Bust of Archbishop Johann Ladislaus Pyrker

myminifactory

This is an impressive monument to Johann Ladislaus Pyrker (von Oberwart), born on November 2, 1772, in Hungary, who passed away at Vienna on December 2, 1847. He was a renowned Hungarian Cistercian abbot, archbishop, and poet from a noble family. His father distinguished himself as one of the eighteen brave hussars during the Battle of Kunersdorf. After graduating from Székesfehérvár and Pécs universities, Pyrker applied for a government position in Buda but was unsuccessful. In 1792, he joined the Cistercian chapter house at Lilienfeld Abbey, where he became an ordained priest (1796). He quickly rose through the ranks to become steward, chancellor, prior, abbot, parish priest at Türnitz, and brought prosperity to the monastery. Pyrker was appointed Bishop of Spiš (1818), Patriarch of Venice, and Primate of Dalmatia with his see in Venice (1820), and finally Archbishop of Eger (1827). He founded health resorts for soldiers in Karlovy Vary and Gastein, a seminary for country school teachers at Eger, and donated 10,000 early florins towards the decoration of Eger Cathedral. His collection of paintings forms the foundation of the Hungarian National Museum. For his generous contributions, he was knighted by the emperor with the title of Felsö-Eör. In 1827, he established a string quartet in Eger using his noble music instruments, one of which is Cecilia, a newly discovered Stradivari's violin from 1697. Pyrker was known to the composer Franz Schubert, who set two songs to his texts: D851 Das Heimweh and D852 Die Allmacht. Pyrker expressed admiration for Schubert's D489 Der Wanderer, and as a result, he was honored with the dedication of Schubert's Opus 4. Pyrker wrote dramatic, epic, and lyric poetry. His first dramatic work, "Historische Schauspiele", appeared in 1810, containing three five-act tragedies: "Die Corvinen", "Karl der Kleine, König von Ungarn", and "Zrinis Tod". Although it did not receive significant attention or criticism, his collected works include the dramas. The epic poem "Tunisias" in twelve cantos, describing the conquest of Tunis by Emperor Charles V, was published in 1820, with subsequent editions released later. A sketch of a "Tunisias" with striking similarities was found in the textbooks of Jesuit Jacob Masen, possibly used during Pyrker's youth. Another epic, "Rudolphias", praises Rudolph, the first King from the House of Habsburg, and was printed in Vienna in 1824. Grillparzer adapted the same material into his "Ottokars Glück und Ende", which bears many similarities to Nicola Avancini's "Ode to Habsburg". Pyrker also wrote several short stories: "Die Perlen der heiligen Vorzeit" (1821); "Bilder aus dem Leben Jesu und der Apostel" and "Legenden der Heiligen auf alle Sonntage und Festtage des Jahres" (1842). As a lyric poet, Pyrker published only a few monographs, including "Lilienfelds Freude", and "Lieder der Sehnsucht nach den Alpen" (1845).