Thurzó ( sk, Turzo; pl, Turzonowie) was a Hungarian noble family from the 15th century to the first half of the 17th century. It was in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

that the rise of the Thurzó family began, and the family in turn boosted that city into an important center of business, science, and Renaissance high culture. The family's long-term involvement in capitalist enterprises, high-level politics, the affairs of the Church, and its patronage of the arts made the family rich, famous and powerful well beyond the city. Its achievements resembled the

Medici family The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mug ...

in Italy and France, perhaps the

Fugger family The House of Fugger () is a German upper bourgeois family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and vent ...

in Germany. Key family patriarchs were János Thurzó (1437–1508) and his sons János V (1466–1520), bishop of

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...

, and Stanislav I (1471–1540), bishop of

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...

, and

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

György who founded town

Turzovka Turzovka ( hu, Turzófalva) is a town in the Čadca District, Žilina Region in north-western Slovakia. History The present-day town was established in 1598 by a palatine of the Thurzó family. It gained town status in 1968. This town became ...

. Karen Lambrecht argues that the family's most important role was in facilitating "intercultural communications." That is they used their vast network of friends, clients and allies to introduce new concepts in the arts, facilitate the exchange of ideas among scientists, and open contacts among different high status social groups.

Origins

The ancestors of the Thurzó family were perhaps Germans, coming from

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. Their original land holdings were located around the village of Betlenfalva in the

Szepes county Szepes ( sk, Spiš; la, Scepusium, pl, Spisz, german: link=no, Zips) was an administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary, called Scepusium before the late 19th century. Its territory today lies in northeastern Slovakia, with a very small are ...

(today Betlanovce,

Spiš Spiš (Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

region). From the end of the 15th century, they were mostly businessmen and entrepreneurs in

Levoča Levoča (; hu, Lőcse; rue, Левоча) is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,700. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Gothic church with the highest wooden altar in the wor ...

Szepes Szepes ( sk, Spiš; la, Scepusium, pl, Spisz, german: link=no, Zips) was an administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary, called Scepusium before the late 19th century. Its territory today lies in northeastern Slovakia, with a very small are ...

, Gemer, central

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Business

In 1495, they established the ''Thurzo-

Fugger The House of Fugger () is a German upper bourgeois family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and vent ...

company'', which is sometimes regarded as the first capitalist company in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

.Kayo Hirakawa
The ''Pictorialization of Dürer's Drawings in Northern Europe in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries''
pg. 48, Peter Lang Publishing (2009), They soon acquired a monopoly on the trade of

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

and opened new places all over Europe. Around the year 1500 they dominated the production of precious and non-ferrous metals in Hungary. From their earnings they bought lands in the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary (today Slovakia), and owned several castles and their surroundings, for example

Červený Kameň Červený Kameň ( hu, Vöröskő) is a village and municipality in Ilava District in the Trenčín Region of north-western Slovakia. Etymology Both Slovak and Hungarian names mean "red stone". The first written mention about the village is "''po ...

Lietava Lietava ( hu, Zsolnalitva) is a village and municipality in Žilina District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. Lietava Castle, the third largest castle in Slovakia, is in the village. History In historical records the village was firs ...

, Tematín,

Zvolen Zvolen (; hu, Zólyom; german: Altsohl) is a town in central Slovakia, situated on the confluence of Hron and Slatina rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. It is surrounded by Poľana mountain from the East, by Kremnické vrchy from the West an ...

Hlohovec Hlohovec (german: Freistad(l) an der Waag, Hungarian ''Galgóc''), is a town in southwestern Slovakia, with a population of 21,508. Name The name comes from ''*Glogovec'', the Old Slavic name for a place densely overgrown by hawthorn. The Hung ...

, Orava and so on, as well as land in the other parts of the Kingdom of Hungary and Germany. In the whole of the 16th and the first half of the 17th century, they were one of the most prominent families of

Royal Hungary Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, and slowly began to control the key top posts in the kingdom. They became

perpetual ispán A perpetual count ( hu, örökös főispán, la, supremus et perpetuus comes)Nemes 1989, p. 81. was a head or an ''ispán'' of a county in the Kingdom of Hungary (“Lord Lieutenant”) whose office was either hereditary or attached to the dignity ...

s (hereditary heads) of the Szepes (Spiš) and Árva (today Orava) counties (in today

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

). Members of the Thurzó family still exist today.

Notable members

* János Thurzó (1437–1508) * János V Thurzó (1466–1520), bishop of

* Stanislav I Thurzó (1471–1540), bishop of

György Thurzó György Thurzó (german: Georg Thurzo, sk, Juraj Turzo; 2 September 1567 – 24 December 1616) was a powerful Hungarian magnate, who served as the Palatine of Hungary between 1609 and 1616. Biography György Thurzó was born into the richest ...

(1567–1616),

Palatine of Hungary The Palatine of Hungary ( hu, nádor or , german: Landespalatin, la, palatinus regni Hungariae) was the highest-ranking office in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were represe ...

Imre Thurzó Count Imre Thurzó de Bethlenfalva (11 September 1598 – 19 October 1621) was a Hungarian aristocrat, son of Palatine György Thurzó, who served as Perpetual Ispán (Count; ''comes'') of Árva County between 1616 and 1621. Count Imre also f ...

(1598–1621), last male member of the family * Erzsébet Thurzó (1621–1642)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurzo Hungarian noble families 15th century in Hungary 16th century in Hungary 17th century in Hungary Habsburg period in the history of Slovakia

Origins

Business

Notable members

See also

References

External links