Nikola III. Zrinski

Picture of Nikola III. Zrinski embossed on the silver dollars in Gvozdansko

Nikola III. Zrinski (* 1488 or 1489 in the castle Zrin ();? † 1534 ) was a Croatian high nobles, diplomat and military leader of the house of Zrinski.

Life

He was the son of Petar Zrinski II (ca. 1435-1493 ) and his wife Jelena born Babonić of Blagaj born. When he was still a young boy, his father died on 9 September 1493 the Battle of Krbava field. His wife Jelena Zrinski born Karlović of Krbava from the noble Gusić bore him six children, including Nikola IV Zrinski, the most famous hero in Croatian history, who fell at the siege of Szigetvár 1566. His seat was at the castle was Zrin, the gora approximately in the middle of its large estates in the area around Zrinska Mountains, in central Croatia.

Life Nikolas was marked by constant tensions, conflicts and battles, for the young Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I decided with his army to march rapidly to the west and conquered in a few years large areas of Croatia and Hungary. This meant that after the Battle of Mohács ( 1526) gathered the Croatian Assembly ( Sabor ) in Cetingrad and on January 1, 1527 by the Charter of Cetingrad Ferdinand I of Habsburg ( 1503-1564 ), Archduke of Austria, the Croatian king chose. Zrinski played a decisive role. His seal is on the Charter, along with other five seals of the most respected Croatian magnates.

Zrinski had earlier contacts with the Archduke Ferdinand as the defense of Croatia against the Ottomans supported financially. It is known that Zrinski attended the Archduke in Vienna on 22 October 1524. He agreed the assignment of two of his fortresses ( Novigrad on the Una and Dobra Njiva ) under the condition that they be supplemented with Austrian occupation or team. For this purpose, the Habsburg gave the Croats budget of an existing 50 cavalry unit. Thus, the germ of the future Croatian Military Frontier was laid.

As before, his father Petar II, he was at the beginning of the 16th century his own silver coins in the castle Gvozdansko shape. There he owned mines, foundries, foundries and embossers land where different types of coins like dollars, Denarius, Filir or dimes were minted.

Nikola III. Zrinski died 1534 and was buried in Zrin, as the growing Ottoman threat was always greater. He forced a little later, to move his family to the northwest and to leave their old possession.