Tomb of Baron János Jeszenák

Baron János Jeszenák of Királyfia (Bratislava, 22 January 1800 – Pest, 10 October 1849) was a politician, government commissioner, chieftain, martyr of the 1848–49 revolution and war of independence, Lutheran church district inspector, great-grandfather of János Esterházy. ; Baron János Jeszenák (IV.) was born on 22 January 1800 in Bratislava. His family took their first name from the village of Királyfia, located near Somorja in Bratislava County, where they still had estates in the 1800s. His father János (III.), was a Lutheran church inspector, and in 1808 he donated his books and "field tapestry" collection to the national museum. He had a sister named Lujza. (born 1803), who married Count Sámuel Teleki. ; The wife of János Jeszenák was Count Alojzia Forgách (born in 1810). They had five children: János became a lieutenant of the imperial and royal hussars, Sándor died at the age of 21, and Béla died at just a few years old, so the family became extinct in the male branch. His daughters were Lujza (Gyuláné Draskóczi) and Gizella. Gizella married Count István Esterházy (1822–1899), who served as a captain of the Hungarian army during the War of Independence, then became a member of parliament and finally the governor of Bratislava County (1875–1889). Through this family branch, János Jeszenák's great-grandson is the Hungarian martyr politician János Esterházy. ; He finished his schooling in Bratislava, then went on a two-year trip abroad: he also visited Italy, France and England. During his stay in London, on July 19, 1821, he participated in the At the coronation of King George, accompanied by Prince Pál Antal Esterházy, ambassador, later Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs. ; Since he was not attracted to official work, in 1822 he took over his father's estate in Senice in Nyitra, where he farmed, where he lived in a familiar environment with his serfs. He participated in the Nyitra county assemblies, where he joined the opposition. His views were basically close to the ideas of István Széchenyi, and he even corresponded with the count. ; He was the chief inspector of the Lutheran parish in Nyitra, and from 1841 he was the inspector of the Lutheran and schools district on the Danube in place of Count Károly Zay. He held this position until his death. He participated in the important parliaments of the Reform Era as an opposition member of the Board of Governors, where he supported Széchenyi's idea of a bridge to be built between Buda and Pest, or the proposals of the Estates for a new building for the National Museum, and then embraced the cause of the Védegylet. In 1839/1840 he became closer acquainted with Count Lajos Batthyány, and it is likely that his relationship with Széchenyi deteriorated from that point on. ; In 1848, as a reliable opponent of the reform, he was appointed as the Lord Governor of Nyitra County, then as a plenipotentiary government commissioner and as a government commissioner of the troops fighting against the insurgents in the Highlands, on the proposal of the Minister of the Interior Bertalan Szemere. As a government commissioner, it can be considered his merit that he managed to prevent the Slovak uprising of September 1848: on September 26 at Szenice, and then on September 28 between Ótura and Miava, the mobilized national guards and two companies of the 34th (Prince of Prussia) Infantry Regiment inflicted a severe defeat on the insurgents. ; “The measures of the government commissioner, which forced the commander of Lipótvár to hoist the Hungarian imperial flag, are gladly and fully appreciated by the National Defense Committee.” ( Letter of thanks from the OHB) It is also thanks to Jeszenák’s activities that Lipótvár remained in Hungarian hands: he took tough action against the hesitant Colonel Karl Bibra and the four Romanian border guard companies stationed here, which led to the hoisting of the Hungarian flag on October 16, 1848. The castle held out like this until February 1849. ; After that, he tried to deploy significant forces against the troops of Lieutenant General Balthasar Simunich who were invading from Moravia, but on December 16, the Hungarian armies suffered a decisive defeat in the Battle of Nagyszombat and the cs. kir. Lieutenant General began the siege of Lipótvár on December 20. Jeszenák first retreated to Érsekújvár, then in January 1849 transferred his headquarters to the Komárom fortress. In July 1849, he joined the Felduna army led by Artúr Görgey and marched with it to Arad. Finally, during the surrender of August 13, he was captured by the Russians and handed over to the Austrians together with other Hungarian politicians. After the defeat of the War of Independence, he was sentenced to death by a blood court on charges of treason and was executed in Pest on October 10, 1849, together with the government commissioner László Csány. ; His last thoughts before his execution were recorded by the Lutheran pastor József Székács: ; “ "I do not pity myself, but you, I will be free if you are executed, you will be in eternal slavery until death, and the homeland will be in eternal slavery." ” ; “ "You will be called upon to bear witness to me and my final hour before the homeland. Tell those to whom it concerns that I did not regret what I did even at the hour of my death, that I did not deny any of the principles for which my nation fought with so much sacrifice and bloodshed." ” ; “ "In any case, I die in the belief that the fate of the homeland will change for the better, because conscience must awaken in Europe, and this will force foreign nations to do for our nation what they either could not do this time or failed to do." ” ; "I send my fatherly blessing to my children, and my request that they remain on the path of virtue. If possible, adapt their views to the prevailing views, but if they cannot reconcile with them, let them retreat and preserve the peace of their souls." ; His earthly remains were only placed in 1867 after the compromise in the family crypt in Bratislava, which is located in Sector VIII of the Kecske-kapu Lutheran Cemetery. His tombstone was inaugurated in 1869. It was created by sculptor Károly Alexy (Poprád, February 8, 1816 – Budapest, May 20, 1880). On the tombstone - in addition to biographical data - a poem by Pál Gyulai can be read.