Lajos Batthyány
Encyclopedia
Count Lajos Batthyány de Németújvár was the first Prime Minister of Hungary. He was born in Pressburg
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...

 (modern Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...

, also known to Hungarians as Pozsony) on 10 February 1807, and was executed by firing squad in Pest on 6 October 1849, the same day as the 13 Martyrs of Arad
The 13 Martyrs of Arad
The 13 Martyrs of Arad were the thirteen Hungarian rebel honvéd generals who were executed on October 6, 1849 in the city of Arad, Kingdom of Hungary , after the Hungarian Revolution was ended by troops of the Austrian Empire and Imperial Russia, who reestablished Habsburg rule over the area...

.

Career

His father was Count József Sándor Batthyány (1777–1812), his mother Borbála Skerlecz (died 1834). At an early age, he moved to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 with his mother and his brother after his parents' divorce. Batthyány had a private tutor, but his mother sent him to a boarding school and Battyhány rarely saw his mother again.

Early years

At the age of 16 Batthyány finished his studies at boarding school and attended the Academy in Zágráb (now University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...

, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

). In 1826 he took a tour of duty
Tour of duty
In the Navy, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country....

 in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 for four years, where he was promoted to lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 and got his law degree
Law degree
A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...

.

In 1830 he became a hereditary peer
Hereditary peer
Hereditary peers form part of the Peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over seven hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, but since the House of Lords Act 1999 only ninety-two are permitted to do so...

 in the Upper House
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...

 in Hungary and took his seat in the Parliament, but at this time Battyhány was not a politician by nature.

In December 1834 he married Antónia Zichy
Antónia Zichy
Countess Antónia Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeő was a Hungarian noblewoman and wife of Lajos Batthyány who served as Prime Minister of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. They married on 4 December 1834....

 (daughter of Károly Zichy and Antónia Batthyány). Their children were: Amália Batthyány (1837–1922), Ilona Batthyány (1842–1929) and Elemér Batthyány (1847–1932). Batthyány's friend said that Antónia (his wife) encouraged him to take on larger responsibilities in politics.

Batthyány, the Reform politician

Batthyány became more involved after the 1839–1840 diet
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...

 in Pozsony and was the Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...

. He drew up a reform plan for them. Batthyány advised employing stenographers to record verbatim the proceedings of the Upper House starting in 1840.

Batthyány agreed with István Széchenyi
István Széchenyi
Széchenyi committed suicide by a shot to his head on April 8, 1860. All Hungary mourned his death. The Academy was in official mourning, along with the most prominent persons of the leading political and cultural associations...

's views on economics and politics. At the beginning of the 1830s Batthyány was one of the people who promoted horse breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

 in Hungary. Later they expanded into other animal breeding and established the Association of Hungarian Economy. Batthyány, following Széchenyi, supported breeding silkworms: he planted more than 50,000 mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....

 trees on his farm to cultivate them. The Vas shire county and the Economics Association of Szombathely were founded with Batthyány's help.

At the start he agreed with Széchenyi that the new noblemen and aristocrats had to lead the new reform movement, but Batthyány's views were much closer to that of the nobility. Because of this Batthyány tried to bite his tongue when dealing with Széchenyi and Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Regent-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a freedom fighter and bellwether of democracy in Europe.-Family:Lajos...

. From 1843 onward he started to work with Kossuth.

In the 1843–1844 parliament Batthány was the Leader of the Opposition for the entire parliament, and criticised the Habsburg Empire's internal affairs and foreign policy.

After the dissolution of parliament
Dissolution of parliament
In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...

 Batthyány moved to Pest and in 1845 he was elected as the chairman of the Central Election Office. He had an important role in the other economic associations and set up the (roughly: "Defence society" ). On 15 March 1847 an amalgamation of the Hungarian Leftist movements (the Maverick Party) was founded and Batthyány became its first President.

Batthyány supported Kossuth both morally and financially. Kossuth became the representative for Pest}} in the 1847 diet. After this Batthyány was the Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House while Kossuth had the same role in the Lower House
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...

.

The Batthyány Government


Batthyány was part of the delegation to the Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria
Ferdinand I of Austria
Ferdinand I was Emperor of Austria, President of the German Confederation, King of Hungary and Bohemia , as well as associated dominions from the death of his father, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, until his abdication after the Revolutions of 1848.He married Maria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child...

. They insisted Hungary's government be supreme in its territory. On 17 March 1848 the Emperor assented and Batthyány created the first Hungarian Diet. On 23 March 1848, as head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

, Batthyány commended his government to the Diet.

The first task of the government was to work out the revolution's policies. After these were agreed, his government started to act on 11 April 1848. At that time the internal affairs and foreign policy of Hungary were not stable, and Batthyány faced many problems. His first and most important act was to organise the armed forces and the local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...

s. He insisted that the Austrian army, when in Hungary, would come under Hungarian law, and this was conceded by the Austrian Empire. He tried to repatriate conscript soldiers from Hungary. He established the Organisation of Militiamen, whose job was to ensure internal security. In the May he started to organise the independent Hungarian Revolutionary Army and recruited men into it. Batthyány took control of the Organisation of Militiamen until Lázár Mészáros
Lázár Mészáros
General Lázár Mészáros , was the Minister of War during the 1848 Hungarian Revolution....

 returned. At the same time he was Minister of War.

Batthyány was a very capable leader, but he was stuck in the middle of a clash between the Austrian monarchy and the Hungarian separatists. He was devoted to the constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...

 and aimed to keep the constitution, but the Emperor was dissatisfied with his work. On 29 August, with the assent of parliament, he went with Ferenc Deák
Ferenc Deák
Ferenc Deák de Kehida , , was a Hungarian statesman and Minister of Justice. He was known as "The Wise Man of the Nation".-Early life and law career:...

 to the Emperor to ask him to order the Serbs to capitulate and stop Jelačić, who was going to attack Hungary. At the same time Batthyány offered Jelačić that Croatia could separate peacefully from Hungary. Batthyány's efforts were unsuccessful—even though the Emperor formally relieved Jelačić of his duties, in practice Jelačić and his army invaded Hungary on 11 September 1848.

So Batthyány and his government resigned, except for Kossuth, Szemere and Mészáros. Later, on Palatine Stephen
Archduke Stephen, Palatine of Hungary
Palatine Stephen of Hungary or Archduke Stephen Francis Victor of Austria was a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.-Biography:...

's request, Batthyány became Prime Minister again. On 13 September Batthyány announced a rebellion and requested that the Palatine lead them. However the Palatine, under the Emperor's orders, resigned and left Hungary.
The Emperor didn't recognise the new government on 25 September. He also invalidated Batthyány's leadership and nominated Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg
Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg
Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg Austrian soldier and statesman, was born in Mór , Hungary. He held the military rank of Feldmarschallleutnant....

 as the leader of the Hungarian army. But the rebels killed him on 28 September 1848 in Pest. Meanwhile, Batthyány travelled again to Vienna to seek a compromise with the Emperor.

Batthyány was successful in his hurried effort to arrange the Hungarian Revolutionary Army: the new army defeated the Croatians on 29 September at the Battle of Pákozd
Battle of Pákozd
The Battle of Pákozd was a battle in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, fought on 29 September 1848. It was one of the important battles of the Revolution...

.

Batthyány realised that he could not compromise with the Emperor, so on 2 October he resigned again and nominated Miklós Vay as his successor. At the same time Batthyány resigned his seat in parliament.

Resignation

As an ordinary soldier, Batthyány joined József Vidos' army, and fought against general Kuzman Todorović, but on 11 October 1848 he fell off his horse and broke his arm.

After Batthyány recovered he was again elected as a politician. Batthyány didn't want the Parliament to move to Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :...

. Because of his proposal the Parliament sent a delegation (including Batthyány himself) to General Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz to meet with him as the Parliament wanted to know Windisch-Grätz's purpose. But the general didn't want to meet with Batthyány, only with the other members of the delegation.

On 8 January 1849 Batthyány went back to Pest, where he was captured at the Károly Palace and imprisoned in the Budai barracks. When the Hungarian army was nearer Pest, Batthyány was taken away to Pozsony, Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...

 and Olmütz (now Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...

, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

). The Hungarians tried to rescue him many times, but Batthyány asked them not to. Batthyány insisted that his actions were legitimate and that the court had no jurisdiction.

Execution

On 16 August 1849 in Olmütz the Military Court sent Batthyány to his fate. At first they wanted to confiscate his possessions and give him a prison sentence, but under pressure from Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg
Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg
Prinz Felix zu Schwarzenberg was an Austrian statesman who restored the Habsburg Empire as a European power following the disorders of 1848....

 and the Austrian Empire they instead sentenced Batthyány to death.

The Hungarians carried Batthyány to Pest, because they hoped that Haynau (in the name of the Emperor) would give him mercy, but Haynau sentenced him to hang
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...

. In her last visit, Batthyány's wife smuggled a small sword into the prison. Batthyány tried to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 by cutting his jugular veins, but he failed the attempt. Because of the scars on his neck, the court changed the sentence to execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...

.

On the evening of 6 October Batthyány was drugged and because of this he walked to the New Building. He had lost much blood because of his suicide attempt so that two people had to escort him. He was relieved to see that there were no gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...

. Johan Kempen, the commander of the military district in Pest and Buda knew that it was impossible to execute Batthyány by firing squad in his drugged state, but he sought no delay, so decided to shoot him in the head. Batthyány knelt in front of the firing squad and shouted: ("Rejoice, my homeland, come on you huntsmen!").

Batthyány's funeral was in the city centre, in the vault of the Greyfriars Church. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, in 1870 his remains were moved to the newly-built mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...

 in the Kerepesi Cemetery
Kerepesi Cemetery
Kerepesi Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Budapest...

.

Works

Batthyány's parliamentary speeches are preserved in contemporary diaries and political newspapers. His essay on growing sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...

 was printed in the periodical in 1842.

Monuments

  • Batthyány's Mausoleum in the Kerepesi Cemetery
    Kerepesi Cemetery
    Kerepesi Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Budapest...

     (Budapest, Hungary), built by Albert Schickedanz
    Albert Schickedanz
    Albert Schickedanz was an Austro-Hungarian architect and painter in the Eclectic style....

     at the request of the town of Székesfehérvár
    Székesfehérvár
    Székesfehérvár is a city in central Hungary and is the 9th largest in the country. Located around southwest of Budapest. It is inhabited by 101,973 people , with 136,995 in the Székesfehérvár Subregion. The city is the centre of Fejér county and the regional centre of Central Transdanubia...

  • Batthyány's portrait by Miklós Barabás
    Miklós Barabás
    Miklós Barabás was a Hungarian painter. He his mostly known for his portrait paintings....

  • Batthyány Örökmécses (roughly, "monument") in Budapest
  • Batthyány Square
    Batthyány Square
    Batthyány Square is a town square in Budapest. It is located on the Buda side of the Danube directly opposite the Hungarian Parliament Building...

     and Batthyány Street in Budapest. In 2008 a statue of Batthyány was erected on Batthyány Square.
  • The Batthyány Lajos Trust (founded in 1991)
  • The Batthyány Association's medallion issued in 1994, designed by László Szlávics, Jr.
    László Szlávics, Jr.
    László Szlávics a Hungarian sculptor and medallic artist. He publishes his works under the names László, ifj. Szlávics or Laszlo Szlavics, Jr.-Biography:...


Ancestors

Count Lajos Batthyány de Németújvár's ancestors in three generations
Count Lajos Batthyány de Németújvár Father:
Count József Sándor Batthyány de Németújvár
Paternal Grandfather:
Count Miksa Batthyány de Németújvár
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Count Zsigmond Batthyány de Németújvár
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Rozália von Lengheim
Paternal Grandmother:
Magdolna Flässer
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Mother:
Borbála Skerlecz de Lomnicza
Maternal Grandfather:
Ferencz Skerlecz de Lomnicza
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Maternal Grandmother:
Rozália Kis de Nemes-Kér
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Sándor Kis de Nemes-Kér
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Zsófia Daróczy

External links

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