Nikola Šubić Zrinski

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For the member of the Zrinski family who lived in the 17th century, see Nikola Zrinski.

Miklós Barabás (1842): Zrínyi Miklós

Nikola Šubić Zrinski or Miklós Zrínyi (1508 – 1566), was a Croatian soldier in service of Habsburg Monarchy, and member of the Zrinski noble family.

Nikola was the son of Nikola Zrinski and Ilona Karlović (sister of Croatian ban Ivan Karlović). He distinguished himself at the siege of Vienna in 1529, and in 1542 saved the imperial army from defeat before Pest by intervening with 400 Croats, for which service he was appointed ban of Croatia.

In 1542 he routed an Ottoman force at the Battle of Somlyo. In 1543 he married Catherine (Katarina) Frankopan, who placed the whole of her vast estates at his disposal. The king, Ferdinand I also gave him large possessions in Hungary, and henceforth the Zrinskis–Zrínyis became as much Magyar as Croatian magnates.

Portrait by Oton Iveković

In 1556 Zrinski won a series of victories over the Ottomans, culminating in the battle of Babócsa. The Croatians, however, overwhelmed their ban with reproaches for neglecting them to fight for the Magyars, and the emperor simultaneously deprived him of the captaincy of Upper Croatia and sent 10,000 men to aid the Croats, while the Magyars were left without any help, whereupon Zrinski resigned the banship (1561).

In 1563, on the coronation of the Emperor Maximilian as king of Hungary, Zrinski attended the ceremony at the head of 3000 Croatian and Magyar mounted noblemen, in the vain hope of obtaining the dignity of palatine, vacant by the death of Thomas Nadasdy.

Shortly after marrying (in 1564) his second wife, Eva of Rožmberk (Rosenberg), a great Bohemian heiress, he hastened southwards to defend the frontier, and defeated the Ottomans at Szeged.

In 1566, from August 5 to September 7, his small force (2,300 soldiers) heroically defended the little fortress of Szigetvár against the whole Ottoman host (90,000 soldiers), led by Suleiman the Magnificent in person. The Battle of Szigetvár ended with Zrinski perishing with every member of the garrison in a last desperate sortie.

A square surrounding a large park in the center of Zagreb is named after Nikola Šubić Zrinski, commonly known as Zrinjevac.

He was the great grandfather of Croatian/Hungarian poet, Nikola Zrinski.

Zrinski is honoured both in Croatia and in Hungary as a national hero.

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Zrinyi Miklós statue at Kodály körönd, Budapest

Nikola Šubić Zrinski

A look at Zrinjevac in Zagreb

Reportedly, Zrinski prepared for the last charge, addressing his brothers-in-arms:

"..Let us go out from this burning place into the open and stand up to our enemies. Who dies - he will be with God. Who dies not - his name will be honoured. I will go first, and what I do, you do. And God is my witness - I will never leave you, my brothers and knights!"

Croatian composer Ivan Zajc created an opera titled Nikola Šubić Zrinski which debuted in November of 1876. It is a patriotic play which draws on the Croatians' heroic struggle against the Turks and the treachery by Habsburg monarchy. It is still in production today. [1]