Sights
The Ruined Tower
There used to be three churches in Kisszentgrót, the civil town of Zalaszentgrót, which shows the importance of it. From these three churches only one is still standing, however, it is quite ruined as well. We do not know too much about the church that used to have a monestry. There have been only some suppositions that it belonged to the Churchers . The monks left the building since it could not be protected in the Turkish times, and it started to ruin. According to some sources its two towers, walls and arches were still standing at the end of the 1800s, but Batthyány Ferenc had it demolished in order to build a lord yard in the place of it. However, one of the towers was not pulled down as a result of the inhabitants wish and it functioned as a bell-tower.
The Stone Bridge
One of the oldest stone bridge in Hungary was built in 1854. It has four apertures similarly to the one in the Hortobágy, and it has brick arches. It is 43m long and 6,5m wide. In 1975 it was planned to closed down the bridge because the traffic was directed to the newly built asphalt bridge. The local patriots of the town evoked a real story from the war in order to protect the monument. It is known from the chronicle that the Soviet soldiers, who were the celebrated liberators, fought against the Germans the battle of occupying Zalaszentgrót by the bridge. The Soviets wanted to protect the bridge that was undermined by any means, therefore, Haddam Hatamov died there. The local patriots did know that if they would recall the story, they could manage to rescue the bridge. They were even able to justify their story by finding witnesses who were still alive. And it was like that, since there was great affection for this type of things during the communist times. Even the Soviet soldier s family was invited to the celebration, which was the christening ceremony of the bridge as well. From this time until the change of the regime the bridge was known as Hatamov Bridge. From the beginning of the 1990s its conditions started to get worse and worse in a rapid way, and it looked as if the state would not have anything to save. At last there have been some results of the refurbishing constructions that started in 2000 since it has been managed to rescue one of the symbols of Zalaszentgrót from complete destruction. It was figuratevly handed over to the pedestrians in 2001. Figuratevly, since it can be used for crossing the river only after the further part will be built from wood. This will connect the river bank in Aranyod with Zalaszentgrót, and it will function as not only a pedestrian bridge, but also as a cycling one.
Historical Monument
The Historical Monument that stands in memory of the victims who died in the wars can be found in beautiful surroundings, near Castle Batthyány in its greenbelt. The leaders and the inhabitants of the town pay tribute to the memory of the heroes of the Independent War of 1848-49 and the Revolution of 1956 every year. The monument was built from the donation of Molnár Lászlő, who is the freeman of Zalaszentgrót.
Castle Batthyány
The castle that stood in the place of Castle Batthyányi was mentioned first in a certificate from 1299. The boarder castle had to face serious attacks in the Turkish times and it is justified by the fact that it had to be fixed times in 80 years. The castle belonged to the Hagymásys for more than 200 years, and it got into the hand of the Batthyánys only in 1663 when the last Hagymásy died. After the chasing the Turkish out the boarder castle lost its significant role and it gradually got ruined. In 1767 Batthyány Imre had the castle that managed to survive lootings demolished and built the one that is still standing. The facade of the U-shaped brick building runs parallel with the River Zala, at the end of the each wing there is a semicirclular tower. The cellar can be found under the northern wing of the one-storey building, the former rooms on the floor. On the very same place there is the ceremonial assembly hall looking towards the west. In the rooms on the groundfloor did the former servants live.
In the 1800s the Batthyánys put some rooms in Renaissance style and furbished the castle with furniture in the same style. Most of the furniture can still be found in the building.
There is a Latin notice on the eastern facade of the castle:
SIC eX annosIS sVrgVnt noVa teCta rVInIs haeC sI non pLaCent, faC Meliora, LICet
It means: The old ruins turn into bright buildings, if you do not like the new one, put something else in its place.
The capitals symbolise Roman numbers - MCCCCCCLLLXIIIIIII -, which value refers to the year when the castle was built.
The last owners of the castle were the Károlyis, who placed the shield with the prince crown in the western part of the castle. The following Latin notice can be read on the shield:
FID ET VIRTUTE QVERE
It means: Gain popularity with faith and hope.
The castle got into the hand of the Ministry of Religion and Education after the war in 1947 and it was turned into a primary student hostel. In 1950 a primary school, nursery and youth hostel for disabled children was opened here and the residents are still disabled children. The refurbishing of the castle was started in 1984 and the construction took four years. At present the maintainer of the castle is the Local Authority of County Zala.
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