• History of the castle starting from the 18^th century until today
• The Castle
• Owners of the Gyulavári Castle

History of the castle starting from the 18^th century until today

The natural waters and mountains have played an important role in the history of the castle. It can be determined based on old maps that the castle and the manor have been located on a peninsula formed by River Fehér-Körös. (Picture 1)

In 1698 János Jakad Lőwenburg had the value of the ruined villages along the rivers estimated and bought the territories of Gyulavári, Kétegyháza, Vára and Keszi. He moved to Gyulavári in 1716, where he built a manor and a manor house.

When Lőwenburg died, Count Antal Gaisbruck inherited the property, then after the treasury’s redemption he sold it to Zsigmond Andrássy, the vice-comes of Csongrád County. Andrássy chose Kétegyháza to be the center of the manor, where he built a castle and a chapel.

Later the Manor of Kétegyháza was taken back again from the Andrássy’s by the Treasury, and it was bought by Count Ignác Andrássy in 1794. After the big fire of Gyula, the manor of Kétegyháza became owned by the Wenckheim family – the castle was probably built at this time period. (Picture 2 and 3)

A spirit distillation factory was built close to the castle in 1842, and the Almássy family owned the Wenckheim manor from 1869. The heir of Count Kálmán Almássy (1815), Dénes (1863) moved from the Gyulavári Castle to the uninhabited Castle of Gyula with his wife, Ella Károlyi. (Picture 4)

The manor of Gyulavári was inherited by Jeanne - the daughter of Count Dénes Almássy – in 1933. The rest of the estate was inherited by her sisters. Count Jeanne Almássy married Count Jenő Pongrácz. Between 1919 and 1945 there was a mill, a meat-processing factory, a spirit distillation factory and a brick factory operating at the estate owned by Count Pongrácz. The count’s 7-member-family only stayed in the castle residence in winters and autumns. Many guests visited the castle every autumn, and great hunts were held, as the approximately 180 acre forest which belonged to the castle used to be very rich in wild animals.

In 1945 the spirit distillation factory, the machine workshop and other real estates located close to the castle became owned by the cooperatives. The castle itself was owned by the descendents of Count Ignác Almássy until 1948, when the local Farmer’s Cooperative started to use the building as a warehouse. In 1949 the decision was made to build a sports ground close to the castle, which building project was finished in 1952. (Picture 5)

The mansion and the park are located inside Gyulavári – the park’s area has decreased to 1,8 hectare by today. Gyulavári belonged to the Manor of Kétegyháza in 1776, then it became independent, and it has belonged administratively to the city of Gyula since 1st, April, 1977.