17th century and had a garden laid out there. The first summer residence was built probably in 1614. Under Archbishop György Lippay (1642–1666) the garden was turned into a Renaissance showpiece with exotic plants and trees, fountains fed by mountain springs, artificial caves and a large pool in which horses were bathed. Its masterpiece was a pavilion with mosaic walls, where streams of water drove an instrument similar to an organ. Lippay also had a new residence built. Neither the pavilion nor the garden of that age has survived. Archbishop Imre Esterházy (1725–1751) later had the grounds reshaped in baroque style.
The present palace goes back to Archbishop Ferenc Barkóczy (1761–1776). Between 1761 and 1765 he commissioned the Austrian architect Franz Anton Hillebrandt to convert Lippay's building into a large baroque palace, adding rococo decoration, a rococo fence and a courtyard of honour. For almost ten years the baroque sculptor Georg Raphael Donner kept a workshop in the garden.
In the 19th century the archbishops moved back to Esztergom and the palace lost its purpose. After the Napoleonic Wars a strong garrison remained in the city, so the building became a military hospital, a function it kept until the 1930s, while the garden served as a drill ground. Many statues were sold, an outdoor staircase leading from the garden to the first-floor hall was demolished, and the hall was divided into two wards.
In 1939 the newly created Slovak State needed administrative buildings and chose the palace for its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Slovak architect Emil Belluš, working in 1940–1941, removed all buildings from the garden and added the two wings, which gave the palace the form it has today. After the war it served the government of the Slovak Socialist Republic, and since the 1990s the restored palace with its English garden has housed the government of Slovakia.
Curiosities about the Summer Archbishop's Palace
- In the 17th century the garden had a pavilion with mosaic walls in which flowing water played an instrument similar to an organ.
- Archbishop Lippay's garden included artificial caves and a large pool where horses used to be bathed.
- The baroque sculptor Georg Raphael Donner had his workshop in the palace garden for almost ten years.
- Of the garden's many statues, the figure of St John now stands in the courtyard of the Primate's Palace, and the atlantes are in the town of Kittsee.
- Only two original pieces survive inside the palace: a ceiling fresco in the 18th-century chapel and an altar.
- When the land was bought in the early 17th century, it lay in open country just behind the city's second ring of defences.
Tours near Summer Archbishop's Palace
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting the Summer Archbishop's Palace
- The palace houses the Government Office, so the building and its garden are normally closed to the public. The façade can be admired from Námestie slobody.
- Access has traditionally been possible on a single day each year during the Doors Open Days programme, with guided tours of a few hours. On such a tour, rooms such as the Mirror Hall, the Yellow, Green and Pink salons and the chapel have been shown. Check in advance whether tours are planned.
- Politicians and the media are frequent visitors, especially on days when the government meets, so the area in front of the palace can be busy.
- Several other places on this site lie within about a kilometre: Aspremont Palace, the Church of St Elisabeth, the Clarissine Church and Esterházy Palace.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Summer Archbishop's Palace is
Photos of Summer Archbishop's Palace
Questions
Where is the Summer Archbishop's Palace in Bratislava?
It stands on the west side of Námestie slobody, north of the old town and close to Grassalkovich Palace.
Can you visit the Summer Archbishop's Palace?
Normally not, because it is a government building. In the past it has opened for a few hours on one day a year during the Doors Open Days programme, with guided tours.
Who built the Summer Archbishop's Palace?
A first summer residence was built for Archbishop Ferenc Forgách, probably in 1614. The present baroque palace is the work of the architect Franz Anton Hillebrandt, who rebuilt it in 1761–1765 for Archbishop Ferenc Barkóczy.
What is the Summer Archbishop's Palace used for today?
It is the seat of the Government Office of the Slovak Republic. Before that it served as a military hospital and, from 1939, as a ministry building.
What happened to the palace garden?
The Renaissance and baroque gardens with their fountains, caves and statues are gone. Most of the statues were lost in the 19th century, and the grounds now form an English garden.
Why did the archbishops of Esztergom live in Bratislava?
Esztergom was captured by the Ottomans in 1543, so the archbishops moved to Pressburg, as Bratislava was then called, the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary.
Also nearby
Aspremont Palace
Bratislava · baroque summer palace in the Medical Garden
650 m away
Michael's Gate
Bratislava · the only surviving gate of the old city walls
850 m away
Mirbach Palace
Bratislava · Rococo palace built by a brewer, now a gallery
850 m away
Primate's Palace
Bratislava · palace where the 1805 peace was signed
950 m away