Landlord, Member of the Upper House, Imperial Chamberlain, patron of art.
The descendent of the wealthiest Hungarized Armenian family in Banat County. Maria Theresa conferred to his ascendants the (confirmed) noble title. He studied law. In 1840 he requested the county assembly the permission to travel in order to “acquire beautiful knowledge”, and he left for Western Europe. In 1841 he became chief administrative officer of Temes county (today Timiş county, Romania) in 1848 he is major of the Hungarian army, than the commander of the national guard in Pest. After the revolution he was compelled to leave the country, his numerous estates were confiscated. In 1852 he married Mária Marczibányi de Puchói and Csóka. He was pardoned and in 1858 he became count of the Austrian Empire and in March 1874 Hungarian count as well. In 1858 he was appointed ambassador of the Parliament.
On his estates he introduced modern farming, he developed the rice production in Banat on his estates in Topolya and Denta (today Topola and Denta, Serbia) He moved his summer residence from Beodra (today Novo Miloševo, Serbia) to the castle owned by his family in Banat, which hosted an impressive collection of art. He asked Painter Elek Samossy to found a gallery of art (1862-63) and brought most of the collection of paintings of her mother’s family from Linz here. The furniture for his castle was bought during his travelling in the West, and he bought some of the furniture from Beodra to Bánlak (today Banloc, Romania). He was interested in literature and arts, he sponsored schools and churches. He was in good relationship with Ferenc Liszt’s. His castle in Budapest was also famous for its art collection.
In 1881 (after French pattern) he introduced the celebration of the maiden to whom it was awarded the wreath of roses (which meant that each year he gave in marriage a maiden each and sponsored by the virtue-foundation.) Following his ascendants’ example, he donated 400000 Forints to the Hungarian Academy of Science, 8000 Forints to the Retirement Fund of the National Theatre, 5000 Forints to the Conservatory in Pest, 2000 Forints to the library of the museum, 2000 Forints for the building of the Cathedral. He also donated a considerable amount of money to the building of the temple in Jerusalem. When crown prince Rudolf was born, he founded the Karátsonyi-prize for literature from the interests of his 100000 Forints charity fund. Member of the Upper House, he was given several titles: Imperial Royal Chamberlain, Inner Secret Counsellor, and also several orders: the Order of the Iron Crown, the Pius order, the Grand Cross of the Gregory-order, the Holy Sepulchre order, the Mariannus order.
He was for a long time the MP of Csákova district (today Ciacova, Romania). He was the member of the History and Archeological Society from Southern Hungary, he supported the Temesi Lapok and sponsored the Secondary High-School for modern languages and sciences. As he was getting old, he retired from the public life, he went to the French Riviera, to Carlsbad and then to Buziásfürdő (today Buziaş, Romania) to cure his illness. It was here that he died. He was buried next to his wife in the cemetery of Kamernica (today Kamernica , Serbia).
He had nine children but he left most of his estate to his son Jenő (1861, Beodra – 1933, Budapest), he did not entailed his property to his first born child. Count Jenő followed his father’s footsteps, he studied law in Lovain in Belgium, and at the Economic Academy in Magyaróvár.
He developed his estate in Banat County into a model farm: he bought a rice-huller miller, machinery for the distillery and for the laboratory from the Nederland’s. He built rally-track railway on his estates, installed a telephone, founded a fishery, he farmed on his holding in Solymár-Vörösvár. He had a wood-working factory. In 1890 he was appointed Imperial Royal Chamberlain, after 1896 he was the MP of the district of Zichyfalva and was a member of the water-conservancy committee. Grand master of the Maltese Order of Knighthood, he was given the Order of the Iron Crown and the Grand Cross of the Spanish Order of Charles
III. During his trips to Africa and Western Europe he spent a lot, and he came back with valuable objects. In his Castle in Bánlak he built a pavilion for the ethnographic collection (among which there was a mummy). He founded an amusement park, he bought rare plants, he had a large library and he gave a considerable amount of money for charity. In 1896 in his palace in Budapest he organized a party where he hosted the Royal Family, and in 1908 he received the visit of King Alfonse and his wife who were visiting Hungary. He was landowner, aristocrat, and an active politician.
After the First World War he lost most of his estates (he liked the one he had in Bánlak most), the optant law-suit lasted long, to cover his debts his palace in Buda was sequestrated, and his famous art collection was auctioned. The Spanish King intervened to help him pay off his debts. To handle the situation regarding his estate in Bánlak he went to Temesvár in January 1933 (he litigated with the Romanian Royal Family for a part of his collection and for his estate). He died a few months later, his adoptive son liquidated the furnishing of the partially returned castle.
