HISTORY
The castel was built in 1904 by Mátyás Pfeifer, land and factory owner. It stands on the ruins of the onetime nest of the peerage Amade family, and is operated today as a five star hotel.
Some interesting information for those who are fond of facts. The Amade Château hotel is situated in the middle-sized municipality of Vrakúň, in the heart of the Rye Island with population of 2,470 inhabitants. The municipality was provided with the current image in 1940 by joining the ancient Hungarian settlements of Nyék (Nekyje na Ostrove) and Várkony (Vrakúň), thus the municipality history develops along two lines. Várkony is a very old Hungarian tribe whose origin traces back to the AVAR period. In historical records the municipality was first mentioned in 1015. Vrakúň served as a family seat of a Hungarian noble family Amade, who allegedly owned also a castle there. In 16th century the municipality was granted the town privileges.
The municipality lost its importance when the Amades moved their headquarters to neighbouring Bős (Gabcíkovo). The Amade’s residence, according to tradition, was a fortified castlet or castle in Várkony (according to the locals it was built on foundations that dated from the Renaissance). Mátyás Bél, the great historiographer, was still able to see it, but later every trace of it was gone. The last Amade, Tádé Amade had a famous pheasant preserve and dairy farm in Várkony. After him, Várkony and Csallóköznyék became the possession of the Schmerzing family. They sold Várkony and the surrounding estates at the turn of the century to Mátyás Pfeifer of Ikva. Pfeifer had a distillery and a steam mill in the village, and to flaunt his wealth, to show it off to the world, he built our château in 1904. He couldn’t enjoy the luxury for long, however, for violent times came, and the castle went through several hands. It was turned into a military hospital in the world war; later it became an asylum for the mentally handicapped.