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In 1736, Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich (1665–1743), the Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire and Prince-Archbishop of Mainz, purchased a Vukovar manor in Syrmia, in the eastern Kingdom of Slavonia, then part of the Habsburg Monarchy ruled by Emperor Charles VI. The palace was originally built between 1749 and 1751 by the Archchancellor's descendants of the German Catholic noble House of Eltz and was gradually extended over time. The estates near the Military Frontier were, however, exposed to raids by Ottoman troops and local Hajduk paramilitary forces.
After the Yugoslav Partisans gained control over the country in late World War II, the manor was confiscated by the communist administration of Yugoslavia in 1944, and the family of Jakob Graf zu Eltz was forced to leave Vukovar. In 1990, he returned from Eltville to the newly established state of Croatia and became a member of the Sabor parliament at Zagreb. Eltz Manor, however, suffered a great deal of damage during the Croatian War of Independence, when it was bombarded by the Yugoslav People's Army during the Battle of Vukovar. However, after four years of restorations, it was completely restored to its pre-war appearance in October 2011.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.
