Individual Details
Count György V. Thurzó de Bethlenfalva
(1 Sep 1567 - 24 Dec 1616)
- Palatine of Hungary.
- Count 10 April 1606.
- György was born on 1 September 1567 in Ljetava, the son of Baron Ferencz Thurzó de Bethlenfalva and Katalin Zrinski, daughter of the ban of Croatia, Nikola IV Zrinski. The Thurzó family was one of the most powerful feudal clans in Greater Hungary, which then included what is now Slovakia. The family's wealth was founded on trade and mining. Like his father, György was a fervent adherent to and propagator of the Lutheran faith, as well as of Slovakian culture. At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries he acquired and extensively renovated two beautiful buildings in Slovakia, the former royal fortress of Orava, and the Renaissance mansion of Bycta where he lived.
With his first wife Zsófia Forgách de Ghymes et Gacs, György had a daughter Judith who would have progeny. György's second wife was Erzsébet Czobor, daughter of Baron Imre Czobor and Borbála Perényi de Nagy-Ida. Their children Borbála, Katalin, Imre and Ilona are recorded as having progeny.
In 1609 György was appointed palatin of the kingdom of Hungary. In this role he became caught up in the saga of his cousin Elisabeth Bathori (1560-1614), who was accused of having tortured and killed a large number of young girls for the sake of her vanity, including girls from the nobility whom she was accused of enticing to join her. When Emperor Matthias learned of the suspicions, he filed a formal complaint before the Hungarian Parliament. György was sent by Parliament to investigate, and he arrived at her castle of Csejte with a detachment of foot soldiers on 30 December 1610. He arrested Elisabeth and condemned her to live out her life in a tower of her castle in which the windows had been bricked up and only a small opening left for meals to be passed to her. She died there in 1614.
Towards the end of his life György welcomed gypsies to settle in his lands and ply their smith's trade, which was vital for the Hungarian nobility in this time of war. He died 24 December 1616. His gravestone, which lies in the chapel of his fortress of Orava, is one of the most important pieces of Renaissance statuary in Slovakia.
Source: Leo van de Pas
- Count 10 April 1606.
- György was born on 1 September 1567 in Ljetava, the son of Baron Ferencz Thurzó de Bethlenfalva and Katalin Zrinski, daughter of the ban of Croatia, Nikola IV Zrinski. The Thurzó family was one of the most powerful feudal clans in Greater Hungary, which then included what is now Slovakia. The family's wealth was founded on trade and mining. Like his father, György was a fervent adherent to and propagator of the Lutheran faith, as well as of Slovakian culture. At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries he acquired and extensively renovated two beautiful buildings in Slovakia, the former royal fortress of Orava, and the Renaissance mansion of Bycta where he lived.
With his first wife Zsófia Forgách de Ghymes et Gacs, György had a daughter Judith who would have progeny. György's second wife was Erzsébet Czobor, daughter of Baron Imre Czobor and Borbála Perényi de Nagy-Ida. Their children Borbála, Katalin, Imre and Ilona are recorded as having progeny.
In 1609 György was appointed palatin of the kingdom of Hungary. In this role he became caught up in the saga of his cousin Elisabeth Bathori (1560-1614), who was accused of having tortured and killed a large number of young girls for the sake of her vanity, including girls from the nobility whom she was accused of enticing to join her. When Emperor Matthias learned of the suspicions, he filed a formal complaint before the Hungarian Parliament. György was sent by Parliament to investigate, and he arrived at her castle of Csejte with a detachment of foot soldiers on 30 December 1610. He arrested Elisabeth and condemned her to live out her life in a tower of her castle in which the windows had been bricked up and only a small opening left for meals to be passed to her. She died there in 1614.
Towards the end of his life György welcomed gypsies to settle in his lands and ply their smith's trade, which was vital for the Hungarian nobility in this time of war. He died 24 December 1616. His gravestone, which lies in the chapel of his fortress of Orava, is one of the most important pieces of Renaissance statuary in Slovakia.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 1 Sep 1567 | ||||
| Marriage | 1592 | Baroness Erzsébet Czobor de Czobor-Szentmihály | |||
| Death | 24 Dec 1616 | ||||
| Marriage | Baroness Zsófia Forgách de Ghymes et Gács |
Families
| Spouse | Baroness Zsófia Forgách de Ghymes et Gács (1568 - 1590) |
| Child | Countess Judit Thurzó de Bethlenfalva (1585 - 1637) |
| Spouse | Baroness Erzsébet Czobor de Czobor-Szentmihály ( - ) |
| Child | Countess Katalin Thurzo de Bethlenfalva ( - ) |
| Spouse | Baroness Erzsébet Czobor de Czobor-Szentmihály ( - ) |
| Father | Baron Ferencz Thurzó de Bethlenfalva (1534 - 1574) |
| Mother | Countess Katalin Zrinyi (1548 - 1585) |
| Sibling | Countess Anna Thurzó de Bethlenfalva (1565 - ) |
| Sibling | Baroness Ágnes Thurzó de Bethlenfalva ( - ) |