Széchenyi had the deepest friendship with Baron Miklós Wesselényi. The first years of their relationship were filled with a common search for paths and roles, the elaboration and sharing of visions. They saw it as an important means of self-perfection to point out each other’s flaws with unsparing honesty. Their friendship became particularly strong during their 1822 trip to Western Europe. The friendship was enriched by practical activities and joint initiatives (academy, horse racing, and casino).
Their political careers started to drift apart around 1830, but the personal relationship between them was never severed. After Wesselényi’s conviction (1838), Széchenyi mobilised his contacts to have his prison sentence suspended so that the baron could travel to Gräfenberg for treatment. In the 1840s, after Wesselényi lost his sight, the Count even offered to have him move in with them. In his last public appearance, Wesselényi defended his former friend in a newspaper article: he vehemently rejected the accusation that Széchenyi, who had been taken to Döbling, was not ill but had run away.