Melinda Esterházy (born Melinda Ottrubay May 24, 1920 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

; died August 27, 2014 in Eisenstadt) was a Hungarian-Austrian landowner and former

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

. She was the wife of Prince Paul Esterházy, an Austro-Hungarian nobleman of the Esterházy family. Esterházy inherited Paul's wealth after his death. Since she had no children, she created several foundations to preserve the cultural and historic heritage of the Esterházy family, with the historic family seat

Schloss Esterházy Schloss Esterházy ( hu, Esterházy-kastély) is a palace in Eisenstadt, Austria, the capital of the Burgenland state. It was constructed in the late 13th century, and came under ownership of the Hungarian Esterházy family in 1622. Under Paul ...

in Eisenstadt as the centre of all activities.

Life

Early life and marriage

Melinda Esterházy's parents were Dezsö (or Demeter) Ottrubay, president of the Budapest Higher Regional Court, and his wife Rose, née von Schmidt. She had a younger brother, Josef Ottrubay (1926–2015), who lived as a university lecturer in Lucerne. Family Tree House Esterhazy

After high school, she starred in two feature films in 1939. At the age of 24 Melinda Ottrubay was appointed prima ballerina assoluta of the Budapest Opera. On August 3, 1946, Melinda Ottrubay married Prince Paul V Esterházy de Galántha in Budapest. The marriage remained childless.

Title and name

In 1921, when today's Burgenland was added to the

Republic of Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ci ...

, Paul opted for Hungarian citizenship. This left him with the Hungarian personal status and with it his princely title and his nobility name, which he would have had to do without if he had opted for Austrian citizenship due to the nobility in Austria that was repealed in April 1919. After the Hungarian monarchy ceased to exist at the beginning of 1947 and Hungary had become a people's democracy, the nobility and denominations in Hungary was abolished. Thus the names of the couple in Hungary and internationally became Paul Esterházy and Melinda Esterházy.

Escape from Hungary and further life

In 1949 Paul Esterházy was sentenced to fifteen years in prison during the show trial of Cardinal József Mindszenty. It was only in 1954 that Melinda was allowed to visit her husband in

Kőbánya Kőbánya (literally: Quarry, ) is the 10th district of Budapest () and one of the largest by territory. It is located in southeast Pest, easily accessible from the downtown by Metro 3, whose terminus is named '' Kőbánya-Kispest''. It ...

prison after having been without news of him for over four years. He was finally released on October 30, 1956 in the course of the Hungarian uprising. Paul and Melinda Esterházy fled to Austria on November 1, 1956 in a car disguised as a Red Cross vehicle via the Nickelsdorf border crossing. Her escape was planned and organized by the Viennese lawyer Kurt Werner and the

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

member of the National Council, Franz Strobl.Molden, S. 262 They traveled on to Switzerland, where they lived in Zurich until Paul's death in 1989.

Death and Posthumous Exhibition

Melinda Esterházy died on August 27, 2014 in Eisenstadt in the presence of her family. On October 15, 2016, the exhibition Melinda Esterházy: "Life has given me a lot" opened at Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt, showing both her career as a prima ballerina and her life at the side of Prince Paul V. Esterházy.

Career

Melinda Esterházy started dancing as a young girl and later became a dancer with the

Budapest Opera House The Hungarian State Opera House ( hu, Magyar Állami Operaház) is a neo-Renaissance opera house located in central Budapest, on Andrássy út. Originally known as the Hungarian Royal Opera House, it was designed by Miklós Ybl, a major figure o ...

. Esterházy has also acted in movies. She is best known for her role as Éva in Hungary's Revival (1939). She portrayed a ballet

prima donna In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage per ...

in the movie Pénz áll a házhoz (1939).

References

External links

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Princess Melinda Esterházy: Life Has Given Me So Much
Biography. {{DEFAULTSORT:Esterházy, Melinda 1920 births 2014 deaths Hungarian ballet dancers

Melinda Melinda is a feminine given name. Etymology The modern name ''Melinda'' is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa (μέλισσα) meaning ...

Hungarian emigrants to Austria