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Petar Zrinski (Croatian: Petar Zrinski, Hungarian: Zrínyi Péter; 1621-1671) was a Croatian and Hungarian warrior and member of the Zrinski noble family.
After the death of his brother Nikola Zrinski, Petar became ban of Croatia. Petar fought for greater Croatian independence from the Hapsburg dynasty. This led to him being tried near Vienna and publicly executed in 1671. With his death, the Zrinski family came to an end.
Petar's wife Katarina Zrinski is famous in her own right. After the death of Petar she was forced into seclusion in a monastery where she remained until her death.
Zrinski and Frankopan realized the treacherousness of the "Christian" Leopold and the crimes of Vienna, spending their last hours awaiting their tragic fate, in complete devotion to God and in the belief that the idea of a liberated Croatia would nonetheless be realized. See what consolation fills the lines of Petar's last letter to Katarina. All that they regretted was that they should be executed so miserably, that they did not die like their glorious ancestors in battle. They were sentenced to death for high treason. For Petar Zrinski the verdict was read that "he committed the greatest sins than the others in aspiring to obtain the same station as his majesty, that is, to be an independent Croatian ruler and therefore he indeed deserves to be crowned not with a crown, but with a bloody sword". On April 30th, 1671, Petar Zrinski and F. K. Frankopan were led to their place of execution. Both up to the last moment maintained their complete lucidity. "Today we have pardoned each other our transgressions. Therefore I ponder this letter and ask you for everlasting forgiveness. If I have mistreated you in some way, or offended you, forgive me. In the name of our Father, I am quite prepared to die and I am not afraid". So wrote Petar Zrinski in the letter of pardon to his wife Katarina. Frankopan also wrote a very sensitive letter to his wife. "My dear Julia, I would lie with all my soul to leave behind a last commemoration of my deepest love, but I am naked and miserable". Before his death Petar allegedly tied his hair up in a handkerchief made by his wife, so that the executioner's axe should fall directly on his neck without obstruction. He wanted with his death to show that which he could not with this life, that a Croat knows how to die courageously. Only on the second blow did the executioner cut off first off Zrinski's head. The same thing happened in the case of F.H. K. Frankopan. Yet the court did not rest until the families of Zrinski and Frankopan were utterly destroyed. Two of Petar's daughters died in the convent. His son Ivan, after a terrible imprisonment and torture, died mad. So did Katarina, the very symbol of Croatia's destiny, the woman who in herself combined Spartan devotion and bravery with the wisdom of Athens. Nikola's son Adam died struck down in all probability by an Austrian soldier in a battle near Slankamen, twenty years after the decapitation of Petar Zrinski and F. K. Frankopan. Frankopan lost his son who died at a very young age. His family remained without male descendants, something in which only Vienna could triumph. Se disappeared from Croatian history, political and cultural life two most illustrious families. With their death Croatia became like a widow in mourning. By now it is not very difficult to prove that there was indeed no question of any conspiracy, but rather of an attempt that promised to save Croatia. Zrinski and Frankopan did not even try to answer the court in Vienna on the terms in which Vienna dealt with them, but rather wished to counteract its injustices with what was then a quite justifiable diplomacy. Vienna had seen the whole danger of such an undertaking whose cause was rooted in the dissatisfaction among Hungarians and Croats occasioned by the unfavorable peace of Vasvar. Leopold knew what was going on. He wished to settle the matter, but above all he wished to exculpate himself. The ministers of the crown proved to be the worst rascals in the entire history of the monarchy in removing their opponents by murder as adversaries to whom even the diplomatic game was begrudged. European courts were ready to promise much, to be involved in intrigues, but small nations serve only as their morsels until they could come to an agreement with the larger nations on the divisions of the spoils. All this I would not even mention were not such situations prevalent today.
Letter by Petar Zrinski to his wife Katarina Zrinski:
My dear heart; Do not be too sorrowful and upset on account of this letter. God's will be done. Tomorrow at ten o'clock they will cut off my head and your brother's too. Today we pardoned each other with all our heart. Therefore I ponder this letter and ask you for everlasting forgiveness. If I have mistreated you in some way, or offended you, as well I know, forgive me. In the name of our Father I am quite prepared to die and am not afraid. I hope that the Almighty God who has humiliated me in this world will have mercy on me. I would pray to him and ask him to whom tomorrow I hope to come that we may meet each other in everlasting glory before the Lord. I know nothing else to write to you about, neither our son nor the rest of our poor possessions. I have left this to God's will. Do not be sorry, everything had to be so. In Wiener Neustadt, the day before the last day of my life, at seven o'clock in the evening, April 29th, 1671. May Almighty God bless you together with our daughter Aurora Veronika.
Count Petar Zrinski
See also
External links
Petar Zrinski's portrait, along with his consort and brother-in-law Fran Krsto Frankopan, is on the front of the 5 kuna banknote. - *
1621 births | 1671 deaths | Bans of Croatia | Croatian soldiers | Zrinski
"Petar Zrinski"