Imre Henszlmann

* 13 October 1813. Košice – † 5 December 1888. Budapest / art historian, architect, archaeologist, critic, writer, doctor, member of parliament, university professor, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences ; ; Henszlmann's ancestors came to Hungary from Württemberg at the beginning of the 16th century. One branch of the family settled in Bártfa, while the other branch chose Košice as its place of residence. His father was an ironmonger and general merchant, and his shop was in the house at 38 Fő utca, which was then on the corner of Forgács and Fő utca, which he bought from the Szirmay family. The shop, which survived until recently, was one of the oldest shops in Košice. However, today, it is in vain to look for it, as there is currently a shoe shop in its place. ; The house where Imre Henszlmann was born can be found in the shadow of the Košice Cathedral. The present-day appearance of the one-storey, tiled-roofed corner house, built in the first half of the 14th century in the western square wall of the Main Square, in a closed row of buildings, on a medieval-sized plot at the Cathedral, in a closed row of buildings, with an “L”-shaped ground plan preserving medieval details, is eclectic. Its main facade opens onto Erzsébet Street, which has seven axes. The eclectic plaster decorations have remained as the only remaining decoration of the building on the first floor. The ground floor shows a strong, modern reconstruction, which serves the “efficient” design of the shop windows of the shops operating here. ; He began his schooling in Košice, then continued in the Evangelical College of Prešov (Lajos Kossuth was also a student there) and in Bratislava. During his studies in Prešov, in 1827, the “Hungarian Language Development Society” was founded under the presidency of Imre Henszlmann, András Fáy, Ferenc Pulszky, Miklós Szentiványi and András Vandrak, and teacher Mihály Greguss. Henszlmann also began to study Hungarian here. ; He completed his medical studies at the University of Pest in 1833, continued in Vienna in 1835-36, took his final exams in Padua in 1837 and received his medical degree. However, the medical career did not attract him, and he increasingly turned his attention to the arts and antiquities. ; In 1838, he was back in Prešov where, together with his childhood friend Ferenc Pulszky, they studied the art and antiquities collection and library of the latter’s uncle Gábor Fejérvári. The works of Winckelmann and Lessing were primarily used for their theoretical studies. ; He gained practical knowledge in the Vienna Art Gallery, then in Italy and Germany. ; In 1839 he went to Bratislava with Ferenc Pulszky, who was then the national envoy of Sáros County. Here he married Baroness Mária Rosa von Rosenthal, born in Vienna. ; In 1841 he published his first Hungarian-language book, “Parallelism between ancient and modern artistic views and educations, with special regard to the development of art in Hungary”, which already indicated significant preparation and a new, sharper and more militant attitude. Ferenc Pulszky rightly called it the first Hungarian work on the philosophy of art. ; In 1848 he became the press secretary of Antal Pál Esterházy in Vienna. In 1849 he was imprisoned for his participation in the revolution, and then left for London and Paris. In Paris, III. With the support of Napoleon, his work "Théorie des proportions appliqués dans l’architecture" was published in 1860. Returning to Hungary, he participated in the restoration of the Košice cathedral in 1857-1863, the work of which was led by the architect Károly Gerster with the help of Lajos Frey. The cathedral received a colorful glazed tile roof in place of the old wooden shingles based on Henszlmann's plans. He and Károly Gerster later carried out excavations together on the site of the Eger castle cathedral. These are fine examples of the cooperation between two great natives of the city of Košice. ; Henszlmann initiated the excavations in Székesfehérvár and Kalocsa, which took place under his supervision, and he also described and published the results. In 1862, he traveled to Constantinople with his companions, the art collector Ferenc Kubinyi and the historian Arnold Ipolyi, to search for the Corvinas who had been taken away during the Turkish rule. The results of the expedition were extremely rich. A total of 14 original Corvina Codexes were discovered and transcribed in the library of the Eszki-Szeráj. Some of these codices were returned to the National Museum in Budapest as a gift from Sultan Abdul Aziz on the occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal, while others were gifted to Hungary by Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1877. ; From 1867 he was the first lecturer of the National Committee of Monuments. In 1873 he became a full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He wrote many studies and articles, and edited the periodicals Archeológiai Értesítő and Archeológiai Közlemények. ; Upon his death, the academy, the press, and the public expressed their regret over the great loss in warm commemorations. For the general assembly of the Museum Association of Upper Hungary in Košice, his friend, Viktor Myskovszky, wrote and delivered a beautifully characteristic memorial speech for the deceased scientist, some of whose thoughts are also valid for posterity: ; "Therefore, we accept Henszlmann's tradition with great gratitude, and we will preserve and cherish it with respect, and while this noble deed will serve as a good example for many, it will also encourage, inspire and stimulate us to further work and perseverance." ; Considering that Imre Henszlmann was an honorary citizen of the city of Košice, the city council meeting of December 7, 1888, ordered the chief notary Gyula Éder to send a wreath to his coffin. ; His grave is located in plot 34/2 of the Kerepesi-úti cemetery in Budapest. A street in the V. district of Budapest bears his name. ; A black granite plaque on his birthplace proclaims: "Dr. Imre Henszlmann, a fundamental worker in Hungarian art history, was born in this house on October 15, 1813." ; The memorial plaque was made with the help of the sculptor Aubram Walter from a public donation by the Upper Hungarian Museum Association, and was inaugurated on June 6, 1897. ; To this day, only this memorial plaque and the Historical Society bearing his name preserve his memory in Košice. Finally, here are some thoughts about Imre Henszlmann formulated by Viktor Myskovszky, which cannot be moved from their place and which most faithfully reflect the figure of Imre Henszlmann: ; "A joke lived in his eyes, but loyalty resided in his heart, truth in his mind and consolation on his lips. He was one of those who firmly believed in the final victory of good. He knew that this victory would still cost a great struggle, and regardless of the circumstances, he scourged the enemies of the ideal hard, bravely, and ceaselessly. - But in the centuries-long duel of good and evil, he always stood his ground with a cheerful spirit and never lost his strong faith in his certain triumph for a moment… ; We are proud of him, because he was ours, a native of our city…” ; ; His most important works: ; • Parallel between ancient and modern artistic views and educations (Pest, 1841) ; • On the old-German style churches of the city of Košice (Pest, 1846) this is the first Hungarian art history monograph in chronological order; • The Romanesque Church of Kisbény (Pest, 1862) ; • The Results of the Excavations in Székesfehérvár (Pest, 1864) ; • Guide to Art Archaeology, Volumes I-II (Pest, 1866) ; • Medieval Antiquities of Pécs, Volumes I-II (Pest, 1869-72) ; • Die Grabungen des Erzbischofs von Kalocsa (Leipzig, 1873) ; • A Brief Introduction to the Old Christian, Romanesque, and Transitional Style Monuments of Hungary (Bp, 1876) ; • The Antiquities of Levski (Bp, 1878) ; • The Pointed Arch Monuments of Hungary (Bp, 1880) ; ; A Brief Introduction to the Old Christian, Romanesque, and Transitional Style Monuments of Hungary: