Zrinski
Encyclopedia
The Zrinski family was a Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 noble family
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

, influential during the period in history marked by the Ottoman wars in Europe
Ottoman wars in Europe
The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...

 in the Kingdom of Croatia and Hungary and in the later Austro-Hungarian Empire. Notable members of this family were Bans (viceroys) of Croatia, considered national heroes in both Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

 and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, and were patriculary celebrated during the period of romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

; this movement was called Zrinijada in Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

.

History

The Zrinski, meaning "those of Zrin", are a branch of the Šubić
Šubic
The Šubić were one of the twelve tribes which constituted Croatian statehood in the Middle Ages; they held the county of Bribir in inland Dalmatia.-Origins:...

 family, which arose when king Louis I the Great needed some of the Šubićs' fortresses for his coming wars against Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, and the city of Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...

 in particular.

In 1347 Louis I took their estates around Bribir in the Hrvatsko Primorje hinterlands (they used to be known as "princes of Bribir" [Knezovi Bribirski in Croatian]) and gave them the Zrin
Zrin
Zrin is a village in Croatia, Sisak-Moslavina county.In the past it was the seat of Croatian noble family Šubić. Later they called themselves Zrinski, after Zrin. It was a strong point of Croatian defence in the Ottoman wars. There are still ruins of Zrin Castle in the village. In World War II the...

 estate with Zrin Castle
Zrin Castle
Zrin Castle is a ruined castle located in the village of Zrin, south of the town of Sisak in central Croatia.-History:The castle was first mentioned in the 13th century as a fortress ruled by the Babonić clan. Later it was possessed by the members of Iločki family...

 in the Croatian region of Banovina
Banovina
Banovina may refer to:* One of the subdivisions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929 to 1941* Any territory ruled by a ban * Banovina in central Croatia, also known as Banija...

, south of the modern city of Petrinja
Petrinja
Petrinja is a city in central Croatia near Sisak in the historic region of Banovina. The city belongs to Sisak-Moslavina County .- History :The name of Petrinja has its roots in Latin petrus, meaning "stone"...

 and west of Hrvatska Kostajnica
Hrvatska Kostajnica
Hrvatska Kostajnica, often just Kostajnica, is a small town in central Croatia. It is located on the Una river in the Sisak-Moslavina county, south of Petrinja and Sisak and across the river from Bosanska Kostajnica in Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...

.

The first Zrinski was George III Šubić of Breber (Juraj III. Šubić Bribirski in Croatian), who took the title George I. Zrinski (Juraj I. Zrinski in Croatian). His cousin, princess Helen Šubić
Šubic
The Šubić were one of the twelve tribes which constituted Croatian statehood in the Middle Ages; they held the county of Bribir in inland Dalmatia.-Origins:...

 (Jelena in Croatian) was at the same time married to Vladislav Kotromanić. Their first-born child, Tvrtko I, became the Ban
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...

 of Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...

 and from 1377 the King of Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...

. Their niece and adopted daughter, Elizabeta Kotromanić (Elisabeth of Bosnia
Elisabeth of Bosnia
Elizabeth of Bosnia was Queen of Hungary from 1353 until 1382 and Queen of Poland from 1370 until 1382 as the second wife of King Louis the Great. After her tenure as queen consort, Elizabeth served as regent for her daughter Mary.As queen consort, Elizabeth was overshadowed by her domineering...

), married Louis I the Great. Elizabeth's and Louis' daughters succeeded their father and became queens in their own right, as Mary of Hungary
Mary of Hungary
Mary of Anjou was queen regnant of Hungary from 1382 until her death in 1395.-Childhood:...

 and Jadwiga of Poland
Jadwiga of Poland
Jadwiga was monarch of Poland from 1384 to her death. Her official title was 'king' rather than 'queen', reflecting that she was a sovereign in her own right and not merely a royal consort. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou, the daughter of King Louis I of Hungary and Elizabeth of...

.

The Zrinskis were Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 and played a crucial role in the history of the Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n state, both before their arrival in Zrin
Zrin
Zrin is a village in Croatia, Sisak-Moslavina county.In the past it was the seat of Croatian noble family Šubić. Later they called themselves Zrinski, after Zrin. It was a strong point of Croatian defence in the Ottoman wars. There are still ruins of Zrin Castle in the village. In World War II the...

 and later. On the other hand, they are also identified as hungarus or natio hungarica, which means "somebody from the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

", regardless of the language spoken. They were among many noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary
Nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary
The origin of the nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary can be traced to the Magyar conquest of Pannonia in the 9th century, and it developed over the course of the Middle Ages...

.
Because they lived, worked, and intermarried with nobility from all parts of the multiethnic kingdom, it was natural and expected that they should be fluent in four or five languages. It is certain, that Nikola Zrinski
Miklós Zrínyi
Miklós Zrínyi or Nikola Zrinski was a Croatian and Hungarian soldier, statesman and poet, member of the Zrinski noble family....

 spoke at least Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...

, Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....

, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

 and of course Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

. It is of interest that he was the most prominent Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 poet in the 17th century, while his brother Peter
Petar Zrinski
Petar Zrinski was a Croatian Ban and writer. A member of the Zrinski noble family, he was noted for his role in the attempted Croatian-Hungarian rebellion of 1664-1670 which ultimately led to his execution for high treason.-Zrinski family:Petar Zrinski was born in Vrbovec, a small town near...

 is known for his poems in Croatian language.

Already by the end of the twelfth century, the Šubić
Šubic
The Šubić were one of the twelve tribes which constituted Croatian statehood in the Middle Ages; they held the county of Bribir in inland Dalmatia.-Origins:...

 family, whose fief was Breber, held the title of prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...

s. Later, their power steadily increased, so that they acquired the territory between the rivers Krka
Krka (Croatia)
Krka is a river in Croatia's Dalmatia region, famous for its numerous waterfalls. It is long and its basin covers an area of .Possibly the river called Catarbates by the ancient Greeks, it was known to the ancient Romans as Titius, Corcoras, or Korkoras.The river has its source near the border...

 and Zrmanja
Zrmanja
Zrmanja is a river in southern Lika and northern Dalmatia, Croatia. It is long and its basin covers an area of .It was known to the ancient Romans as Tedanius. The spring of Zrmanja is located in southern part of Lika under Postak - the southern peak of Pljesevica mountain, and close to south end...

 and the sea by the 13th century. At the outset of the 14th century, Paul Šubić of Breber governed Bosnia as far as the Drina
Drina
The Drina is a 346 kilometer long river, which forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed...

. Later on, the town of Zrin
Zrin
Zrin is a village in Croatia, Sisak-Moslavina county.In the past it was the seat of Croatian noble family Šubić. Later they called themselves Zrinski, after Zrin. It was a strong point of Croatian defence in the Ottoman wars. There are still ruins of Zrin Castle in the village. In World War II the...

, by which they gained the epithet Zrinski, fell into their hands. In the 16th century, Ban
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...

 Nicholas IV Zrinski
Nikola Šubic Zrinski
Nikola Šubić Zrinski , was a Croatian nobleman and general in service of Habsburg Monarchy, ban of Croatia from 1542 to 1556, and member of the Zrinski noble family...

 gained dominion over Medjimurje in the northernmost part of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

 with its capital Čakovec
Cakovec
Čakovec is a city in northern Croatia, located around 90 kilometres north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, smallest and most densely populated Croatian county.-Population:...

.

It is not well known that descendants of the Zrinski family are still alive in Greece under the family name "Sdrinias". The common belief is that the noble families Zrinski and Frankopan
Frankopan
The Frankopans are a Croatian noble family. Also called Frankapan, Frangepán in Hungarian, and Frangipani in Italian.The Frankopan family is the leading princely Croatian aristocratic family which dates back to the 12th Century and even earlier to Roman times...

 perished through execution in Wiener Neustadt on April 30, 1671, owing to their role in the so called Zrinski-Frankopan Plot (in Hungarian historiography called the Wesselényi Plot) against the Emperor Leopold
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...

 .
Among the many notable personalities of the family, there were a few women. Catherine Zrinski
Katarina Zrinska
Countess Ana Katarina Zrinska was a Croatian noblewoman, born into the House of Frankopan noble family. She married Count Petar Zrinski of the House of Zrinski in 1641 and later became known as Katarina Zrinska. She is remembered in Croatia as a patron of the arts, a writer and patriot...

 (1625-1673), a noted poet, was born in the Frankopan
Frankopan
The Frankopans are a Croatian noble family. Also called Frankapan, Frangepán in Hungarian, and Frangipani in Italian.The Frankopan family is the leading princely Croatian aristocratic family which dates back to the 12th Century and even earlier to Roman times...

 family, and, having married Petar Zrinski
Petar Zrinski
Petar Zrinski was a Croatian Ban and writer. A member of the Zrinski noble family, he was noted for his role in the attempted Croatian-Hungarian rebellion of 1664-1670 which ultimately led to his execution for high treason.-Zrinski family:Petar Zrinski was born in Vrbovec, a small town near...

, became the member of the Zrinskis. Her daughter, Helen (Jelena Zrinska in Croatian), was the wife of Francis I Rákóczi
Francis I Rákóczi
Francis I Rákóczi was a Hungarian aristocrat, elected prince of Transylvania and father of Hungarian national hero Francis II Rákóczi....

, the prince of Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

.

Bans

The family produced four bans of Croatia (viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...

s):
  • Nicholas IV , (1508-1566, ban: 1542-1556)
  • George V , (1599-1626, ban: 1622-1626)
  • Nicholas VII , (1620-1664, ban: 1647-1664)
  • Peter IV , (1621-1671, ban: 1665-1670)

Zrinski in literature and theatre

  • Ivan Zajc
    Ivan Zajc
    Ivan Dragutin Stjepan Zajc or Ivan pl. Zajc , was a Croatian composer, conductor, director and teacher who for over forty years dominated Croatia's musical culture...

    , opera Nikola Šubić Zrinski (famous aria U boj, u boj)
  • Eugen Kumičić
    Eugen Kumicic
    Eugen Kumičić was a prominent Croatian writer and politician.-Biography:Kumičić was born in Brseč, Mošćenička Draga , a small town in Istria, then part of the Austrian Empire....

    : Urota zrinsko-frankopanska

Zrinski in paintings

Zrinski family was often topic in the paintings of Oton Iveković
Oton Ivekovic
Oton Iveković was one of the foremost Croatian painters. He graduated from the Vienna Academy of Painting. He later taught at the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts. Iveković largely concerned himself with historical topics as well as some religious themes...

.
  • Nikola Zrinski pred Sigetom
  • Oproštaj Zrinskog i Frankopana od Katarine Zrinske
  • Juriš Nikole Zrinskog iz Sigeta
  • Miklós Barabás
    Miklós Barabás
    Miklós Barabás was a Hungarian painter. He his mostly known for his portrait paintings....

    : Miklós Zrinyi
  • Viktor Madarász
    Viktor Madarász
    Madarász Viktor was a Hungarian romantic painter.He served as a soldier and later lieutenant in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 . He later lived in exile and studied painting in Vienna and with Léon Cogniet in Paris.-External links:***...

    : Miklós Zrinyi

External links

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