Hotel Jelen, Hlohovec

Hotel Jelen *** is a family run hotel located in a reconstructed historical building from 17th century. The hotel is perfect for weddings, family celebrations as well as for work-related or romantic meetings.

Visitors of Hotel Jelen will get a chance to walk through and live in places, where some of the most famous members of aristocratic families lived, dined and entertained themselves. Thurzo, Ujlaky, Kont and Erdödy families owned and used the property for four centuries. The hotel offers its visitors a chance to dance in the historical musical hall built in empiric style by the Erdödy family. Play bowling in historical cellars, which were used since 1660 for collection of taxes from the local townsfolk.

Story

Hotel Jelen as well as other buildings in the town center are built on extensive network of cellars. During the time of Turkish raids, these cellars were interconnected to allow the citizens to run and hide from the turkish raiders. One of the tunnels is said to have connected two most important buildings, building of Hotel Jelen and a fortress in Leopoldov. During construction works many collapsed passages were discovered although the fabled tunnel underneath the river Vah to the Leopoldov fortress was never found. During groundwork on the second wing of the hotel, construction workers discovered foundations of fortification of the twon from middle ages. Today’s accommodation wing is built on these foundations.

The best room

The best hotel rooms are oriented towards the main square of the town. In addition to high quality furnishing and cozy atmospehere, these rooms offer beautiful views of the main town square, Trnava flats and the Karpaty mountains in the background.

Hotel facilities

• Non-smoking rooms
• Non-stop Reception
• Parking garage
• Bowling

Room equipment

• Internet
• Mini bar

Map

History

"The Hotel Jelen building was built by reconstructing an older building, a manor that belonged to aristocratic families at the beginning of the 17th Century. This manor had most likely been built in 14th Century. From 1598 to 1625 was the Hlohovec castle with adjacent estates owned by Stanislav Thurza, who helped to develop the town of Hlohovec. He founded a tri-lingual grammar school in 1601. During this time period the building of hotel Jelen was most likely constructed.

From the beginning the manor was built as a two story building in Renaissance style. Several of town’s veduta-s catch its authentic image. But mostly the veduta from 1761 and 1823, where there can be clearly seen the round attic, which you can see today nearly touching the town’s library. Rooms have cross arches, there were open arcades laid on Tuscan poles in the courtyard.

From number of written documents we get to know the usage of the Lordship manor – Mansion at the town square, which belonged to the castle owner. Preceptor, administrative officers of the Lordship lived in the object in numerous time periods. Natural goods, income from tolls and taxes were stored here. The fact that the manor had an ancestor in an older building, which had to stand here in the middle Ages, is proved in other middle age records. Even in Mikulas Konhe’s bill, who was the Landlord of Hlohovec in the 14th century, is stated: “(Villains of Hlohovec) … are required to bring on birth of the Lord, Michal archangel and on Easter usual gifts, as: For each lane 1 piece of cheese, 8 eggs, and also from village three young rams and this to not a different place than to our house (Mansion) in Hlohovec located.” The location of the manor is mentioned by Mikulas Konthe’s wife, Klara, as well. Klara made a donation to the little church of holy spirit in 1400 “… in the marked Frajstak town (Hlohovec) on the east side from the sv. Michal church is located stone, corner house in the folk speech known as the Hoffstadt.”

So it seems that the Thurza family had rebuilt an older gothic building into renaissance appearance. After Thurzas perished the Forgac family bought the Mansion at the town square, then the Landlords from Mitrovice, Ugrian king and in 1720 Juraj Erdödy. In this year Juraj Erdödy bought the whole Hlohovec county, with the manor at the town square included. Documentation about the house purchase is from November 22, 1720. Since this year the Erdödy family had been renting their properties. They had been renting several buildings at the town square, including the building of Hotel Jelen. Renaissance style of the building had been kept untill 1880, when the family rebuilt it into neo-classicistic style. In the same year the rightmost part of the hotel was built over a former buffet, which in turn used to be a butcher shop in the 19th Century. In 1880-82, a ball room with a beautiful and priceless ceiling painting in empirical style was created on the second floor. At the beginning of the 20th Century the object was converted into a hotel. Although, historical documents can provide proof only from the year of 1937.


Ownership of the hotel since 1360

    * 14th Century, about 1360 Mikulas Kont
    * Till 1524 several of the Ujlaky family members and the town hospital
    * 1525 to 1598 several of the Thurzo family members
    * Since 1598 Stanislav Thurzo
    * 1625 – 1629 Anna, a widow after Stanislav
    * 1629 – 1635 Adam, Stanislav Thurza’s son
    * 1635 – 1636 Michal, Stanislav Thurza’s son
    * 1637 – 1639 Ugrian Royal Chamber
    * 1639 – 1709 The Forgác family
    * 1709 – 1716 Landlords from Mitrovice
    * 1716 – 1720 Ugrian Royal Chamber
    * 22. 11. 1720 Juraj Erdödy gains the Hlohovec County
    * 1759 – 1919 other members of the Erdödy Family
    * 1880 - Major redesign of the hotel into neo-classicistic style
    * 1919 – the state of Czechoslovakia
    * 1923 – 1925 State estate office in Prague
    * 1925 – 1927 Town of Hlohovec
    * 1927 – 1928 Viliam Erdödy
    * 1928 – 1946 František Ernst; 1937 change of purpose of the object to hotel
    * 1946 – 1961 Czechoslovakia state
    * 1961 – 2002 Czechoslovakia state (MsNV Hlohovec), Reštaurácie a jedálne n.p.
    * 2002 – Ján Vidlicka
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