Széchényi Mausoleum

The memory and legacy of the Széchényi family can be found in many locations throughout the town of Nagycenk, beyond the walls of the mansion. One such place is the Roman Catholic cemetery in Nagycenk, whose plots, along with the centrally located mausoleum, serve as the final resting place for one of the most influential families in Hungarian history.

The cemetery grounds were donated to the communities of the villages of Cenk and Kiscenk by Zsuzsanna Barkóczy, the wife of Antal Széchényi, who also initiated the planting of the Széchényi Lime Tree Avenue. In the middle of the cemetery grounds, she had a domed Baroque chapel built in 1778. This building was expanded into a mausoleum by Ferenc Széchényi between 1806 and 1810, with the help of József Ringer, a master builder from Sopron.

Notable members of the family buried here include Pál Széchényi, Archbishop of Kalocsa; Ferenc Széchényi, founder of the library and museum, and his wife Julianna Festetics; their son, István Széchenyi, the "greatest Hungarian," and his wife Crescence Seilern. The last burial in the crypt took place in 1977.