Once in Sopron, the Széchenyi Palace in the nearby Nagycenk is worth an excursion. Visitors enter the residence of the noble family through a beautiful wrought-iron gate and a French garden. In spite of its humble exterior, the castle is one of the most beautiful country mansions of Hungary. The family’s coat of arms is displayed on the front balcony supported by Tuscan pillars. The palace has a remarkable library with a collection of 6,000 maps and a numismatic and mineral collection. The István Széchenyi Memorial Museum presents the life and work of count István Széchenyi, the 'Greatest Hungarian'. Other attractions in the village are a stud farm, an open-air locomotive museum and a Nostalgy Train which rattles through the beautiful area in high season. A pleasant park promenade bordered by lime trees opposite the palace delights visitors entering it. The trees were planted by Zsuzsanna Barkóczy, the wife of Antal Széchenyi, the builder of the palace. The inhabitants of the village may also be thankful to Széchenyi’s widow (Countess Crescentia Seilern), who had a beautiful neo-Romanesque church designed and built by Miklós Ybl. The statue of István Széchenyi stands in the park outside the Church.
The Széchényi Mausoleum in the village cemetery is a pilgrimage site for Hungarian people. It is not only a memorial place of national identity, but also an invaluable piece of art, with its unique architecture and interior design. The Classic chapel is the burial vault of the Széchényis. The mausoleum is the final resting place of Count Ferenc Széchényi, the founder of the Hungarian National Museum and his son, Count István Széchenyi, the outstanding politician of the Reform Age (late XIXth century).
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