Péchy Castle, Hunting Lodge & Park, Hermanovce

„Tuscany of the east – The holiday residence with history“ Péchy Castle and its Hunting Lodge, standing in the middle of the beautiful, large English park, is a family estate in the eastern part of Slovakia, which belonged to the Péchy family.

Péchy Castle, the Hunting Lodge and the Park are open for guests who like to enjoy the perfect harmony and the rhythm of nature.
The Hunting Lodge was built by the former landlord George Péchy de Péchújfalu for his family relatives and private guests nearly 100 years ago. Today, its doors are open again for discerning guests – invited to experience unique treasures of this yet undiscovered region: Gothic cathedrals, Baroque castles, ancient fortresses, historic wooden churches.
The parlors and the guest rooms of the holiday residence provide a private atmosphere where one feels at home in the gracious and yet rustic elegance of the house. The interiors display the impression of tranquillity and composure of the former lifestyle of the gentry. The Hunting Lodge has four guest rooms with bath and one family-suite (two rooms with one bath), two parlors with fireplaces, library and music, an elegant dining-room, a wine-cellar, a Japanese wellness-room with sauna, a large country-kitchen, and sunny terraces. All wooden furniture and interiors were made by local craftsmen.
In the Park, guests choose from a selection of activities ranging from tennis, boccia, croquet or relaxing in the sun, to read or stroll on the gravelled paths that lead to quiet corners and different terraces. Weeping willows are framing the brook, a regal 200-year-old copper beech tree rises in the middle of the property. The fragrance from roses and lavender accompanies guests throughout the beautifully landscaped three hectare park.
The Péchy Castle estate also includes the newly reconstructed Clubhouse with a tennis court. The Clubhouse offers a magical wellness atmosphere with fireplace, sauna and a variety of fitness equipment for regeneration of body and soul. A large clubroom provides enough space for conferences or dinners for 40 people. By enjoying a barbecue on the vast outside terrace, one can overview the picturesque surroundings of the property.
The village of Hermanovce is located 20 km from Prešov in the direction of Poprad. The international airport of Košice, which is situated 55 km from Hermanovce ensures a convenient approach from any European destination. Coming from Budapest or Vienna, the direct train connection is another comfortable alternative to reach the eastern part of Slovakia.

Story

Dear guests.
The evening-stories told by my parents and my grandmother were amongst the most beautiful moments I remember when I was a child. They talked about how they had lived in their beautiful manor houses before the Second World War and how they had gone for summer trips and winter huntings. I was also told about the garden parties, the carriage rides in summer, the romantic sleigh rides in winter, and the tennis tournaments played all in white. Each story of the past seemed to me like a fairytale. Sometimes I imagined myself in those black and white photographs, which remained as the only historical document from that old world. When the Velvet Revolution changed the political situation, I came to see whether I could return to the roots of my origin. My parents made every effort to ensure that the family got its ancient possession back. However, what came back to our family was beyond worst imaginations. The manor house, which was my mother’s home, had only bare walls and a forfeited roof. The other buildings, which belonged to the estate, looked the same. Time and negligence had transformed the beautiful English park into a jungle and the huge swimming pool remained only in the memories of the old villagers. Despite all that, I fell in love with Péchy Castle at first sight. I decided to rebuild the manor house and the Hunting Lodge to its previous beauty. It took more than ten years to renovate our former Hunting Lodge, to restore the park, and to reconstruct the house of the gardener into a Clubhouse with wellness and tennis court. It makes me feel proud that I managed something I dreamed of as a small child. Now – with my new guests - the houses and the park will revive. Perhaps, the harmony and the details of the Hunting Lodge and Park allow my guests to appreciate this carefully recreated, unique atmosphere. They will be pleased to enjoy the relaxing moments together with their friends, just like in the old times of my grandparents, when time seemed to stand still.
I look forward to your visit!
Cordially yours
Klára Wettstein von Westersheimb

The best room

Each guest room of the Hunting Lodge is different, unique and special. You can feel history. The family pictures on the walls recall the gentry-lifestyle from the old times. The parlors and the guest rooms of the holiday residence provide a private atmosphere where one feels at home in the gracious and yet rustic elegance of the house. The fire blazing in the fireplace, the tranquillity, the time spent with friends will fill the guests with vitality and coziness.
We are pleased to present an unforgettable experience to our guests by serving seasonal meals (noon or evening) with Slovak and international delicacies in our elegant dining room.

Hotel facilities

• Fittness
• Wellness

Room equipment

• Internet

Map

History

The village of Hermanovce lies in the narrow valley near the Hermanovce brook, imbedded in the romantic landscape west of the town of Prešov. The lower part of the village belonged to the aristocrats of Sebessy from 1372, while the upper part came into the possession of the Semsey family in 1426. Both parts were united in the 18th century, when the village was owned by the Péchy family, which received nobility in 1555. After the occupation by the Turks, some family members moved from central Hungary to the north-eastern borders of the empire. The village of Péchújfalu (Pečovská Nová Ves) and its surrounding areas were their main property. They became owners of the estate in Hermàny (Hermanovce) by marrying a daughter of the noble family Stanka. The history of the manor house is closely connected with the history of the local catholic church: The protestant Laszlò Péchy de Péchújfalu wanted to marry Barbara Bereczky, a catholic from Bártfa (Bardejov). Her condition for the marriage was that her future husband had to build a castle on the sunny hillside, as the former Péchy Castle was situated in the valley near the brook. The fiancé fulfilled her wish by building a beautiful, classicistic manor house on the hill around 1760. When Barbara moved to Hermanovce, she discovered that the village had no catholic church. In 1772 she built a new church on the foundations of an ancient roman chapel from 1438. Her major donation to the church was a Gothic wooden altar from the renowned Majster Pavol. The three-hectare English park and a French garden in front of the manor house were created around 1830. Péchy Castle, the Hunting Lodge, the family’s distillery, the vast forests and the arable land were owned by George Péchy de Péchújfalu until 1945. Today, after the restitution, the estate belongs again to the descendants of the Péchy family: Klára Wettstein von Westersheimb is the granddaughter of the latest owner.