The House of Knežević () was a Croatian

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

, descending from the medieval village of Broćno (Brotnjo) at Čitluk,

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

. First mentioned there in the 15th century, family moved in the second half of the century towards northwest, where the members of the family gained new estates from the king Matthias Korvin in

Gračac Gračac (; ) is a town and municipality in the southern part of Lika, Croatia. The municipality is administratively part of Zadar County. Gračac is located south of Udbina, northeast of Obrovac, northwest of Knin and southeast of Gospić. Settl ...

and Grab in the

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by ...

Region. During the following centuries, they were appointed to various military and other services in the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

army. At the beginning of the 19th century, some of the distinguished family members, being notable high-ranking army officers, moved to Međimurje, the northernmost part of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, where they acquired new possessions. The last of them, Ivo Knežević, died in 1924 without leaving a successor.

Family history

Like many of old

Croatian noble families Croatian may refer to: *Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * Se ...

from the southeastern part of the medieval Croatian Kingdom and other nearby states or territories (

Kingdom of Bosnia The Kingdom of Bosnia ( sh, Kraljevina Bosna / Краљевина Босна), or Bosnian Kingdom (''Bosansko kraljevstvo'' / Босанско краљевство), was a medieval kingdom that lasted for nearly a century, from 1377 to 1463, and ...

Zachlumia Zachlumia or Zachumlia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Zahumlje, Захумље, ), also Hum, was a medieval principality located in the modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia (today parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia ...

Travunia Travunia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Travunija, Травунија; el, Τερβουνία, Tervounía; grc, Τερβουνία, Terbounía; la, Tribunia) was a South Slavic medieval principality that was part of Medieval Serbia (850–13 ...

), the Kneževićs were forced, following the increasing Ottoman threat and territorial expansion, to withdraw and abandon their homes and to move northwestwards. After the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia was occupied by the Ottoman Empire in 1463, Croato-Hungarian king

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

confirmed the nobility status of Ivan/John Knežević, a son of Filip/Phillip Knežević, a nobleman who had fallen during the

Siege of Jajce The siege of Jajce was a siege of the town of Jajce and its citadel in 1463, in a push by Ottomans to conquer as much of the Bosnian Kingdom, and continuation of the Ottoman–Hungarian Wars. After the fall of Travnik and royal fortress of Bo ...

, and gave him estates in Lika (Gračac and Grab), per charter dated 2 July 1466. Ivan Knežević's great-grandson Franjo/Francis Knežević received acknowledgement of his possessions from the king Ferdinand II of Habsburg on 15 May 1628. Franjo was commander of defence of the

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

area (eastern Lika), but lost almost all of his possessions following the Ottoman occupation. Only when the Ottomans were expelled from Lika by the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, Knežević family regained its old estates. At that time the head of the family was Juraj/George Knežević, major of the

Croatian Military Frontier The Croatian Military Frontier ( hr, Vojna krajina or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary. History Founded in the late 16 ...

Lika Infantry Regiment of the Habsburg imperial army, who married Katarina née Stibor, a noble woman from

Senj Senj (; it, Segna, la, Senia, Hungarian language, Hungarian and german: Zengg) is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains. The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress ( hr, Tvr ...

. Their son

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

(1708–1781) made further progress, being promoted to

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 11 February 1759. He took part in many battles and wars during his career, e. g.

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

(1740–1748) and

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

(1756–1763). In 1762 Martin Knežević was awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (german: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; hu, Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; cs, Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; pl, Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; sl, Vojaški red Marije Terezije; hr, Vojni Red Marije Te ...

for his extraordinary military merits. On 7 April 1763 he was given the hereditary title of

baron 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 knig ...

. His wife Uršula/Ursula née Vukasović (1717–1776) bore him a lot of children, among which were six sons: * Juraj/George (1733–1805), major-general * Antun/Anthony (1737–1809), lieutenant-colonel * Ivan/John (1743–1809), major-general * Petar/Peter (1746–1814), major-general * Lavoslav/Leopold (died 1788/89?), captain * Vinko/Vincent (1755–1832),

General of the cavalry General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers o ...

In 1802 some of the Knežević brothers (Ivan, Petar and Vinko) moved to Međimurje County, the northernmost part of Croatia. They bought (or exchanged for their possessions in Lika) the former estate of the Pauline monastery in

Sveta Jelena Sveta Jelena (; en, Saint Helen) is a historic medieval site in Međimurje County, northern Croatia. Originally a distinct settlement, Sveta Jelena is part of the Šenkovec municipality, about two kilometres away from Čakovec to the north. Th ...

, furthermore Mačkovec, Zasadbreg,

Knezovec Knezovec ( hu, Gyümölcsfalva) is a village in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_ ...

Štrigova Štrigova (german: Stridau; hu, Stridóvár) is a village and municipality in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia. History Oldest archaeological finds in Štrigova municipality are from Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Ro ...

and Leskovec. At the same time they took the title of "Kneževićs of Sveta Jelena" (Saint Helen, hu, Szent Ilona). Only two of six brothers had children of their own, Petar and Vinko. Petar married Viktorija/Victoria née Bender and fathered Maksimilijan Ivan/Maximilian John in 1804 and Aleksandar Franjo Kazimir/Alexander Francis Casimir in 1809. In Vinko's marriage with baroness Karolina/Caroline née Hogger two sons were born as well: Aleksandar (1810) and Konstantin/Constantin (1811). When general Vinko Knežević died in 1832, estates in Sveta Jelena were sold to the Feštetić family, who already owned the largest part of the county. Estates in Štrigova and its surroundings remained in possession of the Knežević family until 1924. It is known that Viktor/Victor Knežević, a descendant of Petar Knežević, who was retired and non-married

Hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

captain, lived at his Štrigova estate in 1898. After the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, two descendant remained, living in Međimurje: Aleksandar and Ivo/Johnny. The latter died in 1924, leaving a

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

according to which the whole collection of the family

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

s were donated to the

Croatian History Museum Croatian History Museum ( hr, Hrvatski povijesni muzej) is a museum of history located in the on Antun Gustav Matoš Street in the historic Gornji Grad district of Zagreb, Croatia. The museum holdings consist of around 300,000 objects divided i ...

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, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

References

External links

Knežević of Sveta Jelena – Croatian military family
(PDF) ''(in Croatian, with summary in English)''
Croatian military dynasty: the family Knežević of Saint Helena

The family has its roots in the old Croatian nobility that originated in Herzegovina

Connections with Bosnian dynastic Kotromanić family

Five members of the family in the list of Habsburg imperial and royal generals (page 50)

Activities of Vinko Knežević in 1809
''(in Croatian)'' {{Croatian nobility Croatian noble families Families of the Habsburg monarchy