THE HISTORY OF THE FESTETICS FAMILY OF KESZTHELY (1739–1944)

The Festetics family is of Croatian origin. The first Festetics to settle in Hungary, Pál I Festetics, likely moved in 1634 to Németújvár, to the Batthyány estate, due to the devastation caused by the Ottomans and in hope of a better life. His son, Pál II (1639–1720), was able to establish the family’s wealth through his participation in successful battles against the Ottomans and through advantageous marriages.

The founder of the Keszthely branch of the Festetics family was Kristóf Festetics (1696–1768). He had a successful legal and administrative career and served, among other positions, as a judge of the Royal Court of Seven (Hétszemélyes Tábla), the highest judicial body. In 1739, he purchased estates in Keszthely, making it the center of the Festetics domain. In 1745, he began the construction of the family palace and laid the foundation of its later famous library with his book collection. To promote the development of Keszthely, he founded a hospital, supported the Franciscan pharmacy, and settled craftsmen in the town.

Kristóf’s son, Pál III Festetics (1722–1782), inherited the Keszthely entailed estate after his father’s death. After completing his legal studies, he became a legal and financial advisor to Maria Theresa. Among other things, he drafted the Urbarium of 1767, which regulated the situation of the peasantry. In recognition of his services, he was granted the title of count by the queen in 1772. To support the development of Keszthely, he founded an elementary school and a three-grade secondary school, and during his time the town received the right to hold weekly markets. He also had the family’s first large ship, the salt carrier Kristóf, built. Among his children, besides György I, notable figures include Imre Festetics, who published “The Genetic Laws of Nature” in 1819, and Julianna Festetics, the wife of Ferenc Széchényi. Their son was István Széchenyi, one of the most significant figures in Hungarian history.

György I Festetics (1755–1819), the eldest son of Pál III, was one of the most prominent members of the family. Fluent in several European languages, he acquired extensive knowledge and education during his studies. After a short administrative career, he chose a military path and served in the Graeven Hussar Regiment. In 1790, together with his fellow officers, he submitted a petition to the Hungarian Diet regulating the life of Hungarian regiments. The petition did not achieve its goal, and he was forced to leave the army. In 1791, he returned to Keszthely, where he introduced modern estate management and in 1797 founded Europe’s first higher educational institution of agriculture, the Georgikon, which was maintained by the family at its own expense until 1848. As a patron of Hungarian culture and education, he supported publishing, established the aristocratic library in the Keszthely palace (still preserved in its original form), founded the Reformed secondary school in Csurgó, and created the Helikon Festivities, hosting writers and poets of the era on five occasions between 1817 and 1819. He also had the surroundings of Lake Hévíz landscaped and established bathhouses. To develop navigation on Lake Balaton, he set up a shipbuilding workshop, where, among others, the Phoenix, the first scheduled sailing ship on Lake Balaton, was built in 1797.

His son, László Festetics (1785–1846), continued his father’s cultural mission, maintained the Georgikon, and supported public libraries, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, horse racing in Pest, and Hungarian officer training. In 1828, partly due to his extravagant lifestyle and partly due to changing European economic conditions, the Festetics estate was placed under financial supervision. To promote transport and trade, he had a bridge built over the Zala River in 1837 and commissioned several large sailing ships.

László’s eldest son, Tasziló I Festetics (1813–1883), reached the rank of Lieutenant General of Cavalry during his successful military career. He supported the development of Keszthely and its surroundings, including the local fire brigade and the further development of Lake Hévíz.
His brother, György II Festetics (1815–1883), contributed significantly to the development of Hungarian agriculture after the War of Independence, including the revival of higher agricultural education in Keszthely. During the Compromise, he served as Minister besides the King in the Andrássy government between 1867 and 1871.

In 1911, Tasziló II Festetics (1850–1933), the son of György II, was granted the title of prince by Emperor Franz Joseph. Through his marriage to the Scottish princess Mary Victoria Hamilton, the Festetics family became related to European royal families. The palace acquired its present form during his time. He was a passionate hunter and horse breeder, and distinguished members of the Hungarian and European aristocracy attended his hunts. His racehorses achieved numerous successes on the racetracks of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Thanks in part to his support, the Keszthely secondary grammar school was founded in 1892. During World War I, the family maintained a 40-bed military convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. He continued the family’s patronage of culture, organizing a new Helikon Festivities in 1921 and donating land and building materials for the newly established Balaton Museum.

His wife, Princess Mary Hamilton, died in 1922. In her memory, he had a mausoleum built, completed in 1925. (Tasziló II was buried there in 1933, György III in 1941, and—upon reburial—György III’s wife, Countess Maria Haugwitz, in 1990.)

György III Festetics (1882–1941) received the princely title in 1933 after his father’s death. Before World War I, he served as a diplomat in Paris and London. During the war, he fought on the Serbian and later the Italian front, earning numerous decorations. He supported the spas of Hévíz and Keszthely and held a leading presidential role in the Balaton Association. From a young age, he owned a racing stable, and after the war, he actively participated in equestrian sports, although his horses did not achieve the same level of success as those of his father. His son, György IV Festetics (b. 1940), inherited the princely title and the entailed estate in 1941 after his father’s sudden death. At the end of World War II, in September 1944, he left the country with his mother, Countess Maria Haugwitz.