Archbishop's Palace, Košice

About

The Archbishop's Palace of Košice, Slovakia, is a rococo-classical building, formerly the home of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I.

History: In the past Košice belonged to the diocese of Jäger, which was founded in 1001. After more than eight centuries, in 1804, it was considered difficult to administer such a large territory with an ever-increasing number of believers. On this basis, the new diocese of Košice was established, with St. Andrew as its patron saint. The first bishop of the newly established diocese was Andrej Szabó. The location of his residence was to be as close to St. Elizabeth's Cathedral as to the parish itself. So it was decided to buy four houses on Hlavná Street, which were gradually rebuilt into one separate building. In this way, the Bishop's Palace was created, adjacent to the rectory and the bank, which was one of the oldest savings banks in Košice. The residence itself was built in 1809 and burnt down on 28 May 1841 when it was engulfed in flames from the Vitéz House. It was repaired by Bishop Anton Ocskay. After the subsequent reconstruction, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I (in 1851, 1857) lived here. At this time, the building also...