Ernő Bethlenfalvy

* Késmárk, February 21, 1880 – † Hunfalva, June 18, 1955 / economist, nature diver, professional writer ; ; Although he was born in Késmárk, he spent a significant part of his life in Hunfalva, where he had estates (they were “nationalized” in 1945 due to his Hungarian origin). He was a researcher of the fauna of the Tatra Mountains, and as a nature conservationist he worked hard to establish the Tatra National Park. He published his articles in Hungarian, German and Slovak language journals (e.g. Vadászlap, Karpathen-Post, Die Karpathen, Lovec, Szepesi Híradó, Aquila, Sylvia). He participated in the editing of the Slovak encyclopedia Naša zverina (Our Wild Animals) published in 1935 (he also wrote 20 entries for it). He was also involved in archaeological research, and in 1925 he donated his collection and the volumes in his library on the subject to the Carpathian Museum in Poprad. As an economist, he primarily dealt with agricultural issues. His study entitled The Agricultural Situation of Szépes County, published in 1912, is valuable. His German-language work on the fauna of the High Tatras (Die Tierwelt der Hohen Tatra, 1937) is considered one of the best volumes published on the subject. He was buried in Késmárk. His son, József Bethlenfalvy (Hunfalva, 1906 – Bratislava?), was an architect and mountaineer. He completed his secondary school studies in Késmárk. He obtained his architectural diploma in Zurich and also completed a photography course. Already as a high school student, he enjoyed visiting the mountains and tried mountaineering. During his student years in Switzerland, he regularly climbed the peaks of the Alps. Returning to his homeland, he climbed many Tatra peaks, primarily with Alfréd Grósz (Lőcse). He also regularly photographed and later filmed the Tatra Mountains, their flora and fauna. He also immortalized what he saw in paintings. His articles were published in the journals Turistaság és Alpinizmus and Die Karpathen. After 1945, he settled in Bratislava.