Tibor Székely's memorial plaque

A few houses away from the Lutheran church stands the birthplace of Tibor Székely, a Jewish explorer, Esperantist, writer and world traveler. The memorial plaque hanging on it is a gift from the city of Subotica, as Tibor Székely spent a significant part of his life there, and he also found his final resting place there. The trilingual memorial plaque - in Slovak, Esperanto and Serbo-Croatian (they "forgot" to include the text in Tibor Székely's native language) - reads: Birthplace, Tibor Székely, 1912 - 1988, Szepesszombat - Szabadka, writer, traveler, gift from the city of Szabadka 1995.6.26. ; Tibor Székely was born in Szepesszombat on February 14, 1912. His native language was Hungarian, but he used 22 languages throughout his life, of which eight were conversational (Serbo-Croatian, German, English, French, Esperanto, Spanish, Italian) until the end of his life. He was a member of the Esperanto Language Academy and an honorary member of the Universal Esperanto Association (UEA). His mother was Szidónia Hajmann, his father was Lipót Székely, and his siblings were Piroska, Antal and Katalin. His father was a veterinarian. His family moved several times during his childhood, first to Csene (present-day Romania) and then to Kikinda. After elementary school, he graduated from high school in Nikšić, Montenegro, in 1929. He studied law in Zagreb, where he graduated in 1934. He chose law school at his father's request. "Since there was no faculty for globetrotters, I had nothing to oppose my father's choice," he confessed. His life story shows that he was not interested in law. He worked as a film dramaturge in Zagreb, while studying sculpture and painting, and also worked as a journalist. Five years later, he went to Argentina, which is actually when his great travels began, during which, with minor interruptions, he visited or lived for longer or shorter periods in more than seventy countries on five continents. His wife was Mary Reznik, of Russian origin. He met her during his trip to Brazil. She was his traveling companion in exploring the Amazon rainforest. Tibor and Mary married in 1946. They had a son, who was named Diego Reinaldo Székely. Unfortunately, his relationship with his wife deteriorated, and they officially divorced in 1955. In the meantime, he found a home in Belgrade, and finally settled in Subotica. The City Museum was the director between 1972-1976. In 1987, he received a lifetime achievement award, the October Prize of the City of Subotica. "It was a pleasant surprise for me because I didn't expect it. It's good that I got it from the city I chose as my home: Subotica..." - he said. Museology, ethnography and languages were more important to him than his original profession, law. He completed his studies in museology in Zagreb, and even earned a master's degree. ; He contributed greatly to the popularization of the Esperanto language, and was the president of the Esperanto Association for a long time. During his travels, he brought back objects from all over the world that he noticed and liked. He took pictures of them and inventoried them. During his expeditions, he made numerous films, audio and visual materials, which captured the world that was interesting to him. He is also very significant as a writer, as he published thirty volumes, which were translated into many languages. Tibor Székely, the explorer, Esperantist, writer and world traveler, died as a citizen of Subotica on September 20, 1988, at the age of 76.