mperor and the Keglevi? family to prevent any violent confrontations between them both, but ?akovec became the seat of the administration of the main territorial dominion in 1546, because even the Bishop Simon Erd?dy (1518�1543, Bishop of Zagreb) could not prevent a violent confrontation between the Emperor and Petar Keglevi? in 1542/43. In 1546 the Diet in Bratislava approved the transfer of ?akovec and Me?imurje to Nikola �ubi? Zrinski.
Rapid development began in 1547 under the ruling Zrinski family. In 1579 the craftsmen and merchants outside the walls of ?akovec Castle were granted the right to trade; this was the beginning of the formal and legal city structure. The area was of importance as a trade center with Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia and Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary positioned nearby on the main roads, facilitating the exchange of goods, crafts and ideas. The region was also a military buffer zone against the expanding Ottoman Empire.
Nikola �ubi? Zrinski ruled as Nicholas IV (1508�1566). He was a hero of the Battle of Szigetv�r of the Habsburg-Ottoman wars. Then followed his son, Juraj IV Zrinski (George IV), until 1603, and his grandson Nikola VI. Zrinski (Nicholas VI) until 1624. Next was another grandson, a brother of Nicholas VI, Juraj V Zrinski (George V). He was poisoned in 1626 by the general Albrecht Wallenstein in Bratislava and was buried in Pauline monastery of Sveta Jelena (St. Helen in English) near ?akovec, next to the graves of his ancestors. He was followed by his son Nikola VII Zrinski (Nicholas VII), (1620�1664), a famous Croatian Ban. At the coronation of Ferdinand IV, he carried the sword of state and was made Captain General of Croatia. He was killed while hunting in the forest near Kur�anec, apparently by a wounded wild boar, but there were rumors that he had been murdered by the order of the Habsburg court. His brother, Petar Zrinski (Peter IV), was noted for his role in the attempted Croatian-Hungarian rebellion of
