Count Nándor Zichy
Childhood and youth | His achievements | His relationship to the Church | The last years | The palace on Lőrinc pap Square

Count Nándor Zichy

Childhood and youth

Count Nándor Zichy was born on 17th November 1829 in Bratislava (Pozsony). He was the son of Count György Zichy and Ludovika Pálffy. He has spent his childhood in Nagyláng with his parents and his brothers (Tivadar, György and János). He has been brought up in a strictly religious way, according to the rules of the Roman Catholic Church. Nándor’s talent for drawing, painting and horse riding was soon noticeable. He spoke perfect English, German, Latin and French.

His private teacher, Pál Szebeni writes about Nándor Zichy in a daily report.
"Painted: badly. Rode a horse: well. Behaviour: grouchy."

The heaviest shock of his childhood was the death of his brother. Tivadar died unexpectedly during their roundtrip in Europe. The little child, Nándor turned to his tutors crying: “What will our mother say, when she sees that Tivadar is dead?”

He began his university studies in Pest. His first major was philosophies. Later on he studied law in Vienna, and laws relating to mining at the Royal Academy of Bratislava.