Ilona Zrínyi

Jelena Zrinska
Zrínyi Ilona
Jelena Zrinska; Zrínyi Ilona
Frankopan
Signature

Ilona Zrínyi in the Munkács Castle *(Zrínyi Ilona Munkács várában)*, painted by Victor Madarász

Countess Ilona Zrínyi (

Francis Rákóczi II

. She is remembered in history for her Defense of Palanok Castle against the Imperial army in 1685-1688, an act for which she was regarded a heroine in Hungary.

Life

Early years and family

Ilona was born Ilona Zrínyi in Ozalj, present day Croatia. She was the eldest child of Croatian Ban, Peter Zrinyi, and his wife Katarina Zrinyi née Frankopan, a Croatian poet. Later her parents had two daughters, Judita Petronila (1652-1699), and Aurora Veronika (1658-1735), as well as a son, Ivan Antun (1651-1703). Ilona and her siblings were the last generation of descendants of the once-powerful Zrinski family.

From her childhood, she was known for her beauty and good education. There is little information on her schooling; it is known though that she acquired a high level of knowledge within her family, not only from her father and mother, Croatian writers and erudite persons but from her uncle Nikola VII Zrinski as well.

Marriages

On 1 March 1666, she married

Habsburgs

.

Defense of Munkács (Palanok) Castle

After their defeat at the 1683

today's Ukraine. Ilona Zrínyi alone defended the castle for three years (1685–1688) against the forces of General Antonio Caraffa

.

Internment, exile and death

After the recapture of Buda, the situation became untenable, and on 17 January 1688, Ilona had no choice but to surrender the castle, with the understanding that the defenders would receive amnesty from the Emperor, and that the Rákóczi estates would remain in her children's name. Under this agreement, she and her children traveled immediately to Vienna, where in violation of the pact the children were taken from her. Ilona lived until 1691 in the convent of the Ursulines, where her daughter Julianna was also raised. Her son Francis was immediately taken to the Jesuit school in Neuhaus.

At the time, her husband, Thököly, was still fighting with his Kuruc rebels against the Habsburg army in

church of Saint Benoit

in Galata.

Descendants

From her first marriage with Francis Rákóczi, Ilona had three children:

György (1667–1667)

Julianna Borbála (September 1672 – 1717); married Count Ferdinand Gobert von Aspremont-Lynden (1643-1708)
Francis II (27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735)

From her second marriage with Imre Thököly, Ilona had three children, all of whom died at a young age (including one she was pregnant with during the siege of Munkács).