Adam Zrinski () (

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, 24 December 1662 – Slankamen, 19 August 1691) was a

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

ian

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

army service, a member of the

Zrinski The House of Zrinski or Zrínyi was a Croatian- Hungarian noble family, a cadet branch of the Croatian noble tribe of Šubić, influential during the period in history marked by the Ottoman wars in Europe in the Kingdom of Croatia's union wit ...

noble family.

Life

Adam Zrinski was the son of Croatian Ban (viceroy)

Nikola Zrinski Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος) and it means "the winner of the people". It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulg ...

(1620–1664) and his second wife Maria Sophia Löbl, an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight ...

. His father was killed on 18 November 1664 in a hunting accident by a wounded

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

(however in suspicious circumstances), when Adam was only two years old. So he grew up with his mother (until her death in 1676) and sister Marija Katarina (), finishing high education at

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

and in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In 1681 Adam came back to his father's

Čakovec Čakovec (; ; ; ) is a city in Northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital, and close to the borders with Slovenia and Hungary. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmo ...

estate in the

Međimurje County Međimurje County (; ; ) is a triangle-shaped Counties of Croatia, county in the northernmost part of Croatia, roughly corresponding to the historical and geographical region of Međimurje (region), Međimurje. It is the smallest Croatian count ...

, the northernmost part of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, and took part in battles against the Ottomans, like many of his ancestors had done before. In 1684 he married an

countess Maria Katarina Lamberg (1664–1717), but they had no children. From his father he inherited

Bibliotheca Zriniana The Bibliotheca Zriniana () is the book collection of Nikola VII Zrinski, Ban (Viceroy) of Croatia, from the 17th century. It was established in Čakovec, the seat of the Zrinski noble family at that time. 1662 is considered to be the year of i ...

, one of the largest and most valuable individual compacted libraries ever appeared in Croatia and its surroundings. Fortunately the library has been almost fully saved during the turbulent centuries and is stored now in the Croatian National and University Library in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. During his career Adam Zrinski reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

. He commanded his cavalry unit during the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

(1683-1699). He was only 28, when he was killed during the

Battle of Slankamen The Battle of Slankamen was fought on 19 August 1691, near Stari Slankamen, Slankamen in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Sanjak of Syrmia (modern-day Vojvodina, Serbia), between the Ottoman Empire, and Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg Austrian forces ...

in 1691, as one of his fellow soldiers shot him in his back. He was one of the last male members of the famous Croatian noble family

References

External links

* * https://web.archive.org/web/20090202045504/http://tzm.hr/article.php?g=8 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zrinski, Adam 1662 births 1691 deaths Counts of Croatia Austrian military personnel Croatian military personnel killed in action Croatian Roman Catholics Habsburg Croats 17th-century Croatian military personnel 17th-century Croatian nobility People of the Great Turkish War Zrinski family