Susedgrad Castle (
Hungarian: ''Szomszédvár''), or earlier also only Sused, is a ruined
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
fortress
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
on the far-western hill of mount
Medvednica
Medvednica () is a mountain in central Croatia, just north of Zagreb, and marking the southern border of the historic region of Zagorje. The highest peak, at is Sljeme. Most of the area of Medvednica is a nature park (''park prirode''), a type ...
, while also marking the far-western part of modern-day
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 ...
,
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 ...
.
Position
As written on billboard near Susedgrad ruins, the fortress overwatched an important crossroad at
Krapina
Krapina (; hu, Korpona) is a town in northern Croatia and the administrative centre of Krapina-Zagorje County with a population of 4,482 (2011) and a total municipality population of 12,480 (2011). Krapina is located in the hilly Zagorje region ...
-
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
confluence, and therefore enabled control over nearby landways and waterways. Archeological and paleontological findings suggest that the place was settled since antiquity. Nearby quarries are also believed to exist since antiquity, supplying stone for building forts and churches in the surrounding area.
History
Medieval Slavonia
![A Susedgrad Castle layout](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/A_Susedgrad_Castle_layout.jpg)
Written sources from 1299 and 1287 indicate that the castle was constructed somewhere throughout the second half of 13th century, when it was owned by
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
order.
It is then mentioned in 1316 in one charter of king
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I, also known as Charles Robert ( hu, Károly Róbert; hr, Karlo Robert; sk, Karol Róbert; 128816 July 1342) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of ...
as his property.
The castle was a royal property until 1345 it was given by king
Louis The Great
Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. ...
to Nikola III. Aka - Toth, who supported king Louis in his wars.
Nikola III. also gained control over significant possessions in
Hrvatsko Zagorje
Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian for "backland" or "behind the hills") is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica Mountain. It comprises ...
, which would subsequently evolve in what would leter be known as
Susedgrad-Stubica Segniory.
The family branch which controlled Susedgrad became known as Toths of Susedgrad.
Toths however died out, and their last female heir - Doroteja, married to Nicolas Henning, whose family in 1439 took over rights to Aka's possessions.
Early Modern Period
Hennings held complete control over the castle, until 1502 when they died out, after which several contestants laid claims to the castle through the female line.
Legal dispute arose over the question, whether such "female" claims are legal, or does the king owns a right to give the castle to the new owner. In the end,
emperor Ferdinand gave one half of the estates to Styrian noble Andrew Teuffenbach who changed his last name to Henning through his mother's line, while he gave another half to Andras Bathory, also a Henning descendant.
Henning-Tahy Wars
Andrew Teuffenbach - Henning died in 1563, while his wife Ursula Meknitzer Henning lived on. While he was alive, Teuffenbach leased half of his Susedgrad estate to his wife Ursula Meknitzer, while he leased the other part to Andras Batory. Since he was often away in Hungary, Batory sold his complete rights to bith Susedgrad and Stubica to
Ferenc Tahy
Ferenc Tahy de Tahvár et Tarkő, (also known as Franjo Tahi, or Tahy in Croatian and as Ferenc Tahi in Slovenian; 1526–1573) was a Hungarian– Croatian nobleman from the Tahy family, which draws its origins from Pilis County. He was known t ...
for 50 000 Forints, who thus became a majority owner.
Ursula, however, refused to accept Tahy as a rightful owner, while Tahy also refused to give in to Ursula which brought these two nobles into confrontation. Both Ursula and Tahy started gathering powerful allies around them, with Ursula enjoying support of Croatian viceban Ambroz Gregorijanec, while Tahy enjoyed support of Croatian ban
Peter Erdody
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
.
Ursula made the first move 1565 when she gathered an army of some 800 local peasants had Tahy's family kicked out of the possession. When Croatian ban Petar Erdody gathered Army of Croatian ban to punish her, Ursula and her allies again gathered 3000 strong peasant army and routed Army of Croatian ban in
Battle of Susedgrad in July 1565. The issue was then lifted to Croatian parliament who raised a lawsuit against Ursula, while Royal Chamber confiscated her possessions until the lawsuit is resolved. Tahy was meanwhile brought back in following year, and started to make revenge against local peasants who fought along Ursula against him, and this would eventually escalate in
Croatian-Slovene Peasant Revolt of 1573.
Since Tahy died same year, Hennings bought back Tahy's part of the estate from his descendants in 1574.
Abandonment
Historian Stjepan Laljak notes that in 1590, Susedgrad was shaken by a violent earthquake. In the beginning of 17th century, the castle burnt down, and it was later abandoned and left to ruin. One of the main reasons was that there was no need for a large fort since danger from Ottoman akinji incursions diminished. Also, the methods of warfare evolved, making this castle useless.
Contemporary Period
The castle gave name to today neighbourhood of
Podsused, meaning literally "under Sused".
For a while in the late 20th century the name Susedgrad had been used for a city municipality that was dissolved in the 1999 municipal reform and has subsequently been transformed into
Podsused - Vrapče and
Stenjevec
Stenjevec is one of the districts of Zagreb, Croatia. It is located in the western part of the city and has 61 000 inhabitants (as of 2011).
List of neighborhoods in Stenjevec
* Jankomir
* Malešnica
* "Matija Gubec"
* Stenjevec
* Špansko Špa ...
city districts.
Location and access
ZET
Zet or ZET may refer to:
* Zagrebački električni tramvaj, Zagreb Electric Tram, public transport operator in Zagreb, Croatia
* Zet (hardware), a clone x86 processor
* Radio ZET, Polish radio station
*Association of the Polish Youth "Zet", pre-19 ...
bus line 123 from Črnomerec terminal is the closest transport to the ruins at the "(Aleja) Seljačke bune" stop.
With a short walk (additional 5 min) from the center of Podsused, it can also be accessed by bus lines 116, 119, 122, 172, 176 and 177, and by
HŽ
Croatian Railways ( hr, Hrvatske željeznice; abbreviated as HŽ) is the national railway company of Croatia. Croatia is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Croatia is 78. The Croatian rail network carr ...
suburban commuter trains directly from the city center.
Gallery
File:Southwestern part of Susedgrad ruins 2.jpg, alt=, A southwestern part of Susedgrad remains.
File:Puskarnica-Susedgrad.JPG, alt=, An embrasure in remaining ruins.
File:A well inside Susedgrad Castle ruins.jpg, alt=, An old well inside castle remains.
File:Remains of castle walls.jpg, alt=, Remains of castle walls.
File:View from Susedgrad ruins towards Sava river.jpg, alt=, View towards Sava river.
File:Weingarten - Susedgrad in 19th century.jpg, alt=, Susedgrad ruins on Eduard Weingarten's painting from around 1880.
See also
*
Novi Dvori of Zaprešić
References
{{Castles in Croatia
Neighbourhoods of Zagreb
Ruined castles in Croatia
Castles in Croatia