József Heszler was born on 10 July 1814 to Ferencz Heszler, a Szeged Polgár and Ácsmeszter (master carpenter), and Erzsébet Frisz. He was educated at Szeged's Piarist Academy which he attended between 1825 and 1833. In 1838 he qualified for a diploma from Buda University of the Arts, where he studied architecture. He returned to Szeged and took over the family's construction business. He was one of Szeged's premier builders through the rebuilding of Szeged after the great flood of 1879. In addition, he was a founder of the Szeged-Csongrád Savings Bank, and a member of the City Council during the War for Independence.
In 1841, he married Terézia Gömöry (1819-1862) of Kecskemét ... probably a distant cousin. They had seven children, only four of whom survived to adulthood. These were my great-grandfather Gyula (1843-1877) ... more on him later. ifj. József Heszler/Heszlényi (1844-1937) in 1872 married Ida Schmidt (b1842), a grand-daughter of Josef Schmidt, the tavern-owner. József Jr. continued his father's construction business into the 20th century. His projects included a new 1891 casino for downtown Szeged, and between 1914 and 1918 (with a partner, János Takács) he built a new neo-Romanesque Roman Catholic church in the ancient village of Ószentiván (now known as Tiszasziget) a few miles south of Szeged. The two daughters were Jusztina (b 1848), who never married and died in her early 20's; and Emma (1854-1894) who married Ferencz Wachsmann (1837-1910), a Superintendant with the Hungarian National Railroads (MAV).
Born József Heszler, but after 1862 he was known as József Heszlényi. The name change
was noted in his baptismal record at a later date, as well as in the records of his children living at that date.
The note reads: "M. kir. helytartótanács 1863 IX. 9. én kelt 59549 im eng. alapján családi neve 'Heszlényi' Püsp.
hal. rend. erk. 3439/940." Basically, by a decree of the Royal Hungarian Vice-Regal Council of 09 Oct 1863, the
family name was changed from Heszler to Heszlényi. The name change is also noted in a compilation of family name
changes where he is identified as a master builder of Szeged, and the sequential request is identified as #13385-62
from the Governor-General's office.
Above is the 1814 baptismal record of my great-great-grandfather József,
with the name change added in 1863.
Károly Hoffer (1815-1899) was born in Hódmezövásárhely and likely met József Heszler when they were both architectural students. After the War for Independence the two young architects established a partnership that lasted several decades, operating as Hoffer and Heszlényi. They were a great team: Hoffer was a gifted architect with a very eclectic approach; Heszlényi a gifted construction manager with the resources of the business his father had built. Over the years they designed and built several large public buildings and many elegant town homes. Many of their buildings survived the flood, and a few remain as notable Szeged landmarks today (including the three seen below in modern photos).
 Belvedere Hotel - c1884 |
 Commercial and Industrial Bank - 1874 |
 Eisenstadt House - 1869 |
Here are some of the public buildings Hoffer and Heszlényi were responsible for: all the early Szeged railway stations and freight yards; beside the Fekete Haz they built a summer theatre (arena) which opened in 1856; in 1858 they built an indoor winter theatre where the Szeged theatre company performed. In 1864 they built the original Savings Bank building, and in 1874 the Commercial and Industrial Bank building. In the suburb of Rókus, they built both the hospital and railway station. |
 Chapel of St. Rose |
József Heszler was widowed in 1862, the same year he changed his surname to Heszlényi, and really threw himself into his work. He lived his later years in the house he built at 34 Boulevard of the Assumption, at the corner of Bokor Street, where it still stands. At the time of the 1879 Great Flood most of Szeged was destroyed. Szeged history books tell us that József was fondly remembered because he took thirty homeless refugees into his home and provided for them. They also note that many of the Hoffer and Heszlényi buildings survived the flood. In the next decade, they had an important part in the rebuilding Szeged.
József Heszlényi house at Boldogasszony Sugárút 34.
We know little about Jakab Heszler (1803-1887), but I believe he was József's oldest brother.
We got his birth-year from his age at death. His son's baptismal record tells us his first wife's name and that
they lived in Pest. He and his son came to Szeged. In 1861, he was identified as a widowed carpenter when he
remarried. György Waldmüller, likely his cousin, stood-up for him then. When his son married in 1862, they both
were living in Új-Szeged. Jakab legally changed his name to Heszlényi in 1880, and likely came to live with József at that time. He died of senility in Jószsef's home. These few facts conform well to the "Heszler Background"
scenario of Topic 2.
József's Last Years. After the hectic post-flood reconstruction, we find József gradually turning
the construction business over to his son, Joseph, Jr., and caring for his senile older brother at home. We know
that each autumn his friend József Osztróvszky, now Hungary's top jurist, came home to Szeged from Budapest,
and the two men enjoyed hunting together ... and probably had many a sorrowful conversation about their
children Gyula and Mária who married and both died so young. József Heszlényi died of a cerebral hemorrhage
on March 5, 1895 and was buried in the old Szeged Palánk cemetery.