István Koháry memorial column in Léván

The monument to István Koháry was erected at the site of his death in the battle against the Turks in the northern part of Léva. It was damaged by a tree falling in a storm, but was renovated in 2001. ; István Koháry was born in 1616 in a still unknown place. His mother was Borbála Kazy, and his father was Péter Koháry, who was granted the rank of baron in 1622. Little István was orphaned early, and his guardian was Dániel Esterházy. Already at a young age, he distinguished himself with the fighting skills inherited from his predecessors. As soon as he became an adult, he took over his father's inheritance and settled in Csábrág. In 1647, he was appointed captain-general of Szécsény Castle, and in 1657, he was appointed hereditary captain-general of Fülek. From 1661, he became the lord governor of Hont County. In 1664, Leopold I appointed him lieutenant general, captain of the Léva castle, as the forward bastion of the mining towns and their outposts. On July 19, 1664, he participated in the so-called Battle of Léva as part of the imperial army led by de Souches, at the head of his noble troops. He fought heroically, but right before Léva, at the beginning of the battle, he was hit by a Janissary bullet, which caused him to fall from his horse. His foot got caught in the stirrup and his horse dragged Kohary, bleeding from seven wounds, to the border of Garamkeszi. Only here did he manage to catch his horse. His body was transported to Garamszentbenedek, and from there to the Csábrág castle on the third day. The hero's son, also called István, had a family tomb built in the Garamszentbenedek abbey church in 1690, and his father's ashes were placed here. He was also the one who had a memorial column erected at the site of his wound in 1713 and a chapel built on the Garamkesz border, where his horse had dragged him. The Latin inscription on the memorial column reads in Hungarian as follows: “István Koháry, who fought gloriously under Léva, died for his country, his prince and God – in the great battle with the Turks – on July 19, 1664. Pray for him that our hero may rest in peace.”; The street in Léva closest to the memorial column has been called István Koháry Street since 1890. In the 1930s, the István Koháry Scout Troop also operated in Léva.