The Thirteen Martyrs of Arad ( hu, aradi vértanúk) were the thirteen Hungarian rebel generals who were executed by the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

on 6 October 1849 in the city of Arad, then part of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

(now in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

), after the Hungarian Revolution (1848–1849). The execution was ordered by the Austrian general Julius Jacob von Haynau.

Background

In a historic speech on 3 March 1848, shortly after news of the revolution in Paris had arrived,

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, polit ...

demanded

parliamentary government A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of t ...

for Hungary and

constitutional government A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princi ...

for the rest of Austria. The Revolution started on 15 March 1848, and after military setbacks in the winter and a successful campaign in the spring, Kossuth declared independence on 19 April 1849. By May 1849, the Hungarians controlled all of the country except

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

, which they won after a three-week bloody siege. The hopes of ultimate success, however, were frustrated by the intervention of Russia. After all appeals to other European states failed, Kossuth abdicated on 11 August 1849, in favor of Artúr Görgei, who he thought was the only general capable of saving the nation. On 13 August 1849, Görgei signed a surrender at Világos (now Şiria, Romania) to the Russians, who handed the army over to the Austrians. At the insistence of the Russians, Görgei was spared. The Austrians took reprisals on other officers of the Hungarian army. The thirteen Hungarian generals were executed by hanging at Arad on October 6, 1849, with the exception of Arisztid Dessewffy and two others, because of their friendship to the Prince of Luxembourg. A hanging was deemed a humiliation, so they were executed by a firing squad of 12. On the same day, Count Lajos Batthyány (1806–1849), the first Hungarian prime minister, was executed in Pest at an Austrian military garrison. Kossuth fled to the Ottoman Empire; he maintained that Görgei alone was responsible for the failure of the rebellion, calling him "Hungary's

Judas Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betr ...

". Others, looking at the impossible situation Görgei was given, have been more sympathetic. They have said that, given the circumstances, he was left with no option other than surrender. One of the public squares contains a martyrs' monument, erected in the memory of the generals. It consists of a colossal figure of Hungary, with four

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

groups, and

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

s of the executed generals. Hungarians have come to regard the thirteen rebel generals as martyrs for defending the cause of freedom and independence for their people. The majority of the generals were not of ethnic Hungarian origin, but they fought for the cause of an independent and — for its age — liberal Hungary. Baron Gyula Ottrubay Hruby, who was also executed in Arad, was actually Czech and spoke German, while Damjanich was of Serb origin. The anniversary of their execution is remembered on October 6 as a day of mourning for Hungary.

The generals

Lajos Aulich Lajos Aulich (25 August 1793 – 6 October 1849) was the third Minister of War of Hungary. A professional soldier and lieutenant colonel in the Austrian Army, he fought against Habsburg oppression. At them time of the War of Hungarian Indep ...

(1793–1849) # János Damjanich (1804–1849) #

Arisztid Dessewffy Arisztid Dessewffy de Csernek et Tarkő (; 2 July 1802, in Csákány (present-day Čakanovce, Slovakia) – 6 October 1849, in Arad) was a honvéd general in the Hungarian Army. He was executed for his part in the Hungarian Revolution of ...

(1802–1849) # Ernő Kiss (1799–1849) # Károly Knezić (1808–1849) # György Lahner (1795–1849) # Vilmos Lázár (1815–1849) # Károly Leiningen-Westerburg (1819–1849) # József Nagysándor (1804–1849) #

Ernő Poeltenberg Ernő Poeltenberg (February 20, 1808, Vienna - October 6, 1849, Arad) was a honvéd general in the Hungarian Army. He was executed for his part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and is considered one of the 13 Martyrs of Arad. Family He wa ...

(1814–1849) # József Schweidel (1796–1849) # Ignác Török (1795–1849) #

Károly Vécsey Count Károly Vécsey de Hernádvécse et Hajnácskő (November 24, 1803 – October 6, 1849) was a honvéd general in the Hungarian Army. He was executed for his part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and is considered one of the 13 M ...

(1807–1849)

Custom

Legend has it that while the revolutionary leaders were being executed, Austrian soldiers were drinking beer and arrogantly clinking their beer mugs together in celebration of Hungary's defeat. Hungarians therefore vowed not to clink glasses again while drinking beer for 150 years. In reality, however, there is no information regarding this event at all, and historians deem it unlikely to have happened. Historian Róbert Hermann speculated that wine producers hoping to raise their profits were the ones who popularized the tradition. While the Hungarians' vow supposedly expired on 6 October 1999, in practice, this tradition continues to be sporadically practiced today.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:13 Martyrs of Arad, The 1849 in Hungary 1849 in the Austrian Empire 19th-century Hungarian people