Historical Figures
The family name Zumur had occurred in documents and records until the 14th century. In 1342 Miklos Zumur takes up the name Pókateleki after the king’s grace property given to him named Pókaföld. In 1462 the owner of Zámortelek Pókateleki Kondé János drops the name Zumur. Between 1562 and 1569 Pókateleki Zumur Miklós’s descendant was trusted with the dealings of the secretarial duties for the king himself.
The Korláth family became significant from 1202. Benedek Korláth was the follower and valiant of king Imre. He married one of the Aragonian queen’s maids (Tota). The family forenames (Bényei, Alsókalossai) refer to their properties in Gömör county (Bénye, Alsó-kálosa). They also had huge properties in other counties such as Nyitra, Komárom, Pest, Bereg, Zaránd, Nógrád, Heves and Sáros. István Korláth died an honorable death in 1552 serving under Istvan Losonczy at Temesvar under the Turkish siege of the land. In 1556 at Huszt Mihály Korláth fought the captain of Isabella’s army who was the widow of Janos Szapolyai. Because of delayed reinforcements from Ferdinand he is forced to give up the castle. The king gives him Berekszász to him as a reward despite this. In 1598 the vicecomes Gömör, Istvan Korláth is captain of the largest castle defending Felvidék at Szendrő. István Korláth is a magistrate under Gábor Bethlen. His son Janos marries Anna Mária Kovács in 1668. After 1698 Pusztazámor is owned by the brothers Korláth; Istvan and Farkas. The cross at the border of the parish that bears the date 1803 is referred to as the Korlath cross among the villagers.
It is due to Mihály Mentler that the temple on hill Zámor was rebuilt in 1758 and the arrival of German and Slovakian settlers. The village started to develop and the population grew as well. The mansion and the beautiful park next to creek Zámor is also the result of the family’s affection towards nature and good taste in architecture.
Károly Nagyalásonyi Barcza settles in Pusztazámor in 1978 when he marries Jozefa Mentler. The process of development continues with the Barcza family. In 1980 a school is established that is funded by the Barcza family and they also support the catholic parish church established by András Knopfer. They also raise a new mansion in eclectic classicist style. They remodeled the garden between the existing Mentler mansion and the new one and built an arboretum with a resting area, a pond, a bathing area and a tower. It was Károly Barcza who, using his clever invention, harnessed the 2,5metre descent of creek Zámor and using hydraulic machinery supports drinking-water for the mansion and the village, the irrigation of the fields, drinking water for cattle of 80, water for the pond and the bathing area and irrigation of the garden and 57 acres of meadow.
The Barcza family is still remembered respectfully in the village today. After World War I they distributed living spaces among the hands and servants of the area so the village can develop further.
Dr György Barcza was born in 1888 in Pusztazámor. His career as a diplomat begun in Athens in 1912 then progressed in Stockholm and then in Wien after 1920. Between 1927 - 1938 he was an exceptional minister and authorized magistrate under the holy see of Vatican. From 1938 until 1941 he was in charge of the embassy in London. In 1941as Hungary entered the war he asked for his retirement. In 1943 with the authorization of the Kállay government he travelled to Switzerland where he founded the Minister’s Council that after the German occupation of Hungary in March 19th 1944 represented Hungary’s interests towards the west and urged Hungary to secede from the war. It was not up to him that his mission failed. In 1951 he emigrated with his family to Australia. He passed away in 1961 in Sydney. His descendants live all across the globe.
His credo can be read in his memoirs published in 1994: “I and my fellow companions were serving the cause of a free, constitutional and democratic European nation of Hungary. We did not serve any other nation’s oppression not from Germany or from Russia. We were Hungarians and we wanted to remain as such…”
The parish priest was Dr Mihály Kmoskó (1876-1931) famous scholar and linguist and teacher. He was a professor of orientalism at the arts faculty at University of Pest. He spoke 12 languages. He was the head of the faculty of eastern languages at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He was the most significant figure in the exploration of the Sumerian culture settling in Mesopotamia 5000 years prior. He interpreted and published the laws of Hammurabi in 1910 (1911 Kolozsvár). His 2000 page writings regarding the Hungarian history using the late ‘sémi’ resources are still waiting to be published since 1930. Professor Mihály Kmoskó was put to rest in Pusztazámor in 1931.
The roads of the village bare the names of its famous citizens.
