Zichy Palace, Óbuda, Baroque château in Óbuda, Hungary

Zichy Palace is a two-storey baroque building in Óbuda, Budapest. Its pale pink upper facade and light grey ground floor are crowned by a red tiled roof with a triangular pediment holding a black clock face; a stone balustraded balcony projects above the entrance, and a weather vane tops the ridge. A long wing with grey pilasters, dormer vents and a columned porch stands behind a lawn and two large evergreens.

The palace was built in the 18th century for Count Miklós Zichy, during a period when Óbuda was being reshaped under Habsburg rule. Over time the building changed hands and purpose several times before becoming a cultural center with museums.

The Kassák Museum here holds a collection on Lajos Kassák, the Hungarian avant-garde writer, poet and painter active from 1915 to 1967, and its permanent exhibition covers 20th-century Hungarian art. The Óbuda Museum keeps documents and objects from the Roman period to the 20th century, including wrought-iron ornaments from old Óbuda houses and Secession-era interiors. In summer, opera productions are staged in the palace.

The main building has served as a cultural centre since its 1974 restoration, and the Kassák, Vasarely and Óbuda museums share the two-storey block, so plan a single visit across several floors. The palace faces the Danube side of Óbuda; in 2021 the government gave it to the Petőfi Literary Museum together with the southern part of Óbuda Island opposite, to be linked by a planned footbridge.

The Lajos Kassák Museum inside the palace is dedicated to a Hungarian avant-garde artist who was also a poet and publisher, not just a visual artist. His work is less known outside Hungary than Vasarely's but is considered a foundation of modern art in the country.