Fertőd

Fertőd, formerly Eszterháza, town, Győr-Moson-Sopron megye (county), western Hungary. It lies near the south end of Fertő (German: Neusiedler) Lake on the Austrian frontier. It was a seat of the Esterházy princes, who were among the leading landed gentry of Hungary. At Fertőd they built the great Esterháza, or Esterházy Palace, called “the Hungarian Versailles,” which was completed in 1766. This U-shaped palace has 126 rooms and is built in a style blending late Baroque with Rococo. The composer Joseph Haydn, long in the service of the Esterházy family (1761–90), was responsible for the elaborate musical productions staged at the palace. An annual music festival is held at the palace in his memory. Pop. (2011) 3,261; (2017 est.) 3,333.