Murska Sobota Castle was first indirectly mentioned in 1255. Its existence was confirmed in 1478, when a castellum in Belmwra was mentioned, and in 1498, when it was named as castellum Mwrayzombath. The Bel Mura castle was the administrative centre of the whole Belmur territory. It was situated at the crossing of traffic and merchant trails.
During its long history the castle has been owned by many families, including the Széchys and Szápárys. The Széchys had rebuilt the castle in the 16th century. In 1687 it was bought by Peter Szápáry and got the Baroque outlook by his sons in the first half of the 18th century. Its last private owner Geza Szápáry sold it to the Municipality of Murska Sobota in 1934.
During the Second World War it was the seat of Hungarian occupation forces, which is commemorated at the plaque in the entrance corridor.
The castle stands on a flat piece of land in the middle of the town of Murska Sobota, in the axis of an extensive park, arranged in landscape style that stretches from the monument of the National Liberation War to the castle itself. The first floor of the castle has been occupied by the Murska Sobota Regional Museum since 1956.
The ground floor has a four-sided gravel inner courtyard and four edge wings of the same height. On the outer corners four towers with a square floor plan stand out, not surpassing the basic height of the building. On the west side a Baroque Chapel has been added.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.