Schoenborn Palace
Karpaty, Zakarpats'ka oblast, Ukraine
About
I recommend parking at the train station and entering the grounds by crossing the bridge by the railway station. This way you will not have to pay a fee to enter the park. A member of the Schoenborn dynasty, Count Friedrich, built a modest wooden hunter's cabin in the hills above Chynadievo in 1840. It was expanded 40 years later into this large hunting palace with a surrounding village of Karpaty to service its every need. Many famous people have visited this castle and its owner who was one of the first automobile racers in the Habsburg Monarchy. Among the guests was Archduke Franz Ferdinand whose murder ignited the First World War. The Nazi leader Hermann Goering sought out the castle and unsuccessfully tried to purchase it during World War II. It took five years for the architect Z. Gresserson to complete the project by 1895. It was built in the French Renaissance style with some element of English architecture. The palace is a study of the calendar with 365 windows, 52 rooms, and 12 entrances. The adjoining pond is in the shape of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and reflects the myriad of chimneys that would confuse even Santa Claus. Even the nearby train station was built to look like a castle. Today the palace serves as part of a health center where people come for rest and relaxation. There is a souvenir marketplace, children's playground and spa facilities.
