Millennium plaque

Teréz Egenhoffer had a diorite memorial column measuring 80x60x8 cm and weighing 150 kg erected on the summit on 17 July 1896. A day later, the general assembly of the MKE in the Silesian House proposed renaming the summit to Franz Joseph Peak and asked for the monarch's consent. The monarch graciously agreed. In 1896 or 1897, another, smaller marble tablet was placed on the summit with the inscription "Ferencz-József Peak 1896". At the end of September 1900, Kazimierz Brzozowski, Stanisław Eljasz-Radzikowski-Klemens Bachleda and Jędrzej Obrochta, together with mountain guides, broke the smaller memorial tablet and threw it towards the Batizfalvi Valley. Bachleda was only a passive participant in the vandalism, as his job was to guard the group so that no one would surprise them. The Poles left the Millennium Monument alone, only finding the new name of the peak offensive. The Millennium Monument was covered with stones by BETE members so that it was not visible at all. Some say it was to protect it from vandalism, others say it was out of dislike. The guides, who knew where the monument was, did not disturb the stonework, only removing the stones on festive occasions or during inspections. ; The following gilded inscription was engraved on the monument: ; "In memory of the thousandth anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian Nation, in the 48th year of the wise reign of Franz Joseph I, 1896 Here is the highest altar in our Millennium Country Our Prayer Asks the Heavens for a New Thousand to Be Born. Hungarian Carpathian Association" ; The millenary memorial column was damaged in 1919, smashed in July 1920 - according to Ivan Bohuš, by Slovak patriots - and pushed down, also in the direction of the Batizfalvi Valley. In the last week of July, mountain guide Pál Csizák returned from his hike with the sad news that the monument had been knocked down and could no longer be found in its place. On August 9, mountaineers Richárd Schwicker and Jenő Egerváry came across a piece of the plaque in the ravine (Wala ravine) that runs from the Tetmajer horhos into the Batizfalvi Valley, but they were unable to bring it down. Traces found at the site of the monument indicated that it had been blown up with a grenade. The fragments of the plaque were placed in the Tatra Museum in Felka in 1930, from where they soon disappeared, probably not recognizing its historical significance (or indeed recognizing it!). Alfréd Grósz searched for years for a piece of the Millennium Monument erected by Teréz Egenhoffer on the Gerlachfalvi peak, until finally his efforts were crowned with success and he found an inscribed piece of the diorite block. He hid it for years, then delivered it to Gyula Komarnicki, who passed it on to Zoltán Tálos, who later passed it on to Ákos Neidenbach. In August 2003, Gusztáv Bácskai systematically scanned the Wala ravine and found another piece.