The House of Erdődy de Monyorókerék et Monoszló (also House of Erdödy) is the name of an old Hungarian- Croatian noble family with possessions in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Elevated to the

Hungarian nobility The Kingdom of Hungary held a Nobility, noble class of individuals, most of whom owned landed property, from the 11th century until the mid-20th century. Initially, a diverse body of people were described as noblemen, but from the lat ...

in 1459, the family was subsequently raised to the rank of Count in 1485. In 1565, the family was then recognised by the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

, which granted them the title ''Reichsgraf / Gräfin''. The family was raised again in 1566 to the rank of Reichfürst; but the death the following year of the recipient (Péter II) prevented the title from being registered and so it did not become hereditary.

History

The family was first raised in a document dated 1187, under the name of ''Bakoch de genere Erdewd''. It received the title of Count in 1485. (The first hereditary count in Hungary was

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...

in 1453 by King Ladislaus V). The family's origins were from the town of

Erdőd Ardud (, Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a town situated in Satu Mare County, Transylvania, Romania. It administers five villages: Ardud-Vii (), Baba Novac (), Gerăușa (), Mădăras (), and Sărătura (). History The town has a complex history ...

(, ) which is in Szatmár (now Satu Mare, Romania). They are barons of Monyorókerék () and counts of Monoszló (). Monyorokerék is a small village in the south of

Burgenland Burgenland (; ; ; Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland''; Slovene language, Slovene: ''Gradiščanska''; ) is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland (Austria), state of Austria. It consists of two statutory city (Austria), statut ...

(today Austria) near the Hungarian border. Monoszló is a region in central Croatia. The Erdődy family originated from the Bakócz family, initially belonged to the serfdom at the Drágffy estates. They acquired wealth, when

Tamás Bakócz Tamás Bakócz OP (, Erdőd, Esztergom) was a Hungarian archbishop, cardinal and statesman. He was a serious candidate in the 1513 papal conclave. Life Born in Szatmár County, Bakócz was the son of a wagoner and was adopted by his uncle, wh ...

became the

Archbishop of Esztergom In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

in 1497. After his death his estates were passed down to his nephew Peter and he took the name Erdődy. Numerous members of the family held important offices: judges of the royal court, masters of the treasury, chamberlains, Croatian bans, bishops, Master of the Horse and generals were among the members of the family. In 1607, because of the family's great contribution to the Croatian-Ottoman Wars, King Rudolph named the family the

perpetual count A perpetual count (, )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 of a prelate or of a great officer of the realm. The ear ...

s of

Varaždin County Varaždin County () is a county in Hrvatsko Zagorje. It is named after its county seat, the city of Varaždin. Geography The county contains the city of Varaždin, the towns of: Ivanec, Ludbreg, Lepoglava, Novi Marof and Varaždinske Top ...

, and they consequently gave 17 župans up until 1845.

Notable members

* Péter "Venetianus" Erdődy (b. 1484, d. 1543) *

Péter Erdődy Péter II Erdődy (; 1504–1567) (Erdődy: a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary and Croatia since the Middle Ages) was the Ban of Croatia from 1557 to 1567 and the founding member of the Croatian branch of the Erdődy noble family ...

(b. 1504, d. 1567) *

Tamás Erdődy Count Tamás Erdődy de Monyorókerék et Monoszló (, ; 1558 – 17 January 1624), also anglicised as Thomas Erdődy, was a Hungarian-Croatian nobleman, who served as Ban of Croatia between 1583-1595 and 1608-1615 and a member of the House of Erd ...

(b. 1558, d. 1624) * Miklós Erdődy (d. 1693) * György Lipót Erdődy (b.1674, d. 1758) * János Nepomuk Erdődy (b. 1733, d.1806)

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia () was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Ban (title), bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and sup ...

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

and politician * József Erdődy (b. 1754, d.1824) - Knight of the Golden Fleece, patron of

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's Erdődy quartets *

Anna Maria Erdődy Countess Anna Maria (Marie) von Erdődy (8 September 1779 – 17 March 1837) was a Hungarian noblewoman and among the closest confidantes and friends of Ludwig van Beethoven. Dedicatee of four of the composer's late chamber works, she was instru ...

née von Niczky (1779–1837), wife of Péter Erdődy, possible candidate for

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

's muse, the 'immortal beloved'. * Sándor Lajos Erdődy (b. 1802, d. 1881) joined the Batthyany and Kossuth cabinet but withdrew due to their extremist views. politician,

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

, painter,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

* István Erdődy (b. 1813, d. 1896) Mediated the Austro-Hungarian compromise of 1848 * Sidonija Erdődy Rubido (b. 1819, d. 1884) Opera singer * Ferenc Xavér Erdődy (b. 1830, d. 1896) * István (Stjepan) Erdődy (b. 1848, d. 1922) Politician, last owner of

Jastrebarsko Jastrebarsko (; ), colloquially known as Jaska, is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. History Antiquity In 1865, remnants of a Roman settlement were uncovered in Repišće, Klinča Sela, a village in Jastrebarsko metropolitan area. Further ar ...

estate * Tamás Erdődy (b. 1886, d. 1931) Aide-de-camp and childhood friend of the last Emperor Charles The family owned many estates in western Hungary and in Croatia and were one of the largest landowners in the empire, making them

magnates The term magnate, 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 ...

of the empire. The Palais Erdődy in Vienna, which was acquired by the Erdődy family from the Esterházys, suffered bombing damage during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was consequently demolished in 1955. After the collapse of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, the Erdődys' possessions in the successor states of the monarchy were reduced, mostly through forced expropriation by the

Béla Kun Béla Kun (, born Béla Kohn; 20 February 1886 – 29 August 1938) was a Hungarian communist revolutionary and politician who in 1919 governed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. After attending Franz Joseph University at Kolozsvár (today Cluj-N ...

regime. This caused some of the family to flee west into

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. During

, the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n royal family, relatives of the Erdődy family, stayed in the castles of Somlóvár and Vép, after they had fled from the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s in Germany. The invasion of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

forced most descendants of the family to flee to the West and resulted in their complete expropriation and the destruction of most of their goods.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erdody Hungarian noble families Croatian nobility Croatian noble families Austrian noble families Families of the Habsburg monarchy

History

Notable members

See also

References

External links