Nikola III Zrinski (1488 or 1489? – 1534) 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 nobleman, 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, influential in the Kingdom of Croatia.

Life

Nikola was born as the son of Petar II Zrinski (1435–1493) and Jelena Babonić. His father had fallen in the battle of Krbava field, and as such Nikola lived on his large

Zrin Zrin is a village in Croatia, Sisak-Moslavina County ( Dvor Municipality). In the past it was the seat of the Šubić noble family. Later the family called themselves Zrinski, after Zrin Castle. It was a stronghold of Croatian defense in the O ...

estate in

central Croatia In contemporary geography, the terms Central Croatia () and Mountainous Croatia () are used to describe most of the area sometimes historically known as Croatia or Croatia proper (), one of the four historical regions of the Republic of Cro ...

. He was married to Jelena Karlović, the

princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

Krbava Krbava (; ) is a historical region located in Mountainous Croatia and a former Catholic bishopric (1185–1460), precursor of the diocese of Modruš and present Latin titular see. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as ...

, a sister of

Ivan Karlović Ivan Karlović (c. 1485 – 9 August 1531), also known as by his Latin name ''Johannes Torquatus'', was the Count of Krbava. His life during critical periods of Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War was marked by constant efforts to stop Ottoman ...

, future Ban (Viceroy) of Croatia. They had six children, among them

Nikola IV Zrinski Nikola IV Zrinski or Miklós IV Zrínyi (, ; 1507/1508 – 7 September 1566), also commonly known as Nikola Šubić Zrinski (), was a Croatian- Hungarian nobleman and general, Ban of Croatia from 1542 until 1556, royal master of the treasury f ...

, one of the greatest military leaders in Croatian history and a national hero both in

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 in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Nikola is known for his attendance of the

1527 election in Cetin The 1527 election in Cetin (, meaning Parliament on Cetin(grad) or Parliament of Cetin(grad), or ) was an assembly of the Croatian Parliament (Sabor) in the Cetin Castle in 1527. It followed a succession crisis in the Kingdom of Hungary caused by ...

when

Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek ...

was elected the new king of Croatia. Among the seals of six Croatian noblemen on the charter confirming the election, there is also his seal. Moreover, some historians believe that Zrinski was the one who played a crucial role in Ferdinand's choice. In his Gvozdansko Castle, not far from Zrin, he had his own silver coins minted, as his father had done before. There were silver, gold, and lead ore mines, smelteries, foundries and mints in his property. In the time of the threatening Ottoman danger, Nikola III Zrinski died in Zrin and was buried in the neighboring

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

church of St. Margaret (according to some historians: church of St. Mary Magdalene). He was succeeded by his son Nikola IV, future

Ban of Croatia Ban of Croatia () was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102, viceroys of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by Ban (title), bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and sup ...

, and hero of the

Siege of Szigetvár The siege of Szigetvár or the Battle of Szigeth (pronunciation: �siɡɛtvaːr ; ; ) was an Ottoman siege of the fortress of Szigetvár in the Kingdom of Hungary. The fort had blocked Sultan Suleiman's line of advance towards Vienna in 156 ...

(1566).

External links

Nikola III Zrinski in an essay of the archaeological topography of the regions Kostajnica and Dvor (author: Ivan Mirnik)

The mining and minting rights of Croatian aristocracy

The mining and minting rights of Croatian aristocracy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zrinski, Nikola 03 Zrinski family Croatian Roman Catholics 1534 deaths 16th-century Croatian military personnel 15th-century Croatian nobility 16th-century Croatian nobility 1520s in Croatia