György Lahner Memorial Column

György Lahner (Georg Lahner) was born in 1795, into a German-speaking, bourgeois family in Túróc County. He entered a professional military career: from 1812 he became an officer in the imperial army. In 1848 he offered his services to the Hungarian government. After a short service in the south, he was assigned to the Ministry of Defense of the independent Hungarian government. His task was to equip the new army and create an independent Hungarian military industry. Thanks to his excellent organizational skills and great dedication, he performed his work very successfully, even in difficult circumstances. It is also thanks to him that revolutionary Hungary was able to successfully organize its war of independence. Perhaps this success also led to his death. After the failure of the War of Independence, the general, who had by then risen to the rank of major general, was court-martialed and sentenced to death by hanging. Thus, Lahner became one of the 13 martyred generals of Arad. He was hanged on his birthday, October 6, 1849, the third to be executed. ; The birthplace of the heroic general was marked by the county of Túróc with a memorial column on the 50th anniversary of his execution, October 6, 1899. The truncated pyramid column stands on the pedestal of a simple, carved stone obelisk. The inscription on the column indicates that the birthplace of the heroic general once stood on this spot. Interestingly, the date of birth according to Lahner's inscription (October 22, 1795) differs from the October 6 accepted by historical works. The column also shows the general's profile in relief. At the bottom we can read a short poem: "Let us dare to fight for the past / To live and die / For the Hungarian homeland!"