alkovich II (1734-1794), who was raised to the rank of prince, cared little for the estate. He leased out the properties one after the other, liquidated the household in Gödöllő and moved to Vienna. Following his death, the estate, heavily charged with debts, was inherited by his son, Antal Grassalkovich III. Grassalkovich III, who continued to increase the debts, died without opffspring, hence the properties were inherited on the female line.
At that time, the mansion house came to be the scene of an important political event. In the course of the spring campaign of the 1848-1849 War of Independence, the Hungarian soldiers gained a victory in Isaszeg on April 6, 1849. After this, Lajos Kossuth and his generals set up quarters in the mansion house of Gödöllő. Here a war council was held where the idea to dethrone the Habsburgs and to fight for Hungarian independence emerged.
In 1850 a banker, György Sina, purchased the estate of Gödöllő. He, and later on his son, rarely stayed in Gödöllő; they considered the transaction merely a capital investment and in 1864 sold the whole of the property to a Belgian bank. The Hungarian state bought it back from this bank in March 1867 and gave it, together with the mansion house, to Francis Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria ("Sissi") as a coronation gift. From that time on, the royal family stayed in Gödöllő mainly in spring and autumn, and this resulted in a significant upswing in the life of the town. The Northern railway line, for instance, - contrary to the original plan - passes close to Gödöllő because the royal summer resort was there. The Gas Factory, destined to produce the gas needed for the railway station and the royal mansion house, was accomplished by 1874. The number of artisans and small shopkeepers increased. Many of them were provided with work by the estate and the court. In 1869 the Gödöllő Savings Bank was established, its first shareholder being Francis Joseph I
