family history

Owners of Bakta and Lórántháza

Bakta is first mentioned in the 13th century. At that time, of course, there was no sign of today’s castle. However, when discovering the history of a mansion it is important to know the basics. According to written records, the first owners of Bakta were the Károlyis. Lórántháza, called Lywder then, is first mentioned in 1323 in records. Some owners of the settlement in the 14th century were the Baktai family from Szabolcs County. Members of the family carried out significant work in Bakta and Lórántháza until the middle of the 16th century. One example is the erection of the Roman Catholic church in the 14th century, then its reconstruction in the 1510s. There are more data in connection with the owners of Bakta and Lórántháza in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is known that the Vay, Nyíri, Kölcsei families were part-owners beside the Baktai family. A record of 1479 proves that Matthias Corvinus gave a part of the land to the Petneházy family. Lórántháza was owned by the Lórántházi family in the first third of the 15th century, but in 1433 it belonged to the Báthori family. Bakta also became the property of the Báthori family for a short period of time, as Judge royal István Báthori bestowed it to the Tatay family in 1593. In 1630 Bakta and Lórántháza was bestowed to László Szalai Barkóczi, the vice-ispán of Zemplén County, by Ferdinand II. The family possessed the settlements until the end of the century. The next owner gained the settlements by marriage, as Sándor Károlyi, husband of Krisztina Barkóczi became the owner of Bakta and Lórántháza. He hosted Francis II Rákóczi in Bakta mansion in 1710. In 1711 Gábor Haller married Klára Károlyi, daughter of Sándor Károlyi and became the new owner. As Klára died a couple of years later, the land remained a Károlyi demesne until their children grew up. After Klára’s death his son, Sándor, then his son, József owned Bakta. In 1783 Bakta was given the licence to market by the ruler. For an unknown reason Bakta was mortgaged by József Haller in 1791 to Miklós Bárczay. The mortgage was not paid; therefore the Bárczay family became the new owner. In 1798 Pál Beck, an engineer gained a part of Bakta demesne. He secretly married Anna Bárczay in 1804. The mansion was a dowry. Their youngest daughter of the four, Paulina, married Imre Dégenfeld, therefore the mansion became the property of the Dégenfeld family and remained in their possession until the end of World War II, 1945.