István Bató
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István Bató was a prominent citizen of the Northern Hungarian city of Miskolc in the 19th century. Several local legends are linked with him, and although the citizens of Miskolc don't tend to be superstitious, some traditions are connected with the curses Bató laid on those who defy his will.
Bató was a wheat merchant and probably the richest man in the city. He had a daughter called Eszter who was forced to marry someone she didn't love, and died not long after that, on May 13, 1867. Since Eszter wanted to give the nearby Protestant church a bell that would be the largest bell in the city, her family collected all the gold and silver jewels they had, and had a large bell made for the church, but the church was allowed to ring this bell only once in every year, on the anniversary of her death. The "Eszter bell" is still the largest church bell in the city. The inscription on it reads:
"To the glory of God and the memory of our dearest daughter Eszter Bató, who was born on 11th September 1837 and died on 13th May 1867; this bell was given for the Protestant Church of Miskolc by her grieving parents István Bató and his wife Eszter Imre. The bell was made in 1865 by Ignácz Hilczer in Wiener Neustadt, weighs 53 q 68 pounds and cost 4558 Forints."
Bató ordered that the door of his daughter's room shall remain closed and can be opened only once each year, on the anniversary of her death. It is rumored that when the house was demolished in 1975, in order to build a road, lots of accidents happened to the construction workers. In the 1990s, when a shopping mall was built next to the road, it was named Batóház (Bató House).
Bató left a large sum of money for the maintenance of the Wooden Church, stated in his will that a wooden church has to stand there as long as Protestants live in Miskolc, and cursed everyone who wants to demolish it. In the 1930s, when the church was so old that it threatened with collapsing and had to be demolished, it was agreed that the new church will be made of wood.
