The building of the Zichy family was built on the main square of Komárno. For centuries it played an important role in the history of the town. It was used as a theater, residential building, synagogue, post office, cellar and for various other purposes.
On 28 June 1763, a huge earthquake shook Komárno. As a result of the earthquake, 63 people died, 102 people were injured, 7 churches and 279 buildings collapsed. Some of the buildings collapsed, town buildings were seriously damaged, and only 9% of the buildings remained intact. Zichy Palace was also seriously damaged by the earthquake. According to sources, the present building was rebuilt in 1775 by Count Ferenc Zichy in the Classicist style.
The building was built in a very good location and was always at the center of events.
The building served as a theater until 1827, then as a Jewish temple, which was rebuilt into a German House after the construction of the Courtyard of Europe.
The palace today houses a permanent historical exhibition that presents visitors with nearly a century-long period of recent history of Komárno, extraordinarily rich in revolutionary economic, social and political changes. The exhibits of the first two halls document the history of the town from the defeat of the Hungarian bourgeois revolution to the dissolution of Austria-Hungary (1849-1918). After the creation of Czechoslovakia, from January 1919, the part of Komárno on the left bank of the Danube became a border town of the new republic. Visitors are introduced to the political, economic and rich social-cultural life of Komárno during the years of the first Czechoslovak Republic through objects and documents in the following two rooms. In the fifth, the visitor can become acquainted with the life and development of the town in the period after the Vienna Arbitration (November 1938 – March 1945), when Komárno was annexed to Hungary. Objects and documents related to the events of the Second World War are also located here. The exhibition concludes with three interiors presenting the standard of living in Komárno during the interwar period. The exhibition is created from a total of approximately 1,300 original objects and 229 photo documents.
There is also a memorial room of Komárno natives, Mór Jókai and Franz Lehár.