A History of Central Eastern Europe

WALDBOTT-KASTÉLY
Széchenyi István tér 10
This 18 th century Baroque palace was built for
ANTAL PETAL. In the following century it
became property of WALDBOTT family headed
by BARON WALDBOTT at that time.
VAROSHAZA
Kossuth Lagos tér 5
The Varoshaza (county administration) was built in the 18 th century to house the government
offices, a function it continues to this day. It is near Szent Istvan’s Catholic Church and now
houses the mayor's office and the Kazinczy Archives. (Photo on p9, adjacent court house on p10)
ZEMPLÉNVÀRMEGYEI KASZINÓ Dózsa György utca 11
The Casino Society of Zemplén,
an early progressive reform
movement, was housed in this
1827 Classical building. City Hall
located here temporarily in 1849
& 1850 while a new one was
readied. It is now home of the
FERENC KAZINCZY Museum.
In 1827 GRÓF ISTVÁN SZÉCHENYI
(1791 – 1860; mentioned in
conjunction with NAGY-TORONYA)
organized the Nemzeti Kaszinó, a
forum for the patriotic Hungarian
nobility. The Kaszinó played an
important role in the reform movement by providing a safe place for political discussions to
occur. Ironically, one of the institutions foremost members, LAJOS KOSSUTH (1802 – 1894),
became a lifelong enemy of SZÉCHENYI. The area had been a hotbed of revolutionary and radical
thought with revolts against HABSBURG rule beginning here in the 17 th century.
The careers of KOSSUTH and FERENC KAZINCZY (1759 – 1831), both famous Hungarian patriots,
got their start here. KOSSUTH studied at the Piarist College that now bears his name and became
the “regent-president” of the short-lived, independent REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY in 1848 and ‘49.
KAZINCZY, one of the foremost reformers of the Hungarian language, writer (Tövisek és virágok
in 1811, and others) and renowned translator (making many major works available in the
Hungarian language for the first time) had his estate in SZÉPHALOM in the 18th century. He
worked in the Zemplén megye archives.
The significance of the town grew and it replaced ZEMPLÉN as the seat of government in the mid-
18 th century. Eastern Europe got a make-over in the 1920 Treaty of Trianon. Hungary lost 72%
of its land and 64% of its population.
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