The Savoy Castle is an 18th-century Baroque style palace. Construction of the spacious home was begun in 1702 at the commissioning of Prince Eugene of Savoy and finished in approximately 1722. Prince Eugene of Savoy acquired Csepel Island in 1698, and thereafter began the planning process of this 'maison de plaisance'.
Eugene commissioned Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, a student of the Roman Carlo Fontana, to design the castle. Seven letters from Hildebrandt to the prince remain in the archives of the Gonzaga family in Mantua and evidence planning and construction information about the castle.
The castle has side-wings which were completed in 1714, and the whole construction process was finished around 1720 to 1722. The prince did not reside in Ráckeve mansion after it was finished, and following his death, the estate was appropriated by the Crown.
Under the reign of Maria Theresia of Austria, the mansion and the adjoining land in Csepel was managed by the Hungarian Chancery. In 1814, the middle part of the mansion, along with the stately Baroque cupola, was destroyed by fire; what is seen today was rebuilt after the fire.
Until its reconstruction in the 1980s, the mansion suffered constant decline. The castle has enjoyed renovation and revitalization, and it is now used as a hotel, which is called the Savoyai Mansion Hotel.
References:Celje Castle was once the largest fortification on Slovenian territory. The first fortified building on the site (a Romanesque palace) was built in the first half of the 13th century by the Counts of Heunburg from Carinthia on the stony outcrop on the western side of the ridge where the castle stands. It had five sides, or four plus the southern side, which was a natural defence. The first written records of the castle date back to between 1125 and 1137; it was probably built by Count Gunter. In the western section of the castle, there was a building with several floors. Remains of the walls of this palatium have survived. In the eastern section, there was an enclosed courtyard with large water reservoirs. The eastern wall, which protects the castle from its most exposed side, was around three metres thicker than the rest of the curtain wall. The wall was topped with a parapet and protected walkway.