Franjo Frankopan Slunjski

Franjo Frankopan Slunjski

In 1553 he asked Ivan Lenković, the captain of Senj, to send soldiers as reinforcement to the castles of Hrastovica and Cetin, and in 1555 he demanded that his serfs should not be obliged to work on fortifications at the border, but without success. In 1557 and 1562 his men strengthened Drežnik Grad, Tržan grad in Modruš and some other castles. In 1555 he also asked for help from Ivan Ungnad, captain general, who in return demanded that Krstinja castle and both Kladuša castles would be handed over to the latter. Unfortunately, all defensive efforts were unsuccessful, as the Turks constantly attacked, looted and demolished Slunjski's estates, especially in the Pokuplje area.

Military career

He spent the whole of his short life defending Croatia and fighting against the Ottomans. Between 3 and 10 March 1560 the Croatian Parliament concluded that Slunjski should control the vulnerable Kupa River crossing at Letovanić, where he had to set up a guard. Soon after that, he took part in the army that clashed with the Ottomans near Žirovnica River and Slunj. In October he defended Mala Kladuša and its surroundings as well as Petrova Gora from the Ottoman attacks. In 1565 he participated in the failed defense of Krupa Castle, where he had unsuccessfully begged Count Herbert von Auersperg, the imperial commander-in-chief, to send the army to attack the invaders.

During the

In 1568 and 1569, both bans succeeded in preventing the Ottomans from penetrating into Croatia near Hrastovica and Sisak. On 8 May 1569 the bans convened an assembly of the Croatian Parliament, at which the strengthening and defense of castles and the violence of the royal troops on the peasant estates were discussed. In the same year Slunjski undertook several raids across the temporary border with Bosnia in order to prevent Ottoman invasion.

Later life and death

During 1570 Slunjski attended several parliament sessions that were convened to discuss the defense of Hrastovica, which, despite the temporary truce, was continuously attacked by the Ottoman army. Subsequently, Croatian forces, led by him and accompanied by his relatives Nikola VIII Frankopan Tržački and Juraj IV Zrinski, crossed the Una River near Kostajnica in September and broke into the temporary Ottoman occupied territory. In June 1571 he managed to expel the Ottoman cavalry from Hrastovica again, thanks to his courage and military skill.

On 2 April 1572, he took part in the Hungarian parliament session in

• 
  Ruins of Slunj Castle,
  once the seat of the Slunjski branch of the Frankopan family
• 
  Cetin Castle
• 
  Velika Kladuša Castle
• 
  Ledenice Castle

See also

• List of rulers of Croatia
• Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)
• Croatian nobility
• List of castles in Croatia

References

Bibliography

• Kruhek, Milan (2014). "Slunjski kraj i njegova crkva u prošlosti i sadašanjosti" (PDF). Senjski zbornik (in Croatian). 41 (1): 83–96. Retrieved 29 October 2022.