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Sándor Rózsa (July 10, 1813 – November 22, 1878)[1] was a Hungarian outlaw (in Hungarian: betyár) from the Great Hungarian Plain. He is the best-known Hungarian highwayman; his life inspired numerous writers, notably Zsigmond Móricz and Gyula Krúdy. He enjoyed much the same esteem as English highwayman Dick Turpin, with elements of Robin Hood thrown in for good measure. Rózsa, like Jóska Sobri, is one of the most famous Hungarian betyárs (bandits).
Sándor Rózsa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 10, 1813 |
| Died | November 22, 1878 (aged 65) |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Occupation(s) | highwayman, bandit, soldier, mail robber, train robber |
| Known for | being a folk hero, a Hungarian version of Robin Hood |
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His mother's name was Erzsébet (Elisabeth) Kántor.[2][better source needed] He lost his father, András (Andrew) Rózsa, at an early age, as he was hanged for horse stealing,[5] and according to other sources he was shot dead during a robbery in Bácska.[3]
This had a major impact on the rest of his life. He was illiterate. He committed his first crime on the outskirts of Kiskunhalas. In 1836, at the age of 23, he was prosecuted for stealing two barren cows from farmer István Darabos. He was then sent to Szeged prison. After his adventurous escape from Szeged Prison, he became a runaway, and many infamous outlaw adventures were associated with his name.
He killed 30 people, including gendarmes,[5] robbed farms, drove away cattle and horses. For this he was in constant flight and persecution. In 1845, he submitted a petition for clemency to the king, claiming that he would like to live an honest life, but his petition for clemency was rejected by the monarch.
During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848
In October 1848 on behalf of the Committee of Defence (Honvédelmi Bizottmány), he joined the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 with his company of 150 mounted fighters.[3] With their unusual appearance and fighting style, they were also successful in the fight for freedom. On 17 November, Colonel Lajos Asbóth sent Sándor Rózsa's Free Troops to disarm the Serbian majority village of Ezeres, who robbed the village and killed 36 of its inhabitants (who did not voluntarily and immediately hand over their jewellery and valuables to Rózsa).[3] This scandal soon led Sebő Vukovics (the Hungarian government's commissioner for Southern Hungary) to disband Rózsa's Free Corps.
His favourite hiding places were the islets on Ludas Lake (now Ludaš Lake, Serbia).[4]
After the restoration of Habsburg power
After the fall of the revolution he was forced to flee and returned to his earlier brigand lifestyle. Sándor Rózsa became a colt rider near Szeged and got married. There was a false rumour that he was the leader of a revolutionary conspiracy, so an unusually high bounty of 10,000 silver forints was put on his head to ensure his capture. Despite this, he was not caught for a long time, until in 1857 his comrade-in-law, a farmer named Pál Katona from Szeged, handed him over to the gendarmes. The trial was held in February 1859. A popular outlaw since his participation in the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence, he was sentenced to death by hanging, but the Habsburg authorities refused to make a martyr of him and eventually commuted the sentence to life imprisonment, because Emperor Franz Joseph signed the pardon.[5] He spent 9 years in prisons at Kufstein, Szabadka and Pétervárad till he was released in a general amnesty in 1868. Sándor Rózsa was such a notorious personality that during his imprisonment in Kufstein, he could be seen for money in the marketplace on Sundays. Many people wanted to see him.
In the same year he resumed his old pursuits and robbed post coaches and railway trains.
The train robbery and unfortunate coincidence
Sándor Rózsa was over 55 years old when he attempted his most daring robbery. He tried to rob a mail train between Szeged and Budapest, just like in the movies of the Wild West. Sándor Rózsa received news that a huge shipment of money was arriving by train from Budapest to Szeged, containing the salaries of state employees of all the towns and villages of Csongrád county. The huge amount of money mesmerized him and his gang, since they believed that they would easily deal with 1–2 property guards armed with pistols. They thought there might not even be a fight, because maybe the guards would get scared and surrender.[5] They had a week to make detailed plans and prepare for the train robbery. The bandits decided to derail the train near the village of Kistelek. However, in the meantime, due to a military exercise, the train carriage containing the money was attached to another train that was due to leave a few hours later. The army got a head start on the timetable and the original train timetable was therefore changed, leaving the money waiting safely at the station with two guards. However, on the train that was running at the original time, the bandits were surprised to find during their attack that all the railway cars were packed with K.u.K. soldiers armed with grenades and rifles. This was an enormous miscalculation and unluck, the soldiers immediately opened fire on the surprised, lightly armed robbers. Rózsa realized during the desperate fight that they were facing an invincibly overwhelming force, as more and more K.u.K. soldiers came out of the different wagons of the derailed train. Sándor Rózsa lost the lives of several of his companions in the action, and he himself was wounded in the knee.[5]
Life as a prisoner
Soon after the failure, the outlaw was captured by the gendarmes of Royal Commissioner Gedeon Ráday on January 12, 1869. At his trial in 1872 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for 21 counts of robbery, 9 counts of theft and 1 count of murder. At second instance this was increased to death, but the Curia again reduced it to life imprisonment.[5] It was on May 5, 1873, that he was transferred to Szamosújvár, where he was held captive under registry number 1267. He was unable to escape because of old age and illness, and worked as a tailor and then as a hosier. However, his health continued to deteriorate, and on November 22, 1878, he died of tuberculosis in Szamosújvár penitentiary.[6]
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Literary and pulp fiction adaptations attribute a whole series of untrue events to him; for example, Miklós Fekete: The Worn Things of the Famous Lowland Outlaw Sándor Rózsa (Pest, 1859); The Life and Terrible Robberies of Sándor Rózsa (Pest, 1871); The Life and Daring Adventures of Sándor Rózsa, the Famous Lowland Warlord.
All of the literary adaptations (Gyula Krúdy, Zsigmond Móricz) use the adventures known from oral tradition and pony tales. His fame has spread so far that he has also appeared on German tarpaulins. Sándor Rózsa is also associated with other deeds committed by outlaws.
Sándor Rózsa is also discussed in the book Straszliwi zbojnicy z Bieszczadow i okolicy (Terrible Robbers of the Bieszczady and Surrounding Areas) by Polish author Robert Bankosz.
His appearance as a hero of folk ballads is secondary. A wide variety of ballads have been sung under his name, but none can be specifically identified with his adventure. The best known, 'The Bakony forest is in mourning, Alexander the Rose is dead...', which was previously sung under the names of various outlaws, is about the victim of a common bar brawl. In the Southern Great Plain, especially around Szeged, there is a rich collection of ballads about Sándor Rózsa.[9]
In 1971, Hungarian Television presented a 12-part series on the life of Sándor Rózsa, based on Zsigmond Móricz's novel Sándor Rózsa a Pferát ugratja (Sándor Rózsa's Horse Taps),[citation needed] starring Sándor Oszter and directed by Miklós Szinetár.
In the Czechoslovakian television series Slavné historky zbojnické (1985), Sándor Rózsa is played by Czech actor Pavel Zedníček.[7]
In 2018, the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party has named its "State Fund Wasting Public Program" after him.[8]
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