Mátyásdomb, the former Feketepuszta, lies in a frequented place in Fejér County, between Dég and Enying. Legends are connected to the origin of the name of the settlement, which sometimes present the namesake in a favorable, other times in a negative light. The plain received its current name in 1952, and it was then that the misconception arose that it was not named after King Mátyás, nor after a natural formation located here, a certain Mátyás hill, but rather Mátyás Rákosi. To this day, the relevant disciplines are still trying to decipher the anomaly caused by the incomplete certificate (the reason for the choice of name is not included in the minutes of the founding document). Only the past and present fate of the castle is more uncertain than the origin of the village's name. Few sources are known about its construction, and the future of the building, which is now empty, is also in question.
However, the location of the village is very attractive, it is almost the same distance from Lake Balaton and Budapest, so it is easily accessible from everywhere. It is no coincidence that families who once owned properties nearby (Dég, Enying) were able to sell the area easily. This is how the Mezöföld settlement passed from the Koller family into the hands of the Festetics from Tolna in 1769, when it was bought by Pál Festetics, and the estate remained in the family's possession for centuries. Farming started at the moment of purchase, but the village's real upswing took place much later, in the 19th century. occurred at the end of the century, when merchant Ármin Lamm leased the area. The Lamm family was originally engaged in trading, their name was later changed to Lonkai.
Ármin Lonkai was probably able to rent the 4,400-hectare area classified as a wasteland bordering Enying cheaply, because shortly after the signing of the contract, around 1890, he began a huge transformation. He drained the swamp and began farming on a large scale. He dug a ditch, installed steam engines, and built a light railway, which was initially pulled by horses and then by locomotives. The number of mere residents - compared to 1836 - almost doubled. The rich merchant and hardworking tenant had long-term plans, so he built a castle in the center of the estate sometime around 1900. Not much data has survived about the construction, so we can only get some information from the style marks and maps. From these, it can be seen that he tried to adapt to the fashion of the time with the design of the small castle - although a few years late. The one-story building has a rectangular floor plan, and its mass is characterized by the copper-added corner tower at the left corner, which is crowned by a dome. In addition to the eclectic design features, some small details of the Art Nouveau world of the turn of the century are also echoed, but overall, the decoration of the building is more reminiscent of the atmosphere of Baroque castles. There was a hall, a banquet hall and fourteen rooms and a wine cellar on the upper floor.
Translated by Google •
In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!