Life and Work of Lajos Zsóry

by Sándor Szlovák

Not only dates but also characters make up the milestones of history. Characters can change the world we live in.

The life and work of Lajos Zsóry is to testify what significance can such a great explorer have in the life of such a little town as Mezőkövesd. His story is a great example of how the magistrate of a minor community, and later MP, can help and care for the post-war poverty stricken people and restore their hope in life. During and after World War I. he repeatedly organized communal work and charities, which were financed by the regional local government for the poor. In the 20s he felt his mission to help to provide the penniless with land, and to care for the homeless. He worked as a chief magistrate until 1931 when he was elected MP. The book is the outcome of a hard work of collecting documents and is the very first summary of Zsóry’s life-work. The book pictures a man whose ambition and commitment launched the civil rigths movement not only in his town but in the whole region. He founded the Zsóry spa in the outskirt of Mezőkövesd. The thermal water was discovered in 1939 on the land of the local gentry called Lajos Zsóry, that is where the name comes from. People were searching for oil, but the result was one of the most effective healing water of Hungary.( instead hot water spring out of the earth which was declared as curative water) The thermal water contains – among others –calcium, magnesium and sulphide, and cures rheumatic and vascular diseases. Regarding to this curative power Zsóry belongs to the most valuable baths in Hungary.

Lajos Zsóry also supported the Matyó embroidery and was a great fan of the local folk art. With the opening of the Zsóry Spa in 1940, the ‘Town of Hopes’ was born. This book is a tribute to Lajos Zsóry.

The book is available in Hungarian!