Count Ladislaus Esterházy de Galánta (31 December 1626 – 26 August 1652) was a Hungarian noble, son of

Nikolaus, Count Esterházy Baron, later Count Nikolaus Esterházy de Galántha () ( Galanta, 8 April 1583 Großhöflein, 11 September 1645) was the founder of the West-Hungarian noble House of Esterházy which became one of the grandest and most influential aristocratic ...

, who served as

Palatine of Hungary The Palatine of Hungary ( or , , ) was the highest-ranking office in the Kingdom of Hungary from the beginning of the 11th century to 1848. Initially, Palatines were representatives of the monarchs, later (from 1723) the vice-regent (vi ...

. He was a general in the Imperial Army and fought against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Life

His older brother, István Esterházy died in 1641, as a result Ladislaus succeeded his father as head of the

Esterházy family The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, durin ...

in 1645. He married Eleonóra Batthyány, daughter of Imperial and Royal Chamberlain Ádám Batthyány, in 1650. However, the marriage remained childless, as Ladislaus was killed in the Battle of Vezekény, along with three other members of the family. He was succeeded by his younger brother

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

as Count Esterházy of Galánta and inherited the family's vast wealth and landholdings at the age of 17. Paul later became the 1st Prince of Galánta.

Legacy

The four Esterházy brothers were buried on 26 November 1652 in the crypt of Nagyszombat's University Church (today: ''Trnava, Slovakia''). The battlefield was marked by a 5 metre tall obelisk commemorating the victory and the sacrifice of the four brothers, erected in 1734. In 1896 it was replaced by the memorial which is still visible — a white travertine pedestal with a bronze sculpture of a lion crushing a Turkish battle flag. The pedestal bears a Latin inscription that reads: “Hold on, traveller, and read!“.

References

Sources

* Martí, Tibor
''Gróf Esterházy László (1626–1652). Fejezetek egy arisztokrata család történetéhez''
PhD Dissertation,

Pázmány Péter Catholic University Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE) ( (''PPKE'')) is a private university in and near Budapest, Hungary, belonging to the Catholic Church in Hungary, Catholic Church and recognized by the state. While PPKE takes its name after an insti ...

(PPKE), 2013. * Martí, Tibor: "Count László Esterházy: The Military Career of a Young West Transdanubian Aristocrat". In: ''Identity and Culture in Ottoman Hungary''. Eds. Fodor, Pál–Ács, Pál. Berlin, 2017. pp. 123–139. , - ! colspan="3" style="background: #ACE777; color: #000000" ,

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladislaus, Count Esterhazy 1626 births 1652 deaths Hungarian soldiers Esterházy family Counts of Hungary Hungarian military personnel killed in action 17th-century philanthropists Lord-lieutenants of a county in Hungarian Kingdom