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Coat of arms of Princes of Batthyány-Strattmann

The House of Batthyány (Hungarian: [ˈbɒccaːɲi]) is an ancient and distinguished Hungarian noble magnate family. The Head of the family bears the title Prince (Fürst) of Batthyány-Strattmann, while other members of this family bear the title Count/Countess (Graf/Gräfin) Batthyány von Német-Ujvar respectively. A branch of the family (Croatian: Baćan) was notable in Bosnia and Croatia as well, producing several Bans (viceroys) of Jajce in the 15th and 16th century and later Bans of Croatia in the 16th, 17th and 18th century.

History

The Batthyány family can trace its roots to the founding of Hungary in 896 CE by Árpád. The family derives from a chieftain called Örs.^[1]^[2]^[3] Árpád had seven chieftains, one by the name of Örs, which later became Kővágó-Örs. In 1398, Miklós Kővágó-Örs married Katalin Battyány. King Zsigmond (Sigismund) gave Miklós the region around the town of Battyán (now called Szabadbattyán) and he took the name Batthyány (lit. "from Battyán"). The family were first mentioned in documents in 1398 and have had their ancestral seat in Güssing in the Austrian region of Burgenland since 1522.

In 1570, Boldizsár Batthyány transformed the seat of the family, Güssing, into the center of Protestantism in the region. His descendant Ádám Batthyány (1610–1659), however, was Catholic and founded a Franciscan monastery in Güssing. On 3.1.1764 Count Karl Josef Batthyány was created Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. As he didn't have surviving sons, his princely title was inherited by his nephew Count Adam Wenzel (1722–1787). Count Lajos Batthyány became the first Prime Minister of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and was executed in Pest in 1849. After 1945, the Batthyány family's property was largely expropriated in Hungary and other countries under Communist rule, although they retained their property in Austria.

Modern era

Currently, the family has about 60 name bearers who live mainly in Austria, but also in Hungary, Germany, United States and Uruguay.^[4] The current head of the family is Prince Laszlo Edmund Christof Maximilian Eugen Anton von Batthyány-Strattmann, son of Prince Laszlo Pascal von Batthyány-Strattmann (1938–2015) and his wife Veronika Hauschka von Treuenfels (born 1942). Prince Laszlo lives with his wife and children in Austria.

Notable members

Boldizsár Batthyány (1543–1590), baron, well-educated humanist, became Protestant in 1570, protector of the botanist Carolus Clusius

Ádám Batthyány (1610–1659), count, Founder of the Franciscan monastery in Güssing
Adam II. Batthyány (1662–1703), Ban of Croatia
Lajos Batthyány (1696–1765), Hungarian Court Chancellor and Palatine of Hungary.
Károly József Batthyány (1698–1772), Austrian field marshal and later educator of Joseph II, Ban (viceroy) of Croatia
József Batthyány (1727–1799), bishop
Ignác Batthyány (1741–1798), bishop and founder of the Batthyaneum Library, Alba Iulia, now Romania
Kázmér Batthyány (1807–1854), politician, minister in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
Franciska Batthyány (1802–1861), born Széchenyi
Lajos Batthyány (1807–1849), executed, first Hungarian Prime Minister
Count József Sándor Batthyány (1777–1812), his father
Gusztáv, 5th Prince Batthyány-Strattmann (1803–1883), English sportsman, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder
Edmund Gustavus, 6th Prince Batthyany-Strattmann (1826–1914)
Ludovika Olga Karoline Philippine Antonia Batthyany (1869–1939)
Count Tivadar Batthyány (1859–1931)
László, 7th Prince Batthyány-Strattmann (1870–1931), ophthalmologist, beatified in 2003
Ervin Batthyány (1877–1945), anarchist and school reformer
Countess Margit Batthyány (1911–1989) de:Margit von Batthyány, lived until the end of World War II in Castle Rechnitz (Burgenland) where she was engaged in breeding horses and maintaining a reconvalescence home for members of the SS. Her involvement in the infamous Rechnitz massacre^[5] is still controversial.
Sacha Battyhány Swiss journalist and writer, author of the book "A Crime in the Family" about the participation of Comtesse Margit Battyhány and other members of the family in the Rechnitz massacre^[6]