Summer Archbishop's Palace

The Archbishop's summer palace (Slovak letný Arcibiskupský palác ) is a baroque building in Bratislava. Is it is the seat of the Slovak government and it is located north of the old town near the Grassalkovich, on the west side of the large square Námestie of Liberty ( German Freedom Square ).

History

The palace was built in 1614 by the Prince-Bishop Ferenc Forgách than three-wing Renaissance summer residence of the Hungarian archbishop, because Gran had been occupied in 1543 by the Ottomans. The Austrian architect F. A. Hillebrandt built the building in the years 1761-1765 in a baroque palace with Rococo decorations and fences around. In the garden of the house of the Viennese sculptor Georg Raphael Donner had his workshop.

After the relocation of the seat of the Archbishop Bratislava to Gran Palais neglected the palace garden and many decorations and statues rapidly, from 1859 to 1939 was then used as a hospital. After a conversion succeeded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the First Slovak Republic and by the end of the 2nd World War it was the seat of the Government of the Slovak Socialist Republic.

Since the 1990s, the renovated Palais is with an English park seat of the Slovak government.