Individual Details
Boldizsár Batthyány
(1538 - 11 Feb 1590)
Boldizsár Batthyány was born in 1538, the son of Christoph Batthyány 'the Elder' and Erszebet Svetkovics. On 27 January 1566 he married his former childhood playmate Dorottya Zrinski, daughter of the hero of Szigetvár, Nikola IV Zrinski, ban of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, and Katalin Frangepan de Veglia. Boldizsár and Dorottya had a son Ferenc who would have progeny, and two daughters Dorottya and Katharina.
Boldizsár and Dorottya lived mainly at Castle Güssing, in the south of the Austrian region of Burgenland. On 30 June 1524 a great-uncle of Boldizsár, the ban of Croatia Ferenc I Batthyány (1497-1566) had been given Castle Güssing by his childhood friend Lajos II, king of Hungary and Bohemia, as reward for Ferenc's heroic defence of the fortress of Jaicza against the Turks. From that time on Güssing became the main residence and ancestral castle of the Batthyánys, progressively enlarged and fortified against the Turkish enemy, who overran it several times.
Despite his poor health, Boldizsár was active in the wars against the Turks. He was promoted to general by Emperor Ferdinand I, and in recognition of his achievements (among others he defended the fortress of Kanicza in 1578 with 3000 cavalry, and he defeated the pasha of Sárvár) Rudolf II appointed him district governor and lord high steward, and the representative of the palatine of Hungary in his absence. He was cupbearer at the coronation of Maximilian II and Rudolf II.
Boldizsár was a humanist and highly cultured for his time. He spent his early years in Vienna, then studied in Paris, Padua and again Paris. He converted to the Protestant faith in 1569, and in 1570 he became a Calvinist (his wife's family had converted to Protestantism much earlier). Güssing became a centre for the Reformation in West Hungary. Boldizsár closed the Augustinian monastery there and opened a high school in its place. In 1576 he appointed Stephan Beythe as court preacher and school teacher at Güssing.
A man of many interests, Boldizsár was a serious bibliophile. By collecting thousands of books and manuscripts he laid the foundation for the valuable monastery library in Güssing. He started a small orchestra of Turkish prisoners and himself enjoyed playing the lute.
The Dutch botanist Carolus Clusius was active at the Viennese court. When Rudolf II, the son of Maximilian II, dismissed all officials of Protestant belief in 1576, Boldizsár called Clusius to Güssing, where he studied plants from Asia Minor, acquired from Turkish prisoners, which were still unknown in Hungary (such as tulips and chestnuts). While in Güssing, Clusius wrote his important work _Stirpium Nomenclator Pannonicus,_ the first Austrian botanical study, which was printed in 1585 by the Protestant travelling printer Hans Manlius who was also active in Güssing. The books printed by Manlius contributed critically to the propagation of Protestantism in the area ruled by the Batthyánys.
The religious tolerance shown by the Batthyánys was conducive to the survival of Protestantism in Burgenland in the face of the dominance of Catholicism in Austria until modern times. Judaism was also encouraged, for example in the Jewish municipality in Stadtschlaining, whose synagogue is used today as a library. Croatians were encouraged to settle in Burgenland; over time they developed their own variant of the Croatian language.
Boldizsár died on 11 February 1590. His grandson Adam (1610-1659), who was Catholic, founded a Franciscan monastery in Güssing.
Boldizsár and Dorottya lived mainly at Castle Güssing, in the south of the Austrian region of Burgenland. On 30 June 1524 a great-uncle of Boldizsár, the ban of Croatia Ferenc I Batthyány (1497-1566) had been given Castle Güssing by his childhood friend Lajos II, king of Hungary and Bohemia, as reward for Ferenc's heroic defence of the fortress of Jaicza against the Turks. From that time on Güssing became the main residence and ancestral castle of the Batthyánys, progressively enlarged and fortified against the Turkish enemy, who overran it several times.
Despite his poor health, Boldizsár was active in the wars against the Turks. He was promoted to general by Emperor Ferdinand I, and in recognition of his achievements (among others he defended the fortress of Kanicza in 1578 with 3000 cavalry, and he defeated the pasha of Sárvár) Rudolf II appointed him district governor and lord high steward, and the representative of the palatine of Hungary in his absence. He was cupbearer at the coronation of Maximilian II and Rudolf II.
Boldizsár was a humanist and highly cultured for his time. He spent his early years in Vienna, then studied in Paris, Padua and again Paris. He converted to the Protestant faith in 1569, and in 1570 he became a Calvinist (his wife's family had converted to Protestantism much earlier). Güssing became a centre for the Reformation in West Hungary. Boldizsár closed the Augustinian monastery there and opened a high school in its place. In 1576 he appointed Stephan Beythe as court preacher and school teacher at Güssing.
A man of many interests, Boldizsár was a serious bibliophile. By collecting thousands of books and manuscripts he laid the foundation for the valuable monastery library in Güssing. He started a small orchestra of Turkish prisoners and himself enjoyed playing the lute.
The Dutch botanist Carolus Clusius was active at the Viennese court. When Rudolf II, the son of Maximilian II, dismissed all officials of Protestant belief in 1576, Boldizsár called Clusius to Güssing, where he studied plants from Asia Minor, acquired from Turkish prisoners, which were still unknown in Hungary (such as tulips and chestnuts). While in Güssing, Clusius wrote his important work _Stirpium Nomenclator Pannonicus,_ the first Austrian botanical study, which was printed in 1585 by the Protestant travelling printer Hans Manlius who was also active in Güssing. The books printed by Manlius contributed critically to the propagation of Protestantism in the area ruled by the Batthyánys.
The religious tolerance shown by the Batthyánys was conducive to the survival of Protestantism in Burgenland in the face of the dominance of Catholicism in Austria until modern times. Judaism was also encouraged, for example in the Jewish municipality in Stadtschlaining, whose synagogue is used today as a library. Croatians were encouraged to settle in Burgenland; over time they developed their own variant of the Croatian language.
Boldizsár died on 11 February 1590. His grandson Adam (1610-1659), who was Catholic, founded a Franciscan monastery in Güssing.
Events
| Birth | 1538 | ||||
| Marriage | 25 Jan 1566 | Countess Dorottya Zrinyi | |||
| Death | 11 Feb 1590 |
Families
| Spouse | Countess Dorottya Zrinyi (1550 - 1588) |
| Child | Baron Ferenc Batthyány (1577 - 1629) |