The Croatian noble family of Zrinski played a notable part in the defence of Europe and the preservation of its freedom and cultural identity in the period of the Ottoman invasion. In 1566, Nikola IV Šubić Zrinski (approx. 1510-1566) bravely defended the fortress of Szigetvár in the southern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, thus blocking the Ottoman advance towards Vienna. The subsequent generations of the Zrinskis, especially Nikola IV Šubić Zrinski’s great-grandsons Nikola VII (1620-1664), on whom the Spanish king Phillip IV later conferred the Order of the Golden Fleece, and Petar IV (1621-1671), successfully continued the anti-Ottoman campaigns.

The Zrinski brothers’ dissatisfaction with the politics of the Imperial Court, i.e. with its perceived lack of support to the liberation of the occupied territories of the kingdoms of Croatia and Hungary, and with the Emperor’s intention to rule the Habsburg Monarchy with absolute and centralised power, inspired them to organise a revolt. Its outcome was tragic: Petar IV and his brother-in-law Fran Krsto Frankopan were executed in Wiener Neustadt on 30th April 1671, while their estates were confiscated and their family legacy destroyed.

Petar’s wife Ana Katarina Zrinski (approx. 1625-1673), a descendant of the old and powerful Croatian noble family of Frankopan, had also participated in the revolt. She was the first female Croatian diplomat and, as a woman of great learning, also renowned for her literary works. Petar and Ana Katarina’s eldest daughter, Jelena Zrinski (1643-1703), continued the resistance to the centralist politics of the Habsburg Monarchy. For two whole years, she led the defence of the Hungarian Palanok Castle in Mukachevo (today’s western Ukraine) against the attacks of the Imperial army. In Europe, this was received as a sensation, which secured her the title of the “most courageous woman in Europe”.