Međimurje under Hungarian rule is the historical period of Međimurje (), the northernmost part of Croatia, from the Early modern period to Late modern period, during which it was an integral part of Zala County in Hungary. It was a centuries-old aspiration of the Hungarian rulers that came true in 1720, as Međimurje was acquired by Michael Johann III. Althann (1679–1727), a Habsburg Count and member of the House of Althann, an ancient German noble family. Until then, although in the possession of Croatian, Hungarian and Austrian noblemen (Demetrius Csák, Güssinger family, Lacković family, Ernušt family, Zrinskis and others), Međimurje was mostly part of the Varaždin County, which formally belonged to the medieval Kingdom of Slavonia or early modern Kingdom of Slavonia, one of Croatian lands. From 1527 the entire territory fell under Habsburg Monarchy and after the formation of Croatian Military Frontier on parts of the Croatian territory, Međimurje remained outside it and was, as before, under the administration of the Ban (Banus) of Croatia (in the so-called Banal Croatia).
In the ecclesiastical view, even after 1720, this area in the north of the present-day Republic of Croatia, populated almost exclusively by Croats (with very small shares of other ethnic groups), belonged all the time to the Diocese of Zagreb (later Archdiocese). From 1720 until 1918, except for two shorter periods, Međimurje administratively belonged to Zala County, which was located in the southwest of the Kingdom of Hungary and whose seat was in the town of Zalaegerszeg. It was exempted from Hungarian administration only twice, in the years 1785 – 1789 and 1849 – 1861, when it was returned to Kingdom of Croatia governed by Ban of Croatia, for a shorter time. During the Hungarian rule, especially after 1861, the inhabitants of Međimurje were under constant pressure on loss of national identity, the imposition of a foreign, incomprehensible language, and exposure to various types of physical and psychological violence, especially if they would openly oppose the imposed government. Intensive Hungarianization was carried out, especially for children through education in newly established state schools, which increasingly replaced the previous religious schools, where teaching was in Croatian language. In Čakovec, a Teachers' School (or Preparandie), a kind of preparatory school, was founded for the education of those school teachers who carried out Hungarianization. This School manifested itself through journalism and publishing, as well as in other ways. The peak of Hungarianization and violence against the local language occurred in 1898, when the authorities introduced renaming of all Croatian topographic names in Međimurje, so the genuine, old Croatian names of the settlements were caricaturally, more or less successfully renamed into Hungarian language.
Međimurje was "de facto" returned to Croatia on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1918, by a decisive action of military units of the National Council of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, composed of volunteers and former members of the Austro-Hungarian Army or Royal Croatian Home Guard. That military operation expelled Hungarian rulers across the Mura River into the territory of newly arising state – Kingdom of Hungary, which was significantly reduced to much smaller borders than before the First World War. On 9 January 1919 a great public assembly was convened in Čakovec, where a Resolution on the secession of Međimurje from the Hungarian state was passed. Međimurje was once again returned to Croatia by the will of the people, which was later confirmed at the international Paris Peace Conference through the Treaty of Trianon.
Background
With the coronation of Coloman as Croatian king in Biograd in 1102, the entire territory of the medieval Croatian kingdom, including Međimurje, entered into a personal union with Hungary. Međimurje was and remained mostly part of Slavonia, the northern part of the Kingdom of Croatia, and the kings or hercegs (dukes), like Coloman, Duke of Slavonia (ruled 1226–1241) gave properties in that area to Croatian, Hungarian and German nobles as well (e.g. Güssinger). There are sources that say that in the 13th century Međimurje for some time belonged to the Hungarian County of Zala, and at the beginning of the 14th century to Ulrich I. von Walsee, a German nobleman.
In the second half of the 16th century Croatian nobleman Juraj IV Zrinski (*1549–†1603), a supporter of Protestantism, was for some time the administrator of Zala County (not ispán), a Hungarian territorial unit that bordered on the Mura river with Međimurje, and then Međimurje began to gravitate towards Hungary, where Protestantism was very widespread at that time. However, in 1609, the Croatian Parliament concluded that only the Catholic religion is recognized in Croatia, so Juraj's son Juraj V Zrinski returned to Catholicism, and Protestant preachers and supporters became unwelcome in Međimurje.
Documents
The first preserved documents mentioning Međimurje date back to the 13th century. In the charter of King Emeric from 1203, the inhabitants of Mihovljan, which lies "between the Mura and the Drava", are released from all debts to the king and the Ban and are exempt from paying taxes. The mention of the word "Ban" here indicates that Međimurje was under the administration of Croatian Ban (Banus). Since there were no Bans in the government structure of Hungary proper (but only on southern borderlands), this means that the area between Mura and Drava was not an integral part of Hungary, but of Croatia (and Slavonia respectively).
In his book "Natale solum magni ecclesiae doctoris sancti Hieronymi in ruderibus Stridonis occultatum, probatorum nihilominus historicorum, et geographicorum opinionibus, ac brevis Illyricanae chronologiae adjumento erutum, atque cum vita ejusdem purpurati Dalmatae per a.r.p. Josephum Bedekovich, ordinis fratrum eremitarum s. Pauli primi eremitae definitorim generalem patefactum, anno reparatae salutis, M.DCC.LII., Neostadii Austriae, ex typographeo Mulleriano" ("Birthplace of the great church teacher Saint Jerome hidden under the ruins of Stridon, which was disclosed according to the opinion of excellent historians and geographers, with a short Illyrian chronology, and published with the biography of the same crimson Dalmatian by Reverend Father Josip Bedeković, general councilor of the order of the brothers of the first hermit St. Paul, the year of salvation gained again in 1752 in the Austrian Wiener Neustadt from Müller's printing house") issued in Wiener Neustadt in 1752, Pauline monk Josip Bedeković Komorski (*1688–†1760) cites evidence of county jurisdiction in Međimurje. Among the older evidence is one grant of King Matthias Corvinus from 1470 issued in Budapest in which it is written: "Nos Mathias Dei gratia Rex Hungariae etc. Memoriae commendamus tenore praesentium significantes, quibus expedit etc. Quod nos consideratis fidelitate etc. totalem possessionem Gardinovec vocatam, in Comitatu Varasdiniensi et Districtu Drava-Muraköz etc." In translation: "We, Matthias, by the grace of God the King of Hungary etc. hereby inform all those concerned etc. that, considering the fidelity etc. granted the entire property called Gardinovec in Varaždin County, in the Drava-Međimurje District, etc."
Bedeković also mentions „royal documents" relating to the monastery of Saint Helen from 1455 (issued by King Ladislav V Posthumous), 1458 and 1465 (by King Matthias Corvinus), and from 1554 (by King Ferdinand I. Habsburg), in which it is expressly stated that "the monastery lies in the Kingdom of Slavonia". Likewise, in the Hungarian Tripartitum, in Paragraph 34 of Decree 3, which was all confirmed by King Vladislaus II Jagiellon at the Buda Parliament in 1498, it is written that the Thirtieth is collected in the places of the Kingdom of Slavonia where there are tax offices or their branches, among which Zagreb, Varaždin, Nedelišće, Raskrižje, Vinica, Krapina and Stubica are mentioned (Nedelišće and Raskrižje refer to places in Međimurje).
There is a certificate issued by King Rudolf II Habsburg in Prague on 8 May 1603 in which Međimurje is mentioned referring to Franjo, Stjepan and Ladislav Repić for the ownership of the estates Gardinovec and Tomašovec (Sveti Martin na Muri). The following words are written in the certificate: ...Omnino in Districtu Drava-Muraköz in Comitatu Varasdinensi, et Regno nostro Slavoniae existens, habitum etc. (in translation: "...it is located in the district of Drava-Međimurje in Varaždin County and in our Kingdom of Slavonia, etc.").
A certificate issued by King Ferdinand II. Habsburg on 11 December 1635 to Matija and Doroteja Filok for the Gardinovec estate, has the following content: Nos Ferdinandus II. Dei gratia Romanorum Imperator et Rex Hungariae etc. Memoriae commendamus etc. Quod fidelis noster Mathias Filok etc. Exposuerunt etc. Qualiter illi certarum litterarum Rudolphi Imperatoris etc. Omnino in districtu Drava-Muraköz et Comitatu Varasdinensi existens, habit etc. (translated: "We, Ferdinand II., by the grace of God the Roman Emperor and King of Hungary etc. inform etc. that our faithful son Matthias Filok etc. have exposed etc. that he, on the basis of a certain gift of Emperor Rudolf's awarded property, which is undoubtedly located in the Drava-Međimurje district, in the Varaždin County, resides etc."). This charter of the ruler of the country indisputably proves that Gardinovec, the property of the Filoks, lies in Međimurje, which is a part of the Varaždin County.
Some historians from the 17th and 18th century said that Međimurje belonged to Varaždin County, that means to Croatia. Janez Vajkard Valvasor, a baron from Carniola (modern-day Slovenia), wrote that ancient Stridon, the birthplace of St. Hyeronimus (who himself wrote that he was born on the border area of Dalmatia and Pannonia), is located in Štrigova in northwestern Međimurje, the Italian writer Daniele Farlati pointed out that the Varaždin County extended across the Drava River, and Croatian historians Vitković and Krčelić stated similarly.
Old maps
In addition to written documents, there are also old maps or atlases, especially those from the 17th century, on which Međimurje is drawn as part of Croatia. On the map of the Italian cartographer Giacomo Cantelli from 1690, for instance, the area between the Mura and the Drava is marked as "Megimorie, o Isola della Mura, e Zeriniana", and the border between Croatia and Hungary is drawn on the Mura river.
As a part of Croatia (more precisely, Slavonia), Međimurje is also found on the large map of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia (as well as surrounding countries) by the German publisher August Vindelicor from 1720 (the year in which it was annexed to Hungary). The same is the case with the map called "Dalmatia and neighboring Croatia, Bosnia, Slavonia, etc." issued by the German printer Peter Conrad Monath
The Royal Court Chamber from Graz took over Međimurje in 1691
As Adam Zrinski died in the battle of Slankamen in 1691 having left no successor, the Royal Court Chamber from Graz took over the whole Međimurje. This lasted for several years and then King Leopold I. of Habsburg, since at that time the Great Turkish War was going on and he needed money, decided in 1695 to sell Međimurje. The buyer became Savoyan marquis de Prié, but he was unable to pay off his purchase to the end, so in 1702 he returned it to the king, that is, to the Chamber. The latter administered Međimurje on behalf of the king until 1715.