The award ceremony for the competition The Role of the Batthyány Family in Halting the Ottoman Conquest, organised by the Hungarian Batthyány Foundation, was held on 5 October 2026 at the Budapest University Catholic Secondary School. First prize was awarded to Csongor Cziráki, an intern at the Fraknói Research Group, for his paper entitled Common Interests, Shared Struggle: The Relationship between Ádám Batthyány (I), Captain-General, and Bishop György Széchényi in the Light of Their Correspondence (Közös érdekek, közös küzdelem. Batthyány (I.) Ádám főkapitány és Széchényi György püspök kapcsolata levelezésük tükrében) . At the ceremony, Róbert Hermann presented and commended the entries, while the awards were presented by Margit Batthyány-Schmidt and Ádám Boldizsár Batthyány.
In his paper, Csongor Cziráki examined the personal relationship between the captain-general and the Bishop of Veszprém, which was often marked by ups and downs, drawing on their correspondence preserved in the Batthyány family archives. He also explored their cooperation in protecting the local population and in the wars against the Ottomans. The paper further shed light on the bishop’s turbulent relations with local fortress commanders, particularly László Pethő of Kiskomár.
The winning paper can be read here.
Downloads
