Everything about The Zrinski totally explained
The
Zrinski family, known also as
Zrínyi in
Hungarian, was a
Croatian
noble family, influential in the
Hungarian Kingdom during the period in history marked by the
Ottoman wars in Europe.
History
The Zrinskis, meaning "those of Zrin", are a branch of the
Šubić family, which arose when king
Louis I the Great needed some of the Šubićs' fortresses for his coming wars against
Venice, and the city of
Zadar in particular. Louis I took their estates around
Bribir in the
Hrvatsko Primorje hinterlands (they used to be known as "princes of Bribir") and gave them the
Zrin estate in the Croatian region of
Banovina, near the modern city of
Petrinja.
Princess Jelena
Šubić married Vladislav
Kotromanić. Their first-born child,
Tvrtko I, became the
Ban of
Bosnia and from
1377 the King of
Bosnia. Their niece and adopted daughter, Elizabeta
Kotromanić Elisabeth of Bosnia, married
Louis I the Great. Elizabeth's and Louis' daughters succeeded their father and became queens in their own right, as
Mary of Hungary and
Jadwiga of Poland.
The Zrinskis were
Croats and played a crucial role in the history of the
Croatian state, both before their arrival in
Zrin and later. On the other hand, they also identified as
hungarus or
natio hungarica, which means "somebody from the
Kingdom of Hungary", regardless of the language spoken. They were among many
noble families in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Because they lived, worked, and intermarried with nobility from all parts of the multiethnic kingdom, it was natural and expected that they be fluent in four or five languages. It is certain, that
Nicholas Zrinski spoke at least
Croatian,
Hungarian,
Italian,
Turkish and of course
Latin. It is of interest that he was the most prominent
Hungarian poet in the
17th century, while his brother
Peter is known for his poems in Croatian language.
Famous members
Bans
The family produced four
bans of Croatia (
viceroys):
Others
Joannes Torquatus de
Corbavia who was the ban between 1521 and 1524 married one Helen Zrinski. Another Helen Zrinski was the wife of Francis I
Rákóczi (whom she married in 1666) and of
Imre Thököly (whom she married in 1682).
Johann Zrinski, a son of Nikola Šubić Zrinski, inherited (and partly bought)
Rožmberk Castle,
Bohemia from
Petr Vok of Rožmberk.
During
Stanley's expedition in
Africa in
1882, his fellow-explorer, a Croat from
Požega named
Dragutin Lerman discovered in
Congo the waterfalls that he named the "
Zrinski chutes"
Already by the end of the twelfth century, the
Šubić family, whose fief was
Bribir, held the title of princes. Later, their power steadily increased, so that they acquired the territory between the rivers
Krka and
Zrmanja and the sea by the 13th century. At the outset of the 14th century,
Pavao Šubić governed Bosnia as far as the
Drina. Later on, the town of Zrin, by which they gained the epithet Zrinski, fell into their hands. In the 16th century, Ban
Nikola Zrinski gained dominion over
Medjimurje with its capital at
Čakovec.
It isn't 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 perished through execution in Wiener Neustadt on April 30th, 1671, owing to their role in the so called
Zrinski-Frankopan Plot (in Hungarian historiography called the
Wesselényi Plot) against the
Emperor.
Katarina Zrinska, a noted poet, was born into the
Frankopan family, and married
Petar Zrinski. Another known female Zrinski was
Jelena Zrinska (
* Ilona Zrinyi)
Family branches
Quotes
Deeds are better witnesses than men |
Last Letter of Ban Petar Zrinski to his wife Katarina:
|My dear heart;
Do not be too sorrowful and upset on account of this letter. God's will be done. Tomorrow at ten o'clock that'll cut off my head and your brother's too. Today we pardoned each other with all our heart. Therefore I ponder this letter and ask you for everlasting forgiveness. If I've mistreated you in some way, or offended you, as well I know, forgive me. In the name of our Father I'm quite prepared to die and am not afraid. I hope that the Almighty God who has humbled me in this world will have mercy on me. I'd pray to him and ask him to whom tomorrow I hope to come that we may meet each other in everlasting glory before the Lord. I know nothing else to write to you about, neither our son nor the rest of our poor possessions. I've left this to God's will. Do not be sorry, everything had to be so. In Wiener Neustadt, the day before the last day of my life, at seven o'clock in the evening, April 29th, 1671.
May Almighty God bless you together with our daughter Aurora Veronika.|Petar Zrinski |
Estates and buildings
Miscellaneous
The Croatian
football club
NK Zrinjski from the city of
Mostar,
Bosnia and Herzegovina is named after the Zrinski family. There are numerous other clubs and teams named after the Zrinskis all throughout Croatia and the Croatian diaspora.
Today's
Hungarian military academy is named after Nicholas Zrinski II. (
Zrínyi Miklós Nemzetvédelmi Egyetem).
Most cities in
Hungary have streets named after
Miklós Zrínyi (for example in
Budapest there are 13 Zrínyi streets).
Many Croatian female organisations and cultural societies have the name of Katarina Zrinska.
Stephen Colbert called Nicholas Zrínyi II. an "asshole" as a joke on his program the Colbert Report causing a minor outrage in Hungary. The two were competing in an internet voting contest for the honor of having a new highway bridge over the Danube named after them.
Zrinski in art
Zrinski in literature and theatre
Ivan Zajc, opera Nikola Šubić Zrinski (famous aria U boj, u boj)
Eugen Kumičić: Urota zrinsko-frankopanska
Zrinski in paintings
Zrinski family was often topic in the paintings of Oton Iveković.
Nikola Zrinski pred Sigetom
Oproštaj Zrinskog i Frankopana od Katarine Zrinske
Juriš Nikole Zrinskog iz Sigeta
Miklós Barabás: Miklós Zrinyi
Viktor Madarász: Miklós Zrinyi
Zrinski in sculptures
in citatel in Budapest
Zrinski in movies
Gallery
Image:Nicholas Zrinski.jpg|Nicholas Zrinski
Image:Oton Ivekovic, Nikola Subic Zrinski.jpg|Oton Iveković: Juriš Nikole Šubića Zrinskog iz Sigeta
Image:Nikola Subis Zrinski Statue, Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Wien.JPG|Zrinski in Museum of Military history in Wien
Image:Park of Hungarian Turkish Friendship Szigetvár 2.jpg|Park in Szigetvar
Image:Petru Zrinskom i Krsti Frankopanu odrubljene su glave u Beckom Novom Mjestu 30.4.1671. god.jpg|Execution of Petar Zrinski and Krsto Frankopan in Wiener Neustadt
Image:Portrait of Miklós Zrinyi.jpg|Viktor Madarász: Portrait of Miklós Zrinyi
Image:Madarasz-zrinyi-i.jpg|Madarász Viktor: Zrínyi Ilona Munkács várában (Zrínyi Ilona vizsgálóbírái előtt
Image:Madarász - Zrínyi és Frangepán.jpg|Madarász Viktor: Zrínyi Péter] és Frangepán Ferenc a bécsúlyhelyi börtönben
Further Information
Get more info on 'Zrinski'.
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