At the ceremonial signing of the support cooperation for the renovation of the Royal Castle of Gödöllő, János Lázár announced that the renovation of the Castle of Gödöllő and the University of Gödöllő will receive 50 million euros (20 billion forints) from OTP Bank and another 50 million euros from the government. The minister believes that this is “the largest public interest commitment in Hungary made by a private enterprise or individual” in recent decades.

Sándor Csányi, CEO of OTP Bank, said that it was an honor for him to celebrate together the renovation of the Grassalkovich Palace. He said that it was sad that a part of the palace, a 6,000 square meter section, would become a wasteland.

So I was delighted when János Lázár contacted me about adopting the castle, and we agreed to cooperate

– he said.

Sándor Csányi, chairman of the board of trustees of the OTP Bank and Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences (MATE) Foundation, said that the renovation will include the previously renovated wing of the castle, its garden, the music wing, the buildings housing the artworks, and the historic beer house will reopen.

"We can rightly say that this building will be a stronghold for the preservation of Hungarian intellectual cultural heritage," said the CEO, then indicated that it will be renovated in a forward-looking manner and the castle will be self-sustaining.

A new chapter has opened in the history of Hungarian monument protection

Viktor Orbán thanked everyone who helped maintain the castle on site. He indicated that if the work had to start from scratch, the 40 billion forints would not be enough, so their merit is significant. Regarding the historical review of the Minister of Construction and Transport, he said that we look back on the 19th century with envy, many powerful and wealthy people donated to the benefit of the nation, and the Hungarian government does not want to be ashamed in this regard either.

Regarding the castle renovation, the Prime Minister said that this investment

it also opens a new chapter in the history of Hungarian monument protection.

He said that the 20th century was not kind to Hungarian castles, but in recent years the government has renovated numerous castles and church buildings, and local governments have put together 66 billion forints from their own resources to protect the built heritage.

Viktor Orbán explained that the current renovation will not only cover the historic building, but also the castle park, and hopefully it will be as Sisi envisioned. According to the Prime Minister, there is clearly a need to renovate the built heritage, as the castles and fortresses received 2.5 million visitors last year, which generated revenue of 2.5 billion forints.

Everyone has ideas on what to spend 40 billion forints on, but here, in addition to saving national values, we can also talk about a sensible business investment, the Prime Minister emphasized.

Gödöllő's resources create the opportunity, it is close to Budapest, and the University of Agricultural Sciences is located here, which is in a prominent position on the ranking ladder. So we tried to make the most of the resources, and we did 

– he said.

Regarding the renovation, Viktor Orbán said that the renovation is not starting from scratch, some wings of the castle have already undergone renovation before. The prime minister also said that the development will take nine years, and that the money that is now coming here to develop the castle will also serve the people of Gödöllő and the community living here.

As we reported previously, Viktor Orbán will also give a speech in Gödöllő. The Minister of Construction and Transport also drew attention to the event, and János Lázár wrote on his social media page:"An extraordinary announcement is expected from the Prime Minister."