On the site of the mansion of the Gersei Pethő family, the construction of the castle was started by Kristof Festetics in 1745. It gained its final - neo-baroque - form in the 1880s. It miraculously avoided destruction during the second World War. As Helikon Castle Museum, it has been independent since 1974. Its library of 100000 volumes is the only complete aristocratic collection in Hungary to have been left intact. It is a museum (permanent and temporary exhibitions), a conference and cultural centre.
