The Schossberger family
The success of the Schossberger family started with the career of Lázár Schossberger. Together with Vilmos Simon Schossberger - son of the trader who moved to Pest from the Uplands - ensured the family future and well-being by crop trade, banking businesses, and tobacco and sugar industries.
Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise (1867) the family became one of the richest tradesmen families of Pest, while in 1863 the monarch Franz Joseph granted a Hungarian Noble title to the family. In 1890 two sons of Vilmos Simon, Henrik Schossberger and his sibling, Zsigmond and his children were given the title of baron. From 1907 on they used the compound name Tornyai-Schossberger, and this was the time when the baron title could be used by Henrik and his family as well.
Zsigmond Schossberger, who had the palace built, was born in 1826, married Theresa Mayer von Gunthof. Only four of their children lived until their adulthood; Anna, Nándor, Jenny (Eugénia; from the marriage of Jenny Schossberger and Lajos Hevesy-Bischitz among 3 boys and 3 girls the Noble-price chemist of the 20th century was born, György Hevesi, who discovered Hafnium, the 72nd element of the periodic table) and Victor(1868-1938).
Based on the grandiose plans of Miklós Ybl, the most well-known Hungarian architect of the time, constructions started on the family manor in Tura, bought from Prince Miklós Eszterházy in 1873. The constructions of the palace - often referred to as the little brother of the Opera house with its Neo-renaissance style - finished in 1883. They lived a calm, balanced, rather moderate noble life in the palace, from early spring until late fall, and were visited by numerous tycoons, aristocrats and bankers. For the perfect and successful functioning of economy they had to employ wage-workers, but since Zsigmond had no right for corvée the lord had farms built for them. On one of these (Harasztpuszta) the building is still standing, where the baron established an ungraded school. This is the same location where Béla Bartók collected some 156 folk-songs from maids In Tura in 1906. At another location, Alsórét farm (Alsóréti tanya) intensive pheasant breeding was characteristic, since live animals were exported from there as well.
After the unfortunate death of Zsigmond Schossberger in 1900 (5th of October) his son Viktor took over family businesses, together with the ownership of the palace. The castle got into hands that took care of not only building but developing the settlement as well. He donated a significant amount of money in order for the restoration of the Catholic Church in 1911. He also won 1st price in a Pest Comitatus tender for his forestation projects.
From the 1930s on the financial status of the family started to relapse. They were forced to hand over and sell, from the thousands of hectares of their property, sites at first, then agricultural land areas necessary for their subsistence.
After the death of Viktor his two children, Viktor and Klára inherited the family fortune. Viktor died during World War II during labor service. Klára moved to England in 1945, where got married to Sir Tangye Bazil. She died at the age of 93.
The abandoned palace served as accommodation for Soviet soldiers during WWII, later on functioned as a hospital. It also operated as the local elementary school from 1946 to 1973. Between 1980 and 2003 the building had several owners.