Palace of the Rakoczy Princes (Mukachevo)

The Palace of the Rakoczy Princes (also known as the White Palace) is a former palace of the Rakoczy princes of the Transylvanian dynasty, located in the city of Mukachevo (Zakarpattia region).

Construction of the one-story Baroque palace began in 1667. The White Palace (or House) got its name because of the white color of the facade. Tyvodar Lehotskyi in his work "Monograph of the Bereznyi Komitat" (1881) gives a detailed description of the building: "The original Rakoczy Palace was a one-story building, 26x19 meters in size, with an open corridor over 3 meters long. The exterior walls were whitewashed and the edges were painted with wide red squares a foot in size. The windows were decorated with stone frames. The building with a cross-shaped vault was accessible through the hayloft. Cellars, kitchens, and servants' rooms were located in the lower part of the building with a strong vault. The quadrangular building was covered with a double roof. The palace was spacious and stood in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by outbuildings that were surrounded by a large sprawling garden. The palace was the middle part of today's building."

In 1746-1747, the one-story building was rebuilt and significantly expanded according to the project of the famous German architect Johann-Balthasar Neumann. It was a rather complicated reconstruction. It was necessary to use the old elements of the buildings, add another floor and a new building in compliance with architectural proportions and symmetry. This is how the palace got its U-shape. The façade has two original windows and 5 reconstructed windows in the Renaissance style. An open staircase leads to the main entrance.

In the nineteenth century, a columned portal of the main entrance carved from Timpanogos stone was built. In the middle of the entrance there is a vase-decoration. The windows of the main façade and the vaults of the palace premises are decorated with shuk (stucco). The interior spaces of the middle wing of the building have a domed vault. Now there are 21 rooms, 98 windows, 91 doors, and 10 ancient stoves.

To the left of the main entrance, between two windows, there is a lavishly framed plaque in honor of Ferenc II Rákóczi, installed in 1911, which remained intact during the Soviet era.

The palace was built by the Rakoczy princes of the Transylvanian dynasty as a city residence. They lived there until 1711. After the suppression of the national liberation war of 1703-1711, which was led by Ferenc Rákóczi II, the palace first became the property of the Austrian emperor, and then, in 1728, was transferred along with vast land as a gift to the German Count Schönborn-Buchheim. "The White Palace was used for ceremonial receptions of the nobility and foreign ambassadors.

In the nineteenth century, the palace housed the exposition of the Mukachevo Museum of Local Lore, founded by the famous Transcarpathian archaeologist Tyvodar Lehotskyi. There was also the office of Count Schönborn, where T. Lehotsky worked as a lawyer.

In 1945, when Transcarpathia became part of Soviet Ukraine, the palace housed the headquarters of a military unit of the Soviet Army. Later, one of the city's secondary schools was located here.

In 1979, the first children's art school in Transcarpathia named after Mihai Munkachi was opened in the palace. In 1969, a memorial plaque was erected in his honor.

In June 1703, Ferenc II Rákóczi stayed in the palace. It is believed that it was in this house that he wrote an appeal to the Hungarian people, calling on the masses to fight against the Habsburgs. On June 28, a battle between the Kurucs and the army of Austrian General Montecucci took place near the palace. The untrained and poorly armed rebels were unable to resist the Labanese and retreated. Ferenc II Rákóczi also left the city, retreating again to the Veretsky Pass to regroup his forces.

In 1770 - Emperor Joseph II, and in 1852 - Joseph Ferenc I, in 1882 - the outstanding artist Mihaly Munkácsy, an honorary citizen of the city, a native of Mukachevo.