Etelka Szapáry

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Etelka Szapáry ( lithograph by Josef Kriehuber )

Marianna Adelheid (Etelka) Countess Szapáry de Szapár, Muraszombat et Széchy-Sziget (born September 26, 1798 in Ödenburg , Kingdom of Hungary ; † November 10, 1876 in Szőlőske, Austria-Hungary ) was a Hungarian noblewoman.

Life

Etelka Szapáry was the younger daughter of Count Peter Szapáry (* 1766, † 1827), the scion of a well-known Hungarian noble family and his wife Julianna Csáky de Körösszegh et Adorján (* ~ 1766, † ~ 1838). Her father was a large landowner and was appointed royal chamberlain in 1792 . He was an avid patron of culture and science. The mother was the youngest daughter of Count Emmerich Csáky (* 1728, † ~ 1805), who had the castle built in Tőketerebes .

Since Etelka Szapáry had no brothers, after the early death of her older sister she became the heir to a huge family fortune, which consisted of numerous lords and estates in Transylvania as well as the counties in Semplin , Zala , Ödenburg and Eisenburg . Etelka proved to be a skilful manager of the family estates and was one of the richest women in the then Kingdom of Hungary.

Etelka was raised in the strict Catholic faith by her mother, Countess Julianna Csáky, and encouraged to thrift. The Christian faith played an important role in her whole life and so she maintained the charitable support of the Catholic Church throughout her life. In 1838, in memory of her mother, she donated a precious chalice to the Roman Catholic parish church of Tőketerebes , in whose crypt her mother was buried. Because of her charity she was appointed star cross lady by the imperial court , it was the highest honor a woman could achieve at the Viennese court. As a rule, this high honor was only intended for women from the nobility.

In 1819 Etelka married Count Károly Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka (born February 29, 1792 in Rosenau , † August 3, 1845 in Brussels ). The marriage took place against the will of their families. As a result, they had to live under very modest circumstances in a small castle in Oláhpatak for the first few years of their marriage , as they received no support from their families.

The marriage had four children:

  • Cornelia (* 1820 in Kaschau , † 1836 ibid.)
  • Emanuel (born March 3, 1821 in Košice, † April 23, 1891 in Gorizia ) ∞ Gabrielle Pálffy de Erdőd (born November 17, 1833 in Pressburg , † March 22, 1914 in Vienna )
  • Gyula (* March 8, 1823 in Košice , † February 18, 1890 in Volocsa ) ∞ Katharina Kendeffy de Malomvíz (* 1830 in Klausenburg (?), † May 14, 1896 in Budapest )
  • Aladár (born February 16, 1827 in Ofen , † April 2, 1903 in Budapest) ∞ Baroness Leontine de Wenckheim (born May 9, 1841 in Ofen, † December 18, 1921 in Somogyvár, Somogy County )

After her mother's death in 1838, Etelka became the sole heir to a huge fortune, which after her death passed into the possession of the Andrássys . Her husband died in Brussels in 1845 while on a business trip. Since then, Etelka has managed all of the family's goods very successfully.

Coat of arms of the married couple Károly Andrássy and Etelka b. Szapáry at her manor in Homenau .

Etelka's sons developed into passionate Hungarian patriots and took part in the revolution of 1848/1849 . After the revolution was crushed, they had to flee abroad. Etelka Szapáry, who enjoyed a considerable reputation as a star cross at the Austrian imperial court and also maintained close relationships with Empress Elisabeth , made sure that her sons were allowed to return to Hungary in 1860.

Etelka Szapáry succeeded like few women in successfully combining affection for their loved ones with the reality of life. She was both: a loving wife and mother, and at the same time an excellent housekeeper and administrator of her manorial estates. Etelka Szapáry died on November 10, 1876 at her retirement home in Szőlőske, her remains were transferred to Tőketerebes and laid to rest in the crypt of the parish church there.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Date of baptism
  2. Szőlőske ( Slov . "Viničky") is a small town in the Tőketerebes district , in the former Semplin county with 505 inhabitants (2017)
  3. Etelka had an older sister Julianna (* 1793)
  4. The Star Cross Order was an Austrian order of women, which was founded in 1668 by Empress Eleonore and which has existed to the present day.
  5. Count Károly worked in the reform movement with Hungarian reformers (e.g. István Széchenyi ) and was active in the "Schutzbund" to protect local industry.
  6. Cornelia died as a young girl and was never married.
  7. According to other sources, he was born in Oláhpatak , in Gömör-Kishont County.
  8. Somogyvár is a small town with 1756 inhabitants (2015), south of the town of Lengyeltóti in Somogy County .