István Széchenyi
On the 14th of June 1809, a seventeen-year-old Hungarian noble named István Széchenyi stood on the battlefield of Raab. He fought with distinction during the Napoleonic Wars as part of the Austrian army. The young man had entered military service just two years prior to this clash. His family belonged to an old and influential noble house in Hungary. They maintained traditional loyalty to the House of Habsburg throughout their history. Széchenyi spent his childhood moving between Vienna and the family estate at Nagycenk. His father was Count Ferenc Széchényi, who founded both the Hungarian National Museum and Library. This aristocratic background provided the foundation for his future public life.
Between September 1815 and 1821, Széchenyi traveled extensively across France, England, Italy, Greece, and the Levant. He studied institutions in these countries while establishing important personal connections abroad. The rapid modernization of Britain fascinated him more than any other observation he made. He also admired the Canal du Midi in France deeply enough to begin envisioning improvements for navigation on the lower Danube. The Count quickly recognized the growing gap between the modern world and his native Hungary. For the rest of his life, he remained a determined reformer promoting development. Baron Miklós Wesselényi from Transylvania offered early political support to the Count before their relationship weakened later.
In 1825, Széchenyi gained wider reputation by supporting Pál Nagy's proposal to establish the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He donated the full annual income of his estates that year, which amounted to 60,000 forints. His example brought donations of 58,000 forint from three other wealthy nobles who followed suit. They successfully gained Royal approval for the academy through this collective effort. Széchenyi wanted to promote the use of the Hungarian language within this new institution. He became the Academy's first Vice-president with the Palatine serving as President. In his address to the Academy, he reminded countrymen of their duty to support other countries under the crown of St. Stephen. This milestone marked a turning point in his life and the broader reform movement.
Széchenyi established the Óbuda Shipyard on the Hungarian Hajógyári Island in 1835 with help from the Austrian ship company Erste Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft. This facility became the first industrial scale steamship building company in the Habsburg Empire. He envisioned his program for Hungary within the framework of the Habsburg monarchy throughout his career. The Count became the leading figure of the Danube Navigation Committee by the early 1830s. That committee completed its work over ten years while regulating water flow along the lower Danube. Previously the river had been dangerous for ships and inefficient as an international trading route. Széchenyi was the first to promote steamboats on the Danube, the Tisza, and Lake Balaton. He successfully lobbied in Vienna to gain Austrian financial and political support for these projects. During this period, he traveled to Constantinople and built up relations in the Balkan area. He supported construction of the Chain Bridge between Buda and Pest as a permanent structure connecting the two cities.
His relations with Lajos Kossuth were not good because Széchenyi always thought Kossuth was a political agitator who overplayed his popularity. In March 1848, he accepted the portfolio of ways and communications under Lajos Batthyány's administration. He feared disruption from revolution despite accepting the role. His 1841 pamphlet People of the East responded directly to Kossuth's reform proposals published earlier that year. Széchenyi believed economic, political and social reforms should proceed slowly and with care. He warned against potentially disastrous violent interference from the Habsburg dynasty if reforms moved too fast. Kossuth rejected the role of aristocracy and questioned established norms of social status entirely. He supported democracy while rejecting primacy of elites and government control. In 1885, Kossuth labeled Széchenyi a liberal elitist aristocrat publicly. Meanwhile Széchenyi considered Kossuth to be a democrat without reservation. Széchenyi based his economic policy on laissez-faire principles practiced by the British Empire. Kossuth supported protective tariffs due to the comparatively weak Hungarian industrial sector at the time.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 developed in directions contrary to Széchenyi's way of thinking about Hungary's future. In early September 1848, his nervous state brought depression and a complete breakdown. His doctor ordered him to the private Asylum of Dr. Gustav Görgen in Oberdöbling for treatment. With his wife's care, he gradually recovered enough to resume writing but did not return to politics. He wrote the book Önismeret about children, education and pedagogy during this period. He also wrote Ein Blick as a study of deep political problems facing Hungary at the beginning of the 1850s. Still suffering from depression, Széchenyi committed suicide by a gunshot to his head on the 8th of April 1860. He was sixty-eight years old when he died. All Hungary mourned his death including the academy which entered official mourning. The most prominent persons of leading political and cultural associations attended his funeral including counts József Eötvös, János Arany, and Károly Szász.
A statue of him was unveiled on the 23rd of May 1880 in Budapest to honor his memory publicly. Also in 1880, another statue commemorating him was unveiled in Sopron following similar ceremonies. In 1898, the chain bridge over the Danube received the name Széchenyi Lánchíd in his honour officially. A survey by Median and Elemér Hankiss at the end of 2007 ranked him first among Hungarian historical figures. In 2008, the István Széchenyi Chair in International Economics was privately endowed at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. Since 1990, Széchenyi's portrait has been featured on the 5000 Hungarian forint banknote with new designs appearing in 1999. A Hungarian made-for-TV movie portrayed his life from 1820 to 1860 entitled The Bridgeman. An István Széchenyi Postage stamp was issued by Hungary on the 1st of July 1932 honoring him in Famous Hungarians series. Another stamp showed the Chain Bridge in backdrop of his portrait issued on the 3rd of May 1966. Asteroid 91024 Széchenyi discovered by astronomers Krisztián Sárneczky and László Kiss at Piszkéstető Station in 1998 bears his name.
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Common questions
When was István Széchenyi born and what was his early military experience?
István Széchenyi stood on the battlefield of Raab on the 14th of June 1809 as a seventeen-year-old Hungarian noble. He fought with distinction during the Napoleonic Wars as part of the Austrian army after entering military service two years prior to this clash.
How did István Széchenyi contribute to the establishment of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1825?
In 1825, István Széchenyi gained wider reputation by supporting Pál Nagy's proposal to establish the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He donated the full annual income of his estates that year which amounted to 60,000 forints to help gain Royal approval for the academy.
What infrastructure projects did István Széchenyi lead in Hungary during the 1830s?
István Széchenyi established the Óbuda Shipyard on the Hungarian Hajógyári Island in 1835 with help from the Austrian ship company Erste Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft. He also supported construction of the Chain Bridge between Buda and Pest and promoted steamboats on the Danube, the Tisza, and Lake Balaton.
Why were the political relations between István Széchenyi and Lajos Kossuth so poor?
The political relations between István Széchenyi and Lajos Kossuth were not good because Széchenyi always thought Kossuth was a political agitator who overplayed his popularity. Széchenyi believed economic reforms should proceed slowly while Kossuth rejected the role of aristocracy and questioned established norms of social status entirely.
When and how did István Széchenyi die after suffering from depression?
István Széchenyi committed suicide by a gunshot to his head on the 8th of April 1860 at the age of sixty-eight years old. His death occurred after he suffered a complete breakdown in early September 1848 and spent time recovering at the private Asylum of Dr. Gustav Görgen in Oberdöbling.