Miklós Esterházy de Galántha

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Miklós Pál Esterházy

Miklós Pál Count Esterházy de Galántha (born December 5, 1839 in Vienna , Austria-Hungary ; † May 7, 1897 in Tata (German: Totis ), Komorn County , Austria-Hungary) was a large landowner, equestrian and founder of the Vienna Jockey Club . He was a member of the Hungarian House of Lords .

Life

Nikolaus Paul ( Hungarian Miklós Pál ) was the youngest son of Count Nikolaus Franz (Hungarian Miklós Ferenc ) (* 1804, † 1885) and his wife Maria Countess von Plettenberg - Mietingen (* 1809, † 1859).

He spent his childhood with his brothers in Vienna and Nordkirchen in Westphalia . He was the favorite child of his mother Maria von Esterházy, who bequeathed her personal legacy to Nordkirchen Castle. Little is known about his private life. He had two great hobbies: horse riding and theater.

Equestrian

Esterházy was an excellent and daring rider from his youth and so he developed into one of the most famous riders of his time. In 1869 he was the most successful gentleman rider on the European continent with 27 victories. He was committed to racing, which earned him the nickname "Sport-Niki".

His name was known in relevant circles far beyond the borders of the Danube monarchy . As an ardent and longtime admirer of the Empress Elisabeth , he was a welcome participant in the Empress's hunting parties. He became the preferred companion of the Empress on her riding hunts and was active as a "master" (leader) on numerous parforce hunts of the Empress in Gödöllö .

Nikolaus inherited Nordkirchen Castle in Westphalia from his mother . Here he set up the First Westphalian Thoroughbred Stud on the Schlossinsel in 1868 with other noble thoroughbred breeders, which was engaged in the breeding of race horses . At the end of the 19th century, he had the racing course laid out south of the west garden. Most recently he ran the stud, which was the largest racing stable in West Germany for several years, alone. When he died unmarried in 1897, Nordkirchen Castle fell to his Hungarian relatives, who, however, had no interest in the complex and therefore sold the entire property to Duke Engelbert Maria von Arenberg in 1903 .

Esterházy became one of the most important promoters of trotting in Austria-Hungary . At his suggestion, the Austrian Jockey Club was founded in Vienna on December 28, 1866 . The first general assembly in which Esterházy was elected president of the club took place on February 17, 1867. The club held various races; the first race took place on May 23, 1867 and the First Austrian Derby on May 21, 1868. In 1868 the Jockey Club merged with the Vienna Race Society, which owned the harness racing track in Freudenau . On May 15, 1870, the two new grandstands built according to plans by Carl von Hasenauer were opened. In 1886 the Graf Nikolaus Esterházy Memorial was held for the first time, and it continued to exist for many years.

Theater builder

Count Miklos Esterházy's private palace theater in Tata

Miklós Esterhazy's name is also associated with the construction of the last private castle theater in Hungary. As a famous rider, who also organized horse shows and derbies on his estate in Tata, he wanted to entertain his guests in the evening too, so he had a theater built on his estate that should accommodate two hundred seats. For this purpose, the farm buildings next to the pond were converted into a theater. The first theatrical performance took place on May 7, 1888. As a theater director he employed the painter and opera singer Béla Pállik . However, since he wanted to beautify the theater further, he commissioned the famous theater architects Fellner and Helmer to carry out further work. The young Gustav Klimt was appointed to design the walls ; the ceiling fresco was made by the Hungarian painter Árpád Feszty . Many prominent visitors from public life at the time visited the theater. After Esterhazy's death, there were no more performances in this theater. The building gradually fell into disrepair. In 1913 the building was demolished at the instigation of the Esterházy heirs. Today only a memorial stone reminds of this former pompous building.

Esterházy died unmarried on his estate, at Tata Castle (dt. Totis ) in Hungary, and was buried there too.

literature

  • Magyar Életrajzi Lexicon. Budapest 1981, ISBN 963-05-2498-8 , Volume 1, p. 449 (Hungarian)
  • Michaela and Karl Vocelka: Sisi: life and legend of an empress. Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-406-66089-4 , p. 81

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to the diary of his mother Countess Maria von Esterházy geb. Plattenberg was born in Vienna. His father was in England at the time. {{LWL archive office | Nordkirchen | Estate of Maria von Esterházy | No. 2 | Diary 1833-1845 || http: //www.archive.nrw.de/LAV_NRW/jsp/findbuch.jsp? ArchivNr = 451 & id = 2415 & tektId = 782 & bestexpandId = 778 }}
  2. ↑ The marriage took place on February 14, 1833.
  3. ↑ Nikolaus Paul had two older brothers: Pál Miklós (* 1834, † 1885) and Miksa Ernő (* 1837, † 1883)
  4. ↑ His older brother, on the other hand, was intended to be his father's inheritance. Maria von Esterházy born von Plettenberg describes in her diaries and in special memory books in great detail how her sons grew up, cf. z. B. Nordkirchen, estate of Maria von Esterházy, No. 3 diary of the three sons {{LWL-Archivamt | Nordkirchen | estate of Maria von Esterházy | No. 3 | 1844-1860 | http://www.archive.nrw.de/LAV_NRW/jsp/Stock.jsp?archivNr=451&tektId=782&expandId=778 }}
  5. ↑ Michaela and Karl Vocelka: Sisi: Life and legend of an empress. Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-406-66089-4 , p. 81
  6. ↑ Elisabeth was an excellent and daring rider from her youth who mastered all disciplines in the side saddle . In her time she was considered one of the best riders of her time worldwide.
  7. ↑ The branch of the von Plettenberg-Mietingen family died out with the death of Maximilian Friedrich (* 1771, † 1813) in the male line. By marrying his only daughter Maria, the rule of Nordkirchen passed into the possession of the Esterházys. Maria Esterházy, as the heiress, had the right to inherit her property. They did not go directly into her husband's possession. {{LWL Archive Office | Nordkirchen | Estate of Maria von Esterházy | No. 49 | Testament | 1859 | [1] }}
  8. ↑ a b Vienna History WIKI, Weblink
  9. ↑ Count Esterházy the last Hungarian theater builder (Hungarian, see web link [2] )
personal data
SURNAME Esterházy de Galántha, Miklós
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Esterházy de Galántha, Count Miklós Pál
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian landowner, equestrian, founder of the Vienna Jockey Club, member of the Hungarian House of Lords
DATE OF BIRTH December 5, 1839
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna , Austria
DATE OF DEATH May 7, 1897
Place of death Tata , Komorn County , Austria-Hungary