József Lenz
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József Lenz (March 18, 1897 – March 14, 1965) was a commercial counselor, Hungarian Fruit Distributor, tradesman of exotic fruits, reserve hussar captain, decorated with the Order of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, Chairman of the National Association of Fruit of Hungary, Vegetable and Food Traders of Hungary, Chairman of the Fruit Exporters and Importers Association of Hungary, member of the Hungarian Trade Statistics and Valuation Committee, and Vice-President of the "Association of Merchants of Fruits of Hungary", member of the organizing committee of the "Hungarian Fruit Export Association", tenement house owner, landowner in
Nyékládháza Nyékládháza is a small town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, northern Hungary, from county capital Miskolc. History The area has been inhabited since ancient times; archaeological finds include an Avar cemetery. The villages Mezőnyék and ...
, Bükkaranyos and Kesznyéten, art collector.


Biography

He was born in a wealthy
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
family in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, in the former
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
. His ancestors can be traced back to the ancient Lenz family, which was member of the Swiss
Bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...
of
Lenzburg Lenzburg is a town in the central region of the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Aargau and is the capital of the Lenzburg District. The town, founded in the Middle Ages, lies in the Seetal, Seetal valley, about 3 kilometres south of the Aare river. L ...
. A branch of that family moved to Hungary and lived for several centuries in
Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
, where they lived for about two centuries and then moved to Budapest around
1864 Events January * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song "Beautiful Dream ...
. József Lenz was born on March 18, 1897, in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. His father was Gyula Lenz (1848–1910), a wealthy Hungarian tradesman of exotic fruits, tenement house owner, and his mother was Anna Mária Etelka Gömöry (1874–1946), fruits tradeswoman.Bene-Szabó: A magyar királyi honvéd huszár tisztikar 1938–45. (Jósa András Múzeum Kiadványai 52. Nyíregyháza József lenz had two uncles, János Lenz (1843–1913), tradesman, Knight of the
Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes The order was originally awarded in three classes: ''G ...
, and Ferenc Lenz (1851–1926), tradesman commercial counselor of the Kingdom, tenement house owners. The three Lenz brothers Gyula, János and Ferenc founded the southern fruits and spices (''Südfrüchte Händler'') trading company in 1864. In the following decade they acquired several buildings in Budapest, which were used as tenement houses that engrossed the capital of the family along the fruit trading company. According to the tax levies of the winter of 1935, Anna Gömöry the widow of Gyula Lenz, was the 6th higher taxpayer in Budapest, and one of the wealthiest person in the city. On January 8, 1920, József Lenz married the
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Klara Topits (1901–1993) in Budapest; she was the daughter of a wealthy family of the
Bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...
of the city of Pest. Klára Topits' father was Alajos József Topits (1855–1926), owner and director of the pasta factory "''Son of Joseph Topits''" (in Hungarian: ''Topits József fia''), located in Budapest, which was the first pasta factory of the Kingdom of Hungary founded on 1859 by Klára's grandfather József Topits (1824-1876); Alajos Topits was also member of the Hungarian National Industry Council, Knight of the
Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes The order was originally awarded in three classes: ''G ...
, and tenement house owner in Budapest. The paternal grandmother of Klára Topits was Klára Prückler (1833-1907), wife of József Topits (1824-1876); she was also member of a wealthy
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
family of the
Bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...
of the city of Pest. Klára Prückler's uncle was Ignác Prückler (1809-1876), founder and owner of the "''Ignácz Prückler, Hungary's first rum, liqueur and champagne factory''", the first Champagne and liqueur factory of the Kingdom of Hungary founded in 1834 in Budapest. József Lenz was famous 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 ...
between the two World Wars, not only for his wealth, but also for his persistent struggle and activities to protect Hungarian products during the Great Depression. Thanks to him, Hungarian products became known in Central Europe, and as a result of his activities, the economic crisis became more bearable in Hungary. In this lands the welfare situation of maids was exemplary. For example, in
Nyékládháza Nyékládháza is a small town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, northern Hungary, from county capital Miskolc. History The area has been inhabited since ancient times; archaeological finds include an Avar cemetery. The villages Mezőnyék and ...
, they built 25 modern flats in high-rise, reinforced concrete houses that they eventually got after long years of service at the company. He built the Roman Catholic neo-Gothic church in the village of Nyékládháza in 1943 and donating it to the people of the town. Gyula Czapik the Archbishop of Eger himself, who, after the ceremony, handed over the "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Order of Honor" to Jozsef Lenz. On the other hand, he gave scholarships to several students of the Budapest Piarist High School (This initiative was known as the "Lenz József Foundation"). The bankruptcy of the country in the early 1930s put import trade in Hungary in a difficult position. In the case of Turkey and Greece, severe compensations had to be made. 95% of the imports were handled by József Lenz. For four years, his company exported an average of a thousand horses a year to Turkey and Greece. In 1933, the Turkish Fig Producers' Association entered into an agreement with the Lenz Brothers for the import of citrus fruit to export 1,500 horses to Turkey in return for consignments of figs and other citrus fruits. Later, however, in 1934, the Lenz Brothers company was granted the right to supply artillery horses by the Turkish army. In 1937, József Lenz built his cold storehouse in
Budaörs Budaörs (; ; , or ; ) is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. Location A suburb of Budapest, the town lies among the Buda and Csiki hills and the Tétény plateau in the Budaörs-basin. The dramatic ''Törökugrató' ...
, mainly for storing Hungarian peaches. In summer, apricots, plums, etc. used to pre-cool exports. In winter, however, apples were stored in it, averaging 100 wagons a year. He became the greatest promotor and defensor of the famous apricot production in the city. In 1939, immediately after the outbreak of World War II, the Lenz company imported large quantities of important colonial goods such as cocoa beans, pepper, coffee, and tea to Hungary. This provided the care for many months. With stocks running out and at the end of 1941, without foreign exchange, he made compensations for the importation of these items that others could not do without a similar license in principle. At the same time, it also provided a significant part of the country's copper sulphate supply. In 1941, the Lenz Company generated more than one million
Swiss francs The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) i ...
in net currency for the National Bank by selling Turkish citrus fruits in Switzerland, such as delivering raisins to chocolate factories. He farmed on his 800-acre cadastral acre estate in Nyékládháza for years; He had an orchard of 300 acres in the same place. Two wagons a month exported fattened cattle from Nyékládháza; The sale of Yorkshire sows was already advertised in the newspaper in 1926. József Lenz also owned land in Bükkaranyos, where it had 54 cadastral holdings, in Kesznyét, where it had 935 kh, and Debrecen-Pacon, where it had 281 kh. József Lenz had a total of 1,475 cadastral moons in four settlements. József Lenz' daughter was
Klára Lenz Klára Mária Hermina Lenz (30 June 1924, in Budapest – 16 February 2013, in Madrid) was a Hungarians, Hungarian Gobelins Manufactory, Gobelin tapestry artist who emigrated to Venezuela during World War II, and in 1950 moved to Colombia. She wa ...
(1924–2013) a Hungarian Gobelin tapestry artist, landowner who emigrated to
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
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 ...
. She was the wife of the Hungarian nobleman Endre Farkas de Boldogfa (1908–1994), Major of the
General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
of the Hungarian Armies 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 ...
, who hailed from the noble family
Farkas de Boldogfa The Farkas de Boldogfa family, (in Hungarian: "''boldogfai Farkas család''"; in German: "''Farkas von Boldogfa''"), is the name of a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family. Their members were landowners that occupied diverse relevant role ...
of the
Zala county Zala (, ; ; ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia (Koprivnica–Križevci County, Koprivnica–Križevci and MeÄ ...
; he was the son of dr.
István Farkas de Boldogfa Dr. István Farkas de Boldogfa (July 11, 1875 – January 6, 1921) was a Hungarian nobleman, jurist of the Kingdom of Hungary, supreme chief magistrate of district of Sümeg ( Hungarian: ''főszolgabíró'') in the county of Zala. Life Born ...
(1875–1921),
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
, supreme chief magistrate of district of
Sümeg Sümeg () is a town in Veszprém county, Hungary. Sümeg is mostly known for Sümeg Castle. It is north of Lake Balaton. Twin towns – sister cities Sümeg is twinned with: * Aichtal, Germany * Sovata, Romania * Tapolca Tapolca (; ) is a t ...
(''főszolgabíró'') in the county of Zala, and the noble lady Erzsébet Persay de Persa (1885—1913). After the Second World War József Lenz moved with his family to Switzerland where he lived for four years. During his stay there, his youngest son Franz was born in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
. Later József Lenz moved with his family first to Venezuela, then he moved to Colombia. He died March 14, 1965, in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
, Colombia.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenz, Jozsef Hungarian Roman Catholics 1897 births 1965 deaths Hungarian emigrants to Colombia