Frankopan

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For other uses, see Frankopan (disambiguation).

The Frankopans are a Croatian noble family. Also called Frankapan, Frangepán in Hungarian, and Frangipani in Turkish.

The Frankopan family ranked next to the Zrinski family in importance by virtue of their power, wealth, fame, glory and role in Croatia's public life. They were so called only by the first half of the fifteenth century because of their affinity with the Roman patrician Frangipani family. However, they were mentioned in the year 1133 (with Dujam being the first recorded name of the Frankopans) as rulers and lords of the island of Krk and part of the littoral.

Although their possessions were exposed to every assault both from the east and the west, their power increased steadily until the seventeenth century they reached even to Karlovac. The Zrinski and Frankopan families came into closer affinity by marriage ties until in the eyes of the European courts they had become the most important families of Croatia. The famed Nikola Šubić Zrinski who died fighting and won the title of "Hero of Sziget" became the first outstanding example of the epithet "bulwark of Christianity". The Frankopan family began being persecuted after the Zrinski-Frankopan conspiracy, where Fran Krsto Frankopan led an uprising against Habsburg King Leopold I, and was executed in Vienna. The main Frankopan line died out soon thereafter, and the smaller lines subsequently died out in the 19th century.

[edit] Notable members of the Frankopan family include

  • Ivan Frankopan (Hungarian: János) (died 1393). Ban (governor) of Croatia.
  • Nikola Frankopan (Hungarian: Miklós). Son of Ivan Frankopan. Ban of Croatia 1426-1432
  • Nikola Frankopan (Hungarian: Miklós) (died 1456-1458). Son of Ban Nikola Frankopan. co-Ban of Croatia.
  • Stjepan Frankopan (Hungarian: István) (died 1481). Son of co-Ban Nikola Frankopan. Ban of Croatia.
  • Krsto Frankopan (Hungarian: Kristóf) (died 1527). Grandson of Ban Stjepan Frankopan. Ban of Croatia, 1527.
  • Nikola Frankopan de Trsat (Tersacz). Ban of Croatia, 1617-1622.

Several of the Frankopan castles remain in Croatia, mostly around the Gorski kotar region and the island of Krk. The castle at Stara Susica near Trsat incorporates structures going back to the Illyrian and Roman periods. The town of Bosiljevo has a medieval fortified castle, renovated in the last century in the spirit of the Romanesque. The castle and park at Severin na Kupi were owned by the Frankopan family until the mid 17th century. Other castles or property of the Frankopans could be found in Bosiljevo, Novi Vinodolski, Ogulin, Slunj, Ozalj, Cetingrad, Ribnik,Trsat, and other surrounding towns. The Frankopan castle in the town of Krk is currently used for open-air performances in the summer months.

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