Horváth László szerk.: Mátrai Tanulmányok (Gyöngyös, 2005)
Orczy Mansion of Gyöngyös
The main task of the architectural research made by Zoltán Simon archeologist was to excavate the Baroque period or periods and to determine the degree of the classicist reconstruction. The results of this research showed that there had been a second Baroque period between 1789 and 1804, during which a staircase leading upstairs may have been built in the south-western corner of the mansion. The research also proved that though the original plans of the rebuilding of 1826 had remained, the classicist reconstruction left more baroque elements than it should have according to the plans. The original forms from the 18 th century almost totally remained on the southern and western wings both downstairs and upstairs. The gate opening on the southern facade was also kept; now it is the main entrance, although with the opening of the entrance of the yard it only had commercial role after 1826. Over the gateway there is a Czech arched ceiling. Three-centred arch bends lie on the pilasters, while the aisle walls are decorated with semicircular blind arches. The classicist reconstruction affected the eastern and the northern parts of the mansion. This Baroqueclassicist duality, which can be seen even nowadays, gives the building a special atmosphere. Besides architectural researches, the traces of the possible wall-paintings from various ages had to be identified with wall-probe. Éva M. Nagy and Beatrix M. Bán restorer artists carried out this research. The room in the middle on the first floor of the southern wing and the room in the south-western corner must have been the most beautiful and the most impressive drawing rooms in the mansion. During the renovation of the building and the researches, huge wall-frescos that were made either in the second half or at the end of the 18 lh century appeared. In the rooms, from the floors to the ceilings there are frescos showing different scenes. Their frames are clay-like, painted architectural elements. In the cornerroom townscapes, battle-scenes and landscapes can be seen in seven squares. On the basis of the soldiers' uniforms it is supposed that the artist wanted to paint the events of the sevenyear war. It is also possible since Lőrinc Orczy took part in these battles as a colonel. The other reception room in the middle of the first floor, just like the south-western corner-room, was decorated with seven frescos. According to the present excavation, mainly landscapes cover the walls. The rooms upstairs in the northern wing may have been spare bedrooms, as there are some simpler marble-paintings than in the reception-rooms, though all of them are of good quality. The classicist internal painting of the building is not only beautiful, but also unique in Hungary. The basic colours are grey, pink, purplish tawny and green. The basic pattern is a horizontal striped band, that runs to the 200-250-millimetre-wide closing stripe; it is divided vertically in some parts while it is not in other parts, so it occurs as typical classicist ashlarpianting The simple scheme is surprisingly varied in the different rooms. Both the Baroque mansion and the classicist one had gardens. As it can be seen on contemporary maps, there was a French garden on the western side of the 18 th century building. Then it was enlarged not only eastwards, but also northwards at the beginning of the 19 th century. According to the one-time fashion it became a so-called landscape garden. Only the "ruins" survived of this nationally known English garden, which originally, in 1826, covered 7 "hold" of land. A few photographs and some trees that have survived the stormy past can demonstrate how beautiful the one-time garden was. The guests of the baron family could have a rest under hazel-trees, maidenhair trees, yews, horse-chestnut trees,
