The siege of Novi Zrin (New Zrin Castle); hr, Utvrda Novi Zrin, link=no; hu, Új-Zrínyivár, link=no; tr, Zerinvar, link=no) in June/July 1664 was last of the military conflicts between the Croatian forces (with allies) led by Nikola Zrinski, Ban (viceroy) 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 ...

, and the Ottoman army commanded by

Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha Köprülü may refer to: People * Köprülü family (Kypriljotet), an Ottoman noble family of Albanian origin ** Köprülü era (1656–1703), the period in which the Ottoman Empire's politics were set by the Grand Viziers, mainly the Köprülü f ...

, Grand Vizier, dealing with possession of Novi Zrin Castle, defended by

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

, situated on the bank and marshy islands of

Mura River The Mur () or Mura (; ; ; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Müra''Novak, Vilko. 2006. ''Slovar stare knjižne prekmurščine''. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU, pp. 262, 269. or ''Möra'') is a river in Central Europe rising in the Hohe Tauern national park of th ...

, near the border line between northern

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 ...

and southwestern part of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning 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 ...

, at the time occupied by the Ottomans. The battle resulted in destruction of the castle, and retreat of the Croatian crew, which was forced to withdraw to safer territory of inland Croatia.

Historical background

Despite local skirmishes and battles along the Ottoman border with

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 ...

and

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

at the beginning of the 1660s, there was a period of unstable and insecure (''

tacit assumption A tacit assumption or implicit assumption is an assumption that underlies a logical argument, course of action, decision, or judgment that is not explicitly voiced nor necessarily understood by the decision maker or judge. These assumptions may b ...

'') temporary peace between the Habsburg monarchy and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. It seemed that both sides wanted to keep it; however,

Leopold I of Habsburg Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria ...

, twenty-year-old inexperienced Emperor, under strong influence of his advisors, feared Ottoman campaign towards

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and possible siege of the Austrian capital, so he kept the majority of his military forces close to Vienna. At the same time, Nikola Zrinski, Croatian ban and brave and skillful warrior, well-known all over Europe, demanded support from the Viennese court to consolidate and reinforce the border line in northern Croatia, by constructing new

fortification 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' ...

s that would parry and neutralize the Ottoman threat from

Kanije Eyalet The Kanije Eyalet ( ota, ایالت قنیژه; Eyālet-i Ḳanije) was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire formed in 1600 and existing until the 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz. It included parts of present-day Hungary and Croatia ...

in the occupied southwestern Hungary, but with no success. In 1661 Zrinski started construction of new stronghold - Novi Zrin Castle, on his own, at the confluence of the Mura River with the Drava, finishing it during 1662. Since then, the castle was attacked several times by the Ottomans, especially in 1663, but its defence was solid and successful.

Siege

At the beginning of June 1664 a large Ottoman army, numbering up to 100,000 men (some sources mention even much more), including around 40,000 Ottoman and 30,000

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

fighters, led personally by the Grand Vizier Köprülü, was moving from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

to the northwest and approaching Novi Zrin (later to fight in the Battle of Saint Gotthard on 1 August 1664). The defenders of Novi Zrin consisted mostly of Croatian and German soldiers (around 3,000 men in total), while the majority of the Habsburg army (30,000 men), encamped near Saint Gotthard, awaited the outcome of Novi Zrin battle. As the siege of Novi Zrin was ongoing, Crimean Tatars led by kahn's son Ahmed Giray raided the Croatian countryside, which according to Evliya Celeby's Seyahatnâme resulted in sack of

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 regi ...

. On 5 June 1664 Köprülü ordered

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

and continuous attacks upon the castle. After a few weeks of fighting, with exhausted defenders receiving only insignificant reinforcements from the Emperor's headquarters, the Turks managed to dig ''lagums'', or tunnels, below the bastions and ignited

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

to blow them up. On 7 July 1664 the strong explosions destroyed parts of the walls, making big holes. Aggressors consequently rushed and penetrated into the castle. The surviving and enormously outnumbered Croatian defenders were forced to withdraw from the castle and abandon the Mura River area. Ottoman commanders gave the order to their soldiers to destroy Novi Zrin completely to the ground and then marched their army northwards, first towards

Kanije Nagykanizsa (; hr, Velika Kaniža/Velika Kanjiža, or just ''Kaniža/Kanjiža''; german: Großkirchen, Groß-Kanizsa; it, Canissa; sl, Velika Kaniža; tr, Kanije), known colloquially as Kanizsa, is a medium-sized city in Zala County in southw ...

and then towards Saint Gotthard.

Aftermath

The destruction of Novi Zrin, together with a little bit later (on 10 August 1664) signed the

Peace of Vasvár The Peace of Vasvár was a treaty between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire which followed the Battle of Saint Gotthard of 1 August 1664 (near Mogersdorf, Burgenland), and concluded the Austro-Turkish War (1663–64). It held for abou ...

, that was recognized by many Croatian and Hungarian magnates like Zrinski as ''unfavourable and shameful''. Their tension with the Habsburg government lead to the

Zrinski–Frankopan conspiracy The Magnate conspiracy, also known as the Zrinski-Frankopan Conspiracy ( hr, Zrinsko-frankopanska urota) in Croatia, and Wesselényi conspiracy ( hu, Wesselényi-összeesküvés) in Hungary, was a 17th-century attempt to throw off Habsburg and ...

. Later in the same year Zrinski died, allegedly killed by a

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

, but the rest of magnates continued the conspiracy, which ended tragically in 1671. Novi Zrin was never rebuilt. Today there is only a memorial

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

on the place where the castle once was.

References

Sources

External links

Siege of Novi Zrin lasted from early June until early July 1664

Rise and fall of New Zrin Castle, including final battle during June and July 1664

Novi Zrin fort was destroyed by Turks just several years after it was built

Novi Zrin memorial obelisk

General Strozzi biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novi Zrin 1664 Battles involving Habsburg Croatia Battles involving Austria Sieges involving Hungary Conflicts in 1664 Sieges involving Croatia Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire Battles of the Austro-Turkish War (1663–64) 17th century in Croatia 1664 in the Ottoman Empire 17th century in Hungary Croatia under Habsburg rule 17th-century military history of Croatia History of Međimurje History of Zala County

Historical background

Siege

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources

External links