The House of Batthyány () is the name of an ancient and distinguished Hungarian

Magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

family. Members of this family bear the title Count/Countess ( Graf/Gräfin) Batthyány von Német-Ujvar respectively, while the title of

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

( Fürst) von Batthyány-Strattmann is reserved only for the Head of the family. A branch of the family ( hr, Baćan) was notable in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

as well, producing several Bans (viceroys) of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

in the 16th, 17th and 18th century.

History

The Batthyány family can trace its roots to the founding of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

in 896 CE by Árpád. The family derives from a chieftain called Örs. Árpád had seven chieftains, one by the name of Örs, which later became Kővágó-Örs. In 1398 Miklós Kővágó-Örs married Katalin Battyány. King Zsigmond (Sigismund) gave Miklós the region around the town of Battyán (now called Szabadbattyán) and he took the name Batthyány (lit. "from Battyán"). The family were first mentioned in documents in 1398 and have had their ancestral seat in

Güssing Güssing (; hu, Németújvár, Német-Újvár, hr, Novi Grad) is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is located at , with a population of 3,578 (2022), and is the administrative center of the Güssing district. For centuries the town occupied an ...

in the

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 ...

n region of

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 ...

since 1522. In 1570,

Boldizsár Batthyány Boldizsár is both a Hungarian masculine given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that pe ...

transformed the seat of the family,

, into the center of

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

in the region. His descendant Ádám Batthyány (1610–1659), however, was

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and founded a Franciscan monastery in Güssing. On 3.1.1764 Count Karl Josef Batthyány was created

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. '' Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors ...

. As he didn't have surviving sons, his princely title was inherited by his nephew Count Adam Wenzel (1722-1787). Count Lajos Batthyány became the first Prime Minister of Hungary during the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although t ...

and was executed in

Pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

in 1849. After 1945 the Batthyány family's property was largely expropriated in Hungary and other countries under Communist rule, although they retained their property in Austria. The current family members have also strong ties to Hungary currently.

Modern era

Currently, the family has about 60 name bearers who live mainly in Austria, but also in Hungary,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

. The current head of the family is Prince Laszlo Edmund Christof Maximilian Eugen Anton von Batthyány-Strattmann, son of Prince Laszlo Pascal von Batthyány-Strattmann (1938-2015) and his wife Veronika Hauschka von Treuenfels (b. 1942). Prince Laszlo lives with his wife and children in Austria. The family meets once a year for a so-called Familientag (family gathering) at their ancestral seat

Güssing Castle Güssing Castle (german: Burg Güssing, hu, németújvári vár) is a castle in southern Burgenland, Austria. On June 30, 1524, the castle was acquired by the Batthyány family, which retains ownership through a historical foundation that pr ...

Family members

(1543–1590), baron, well-educated humanist, became Protestant in 1570, protector of the botanist

Carolus Clusius Charles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius (19 February 1526 – 4 April 1609), seigneur de Watènes, was an Artois doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientific horticulturists. Life ...

* Ádám Batthyány (1610–1659), count, Founder of the Franciscan monastery in Güssing * Adam II. Batthyány (1662–1703), Ban of Croatia *

Lajos Batthyány Count Lajos Batthyány de Németújvár (; hu, gróf németújvári Batthyány Lajos; 10 February 1807 – 6 October 1849) was the first Prime Minister of Hungary. He was born in Pozsony (modern-day Bratislava) on 10 February 1807, and was e ...

(1696–1765), Hungarian Court Chancellor and Palatine of Hungary. * Károly József Batthyány (1698–1772), Austrian field marshal and later educator of

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 u ...

, Ban (viceroy) of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

* József Batthyány (1727–1799), bishop * Ignác Batthyány (1741–1798), bishop and founder of the

Batthyaneum Library Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historic ...

Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historica ...

, now Romania * Kázmér Batthyány (1807–1854), politician, minister in the

* Franciska Batthyány (1802–1861), born Széchenyi *

(1807–1849), executed, first Hungarian Prime Minister * Count József Sándor Batthyány (1777–1812), his father * Gusztáv, 5th Prince Batthyány-Strattmann (1803–1883), English sportsman, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder * Edmund Gustavus, 6th Prince Batthyany-Strattmann (1826–1914) * Ludovika Olga Karoline Philippine Antonia Batthyany (1869–1939) * Count Tivadar Batthyány (1859–1931) * László, 7th Prince Batthyány-Strattmann (1870–1931), ophthalmologist, beatified in 2003 *

Ervin Batthyány Count Ervin Batthyány (17 October 1877 – 9 June 1945) was a Hungary, Hungarian political activist, school founder and journalist. He promoted Anarchism, anarchist principles in early 20th century Hungary. Early life Ervin Batthyány was born o ...

(1877–1945),

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

and school reformer * Countess Margit Batthyány (1911–1989) :de:Margit von Batthyány, lived until the end of World War II on Castle Rechnitz (

) where she was engaged in breeding horses and maintaining a reconvalescence home for members of the SS. Her involvement in the infamous

Rechnitz massacre Rechnitz ( hr, Rohunac, hu, Rohonc, Rohoncz, Romani: ''Rochonca'') is a municipality in Burgenland in the Oberwart district in Austria. Geography The municipality is located in southern Burgenland, on the border with Hungary, near Bozsok a ...

is still controversial. *

Sacha Battyhány Sasha is a unisex name which originated in Eastern and Southern European countries as the shortened version of Alexander and Alexandra. It is also used as a surname, although very rarely. Alternative spellings include: ( – Russian, Ukrainian ...

Swiss journalist and writer, author of the book "A Crime in the Family" about the participation of Comtesse Margit Battyhány and other members of the family in the Rechnitz massacre

External links

Family website
*Archival material (ca. 212 running meters)
The Batthyány Family Archive at the National Archives of Hungary [P (4545)
/nowiki>">''P (4545)">The Batthyány Family Archive at the National Archives of Hungary [P (4545)
/nowiki>*Archival material (about 200 records)
Batthyány Family Collection at the National Library of Israel (ARC. 4* 2031)
*Shaul Greenstein, ''
he Hungarian Noble Family That Took in the Exiled Jews
', The Librarians, Blog of the National Library of Israel, December 18, 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Batthyany Hungarian noble families Croatian noble families Hungarian-language surnames

History

Modern era

Family members

See also

References

External links