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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.
Contents |
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):
- Nikola Šubić Zrinski (Hungarian: Szigeti Zrínyi Miklós) (1508-1566, ban: 1542-1556)
- Juraj Zrinski (Hungarian: Zrínyi György) (ban: 1622-1626)
- Nikola Zrinski (Hungarian: Zrínyi Miklós) (1620-1664, ban: 1647-1664)
- Petar Zrinski (Hungarian: Zrínyi Péter) (1621–30 March 1671, ban: 1665-1670)
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 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 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 they will 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 have mistreated you in some way, or offended you, as well I know, forgive me. In the name of our Father I am 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 would 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 have 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 29, 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
 Nicholas Zrinski |
 Oton Iveković: Juriš Nikole Šubića Zrinskog iz Sigeta |
 Zrinski in Museum of Military history in Wien |
 Park in Szigetvar |
 Execution of Petar Zrinski and Krsto Frankopan in Wiener Neustadt |
 Viktor Madarász: Portrait of Miklós Zrinyi |
 Madarász Viktor: Zrínyi Ilona Munkács várában (Zrínyi Ilona vizsgálóbírái előtt |
 Madarász Viktor: Zrínyi Péter] és Frangepán Ferenc a bécsúlyhelyi börtönben |
