Széchenyi Medicinal Bath
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Széchenyi or Széchényi is the name of a wealthy Hungarian noble family which produced many politicians, landowners and influential figures within Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is not to be confused with other Szécsényi family that went extinct.


History

The family first appeared in the documents at the beginning of the 16th century and derived its name from the town of Szécsény. First prominent member and founder of family wealth was György Széchenyi (1603-1695), who served as Archbishop of Esztergom. The family received the title of
Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...
in 1697 by
Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...
. In 1777 Count Ferenc Széchényi purchased the lands of
Sárvár Sárvár (german: Kotenburg or ; la, Bassiana; sl, Mala Sela) is a town in Vas County, Hungary. Sárvár lies on the banks of the River Rába at Kemeneshát. The population is nearly 16,000. The town has become a tourist centre of internatio ...
and Felvidék and from then on the family members bore the name ''Count Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsövidek''. The elder, non-comital branch of the family bore the name ''Széchényi-Szabó'' but became extinct in the first half of the 20th century.


Notable members

* Ferenc Széchényi (1754–1820), founder of the Hungarian National Library and National Museum in Budapest *
Gladys Vanderbilt Széchenyi Gladys Moore Vanderbilt, Countess Széchenyi (August 27, 1886 – January 29, 1965), was an American heiress from the Vanderbilt family and wife of Hungarian Count László Széchenyi. Early life She was born as Gladys Moore Vanderbilt ...
(1886–1965), American heiress from the prominent American Vanderbilt family, and the wife of a Hungarian count, László Széchenyi *
István Széchenyi Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék ( hu, sárvár-felsővidéki gróf Széchenyi István, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and wri ...
(1791–1860), Hungarian politician, political theorist, and writer * László Széchenyi (1879–1938), Austro Hungarian military officer, Imperial Chamberlain, diplomat and venture capitalist * Beatrix Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (1930–2021), Hungarian-German socialite and consort of the Schönburg family {{surname Surnames of Hungarian origin Hungarian noble families