Lendava castle is first mentioned in the records in 1192 as a property of the Hungarian noble family Bánffy and was theirs until the middle of the 17th century, when it fell to the Nádasdy family for a short period, and in the 18th century came under the management of the Eszterházy family.
Today it is a massive two-storey building with a mansard roof overlooking the town of Lendava-Lendva. The walls are supported by massive buttresses and the south-west façade is emphasised with a central tower.
The castle was in past centuries many times entirely restored and rebuilt. The present-day Baroque appearance of the castle dates from 1690–1707, following the withdrawal of the Turks from the area, when the Esterházys had it rebuilt to form an L-shaped building as a sign of their loyalty to the Emperor Leopold I. The castle became a show piece of Baroque architecture, and remained in the hands of the Esterházy family until World War I.
The museum collection boasts a permanent archaeological, historical and ethnological exhibition, as well as a memorial room for the most famous sculptor of Lendava, György Zala. The art heritage of Lendava artists is preserved in the institute’s gallery collection, which features a collection of artwork that has emerged from this traditional international artistic community.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.