Turopolje Museum

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CULTURAL HISTORY   

  In the Middle Ages, the territory south of the Sava river, spreading all the way to the Kupa river and Vukomeričke gorice was called Zagrebačko polje (Campus Zagrabiensis), and it kept  that name until the early eighteenth century. Although the name "Campus Turouo" was mentioned in the Archdeacon Ivan of Gorica parish list in 1334, the name Turopolje was used since the sixteenth century and prevailed in the eighteenth century. During the thirteenth century, owing to the royal proclamation which freed noblemen from the compulsory army service to the town of Zagreb, they formed their community (based on possession of "free estate"). In 1278, for the first time in history, the "hereditary law" and other benefits were signed in the Croatian Parliament, and governor Nikola confirmed that by the solemn document. In 1279. the Statute of the Noble Borough of Turopolje also recognized King Ladislav  IV. According to the Statute, the person who was to be elected as a district-prefect of Turopolje had to have an approval of all the noblemen of the Borough. This could be taken as the first written documentation of the spravišče (noblemen's official meeting).  
  Until the early seventeenth century, when it was rescheduled for St. Lucia's day, that electoral, main event took place on St. George's day. Turopolje's nobility has their origin certified in the document signed by Duke Bela (later king Bela IV), dated 1225. which is preserved in a form of sealed transcription  from 1466 (done by Matija Korvin). The document also explains how brothers Budun, Ivan and Levać with their relatives raised to the nobility. Turopolje's nobility was using this charter and other benefits obtained during the thirteenth century in order to protect their noble right and estate, and therefore sought the recognition of the kings of that time.  
By the middle of the fifthteenth century Turopolje was already a borough. In 1560. representatives of the Turopolje's nobility revived their brotherhood in Kaptol (main residence of the Holy Catholic Church in Zagreb - remains there ever since) and established the routine of  election as well as the court and "hereditary law". In 1582. the Statute was recognized by Rudolf II. According to the governor Josip Eszterhazy's statute and regulatory statute issued by Croatian Parliament, Turopolje's nobility lost the right to vote in 1735.  Since then, judge was the only person who had a right to elect district-prefects and other officers. In 1737. the Noble Borough were given their coat of arms and a seal by king Charles III. At the same time, they had the Silver seal of the Borough done, as well.  
  Only seals that had been used before were those of individual district-prefects. The coat of arms consists of a blue shield with oval tower of Lukavec fortress guarded by two soldiers wearing red uniforms. Two cannons are visible coming out of the two attic windows. On the top of the tower there is an arm holding a sabre. There are also a half-moon and three hexagonal stars located on the both sides of it. On the shield, there is a crowned helmet as a stand to a crowned eagle holding Croatian and Slavonian flags in his claws. The Noble Borough of Turopolje's magistrate was divided in two counties: Vrhovlje (montes S. Catherinae) and Polje (Campus).Each county consisted of smaller communities (sučija (iudicatus)) that were formed of one or few villages.  
  Sučija was governed by a judge (iudex). Polje contained following sučijas: Buševec, Velika Gorica, Mala Gorica, Hrašče, Kobilić, Kuče, Kurilovec, Donja Lomnica, Gornji and Donji Lukavec, Velika Mlaka, Mraclin, Pleso and Rakitovec; Vrhovlje of: Bukovčak, Cerovski Vrh, Cvetković Brdo, Dragonožec, Dubranec, Gustelnica, Prvonožina and Vukomerić. The Head of the Noble Borough was district-prefect. His subordinates were sub-district-prefect of Vrhovlje who was the Head of the Vrhovlje's magistrate (elections took place during spravišče and the person was elected for a year period), prisjednici (jurors), bilježnik (notary public), fiškuš (shyster), lugar (forester), kapetan (commandant of Turopolje's flag platoon called banderija which holds 130 men in peace and 300 in war), kaštelan (the Lukavec fortress' protector), zastavnik (Turopolje's flag carrier), satrap, sluga (servant), and as of 1749., blagajnik (cashier) and later on solicitor. The first official Borough's document issued in Turopolje (in Lukavec fortress) was in 1474. Velika Gorica got the same honor in 1552. The first fortification was probably built out of wood. Extension was done in the beginning of the seventeenth century and the first spravišče in Lukavec fortress took place in 1613. A fortress itself was built during the eighteenth century. Until 1848. although very often usurped and dispossessed by some aristocrats, Lukavec fortress was the place where Turopolje's archive was kept and where spravišče took place. It was built primarily  for protection purposes, which proved very useful (especially when in danger of Turk attacks), but later on the fortress  was converted into a residential area. The second important fortress and community structure was turopoljski grad (Turopolje city) in Velika Gorica. In Turopolje's spravišče was decided that the construction of fortress should begin on March 13th. The construction was finished before 1634., when it was decided that a new roof should be raised. In 1602. Velika Gorica got so-called sajamsko pravo (right which allowed Velika Gorica to organize 3-4 fairs a year) by Rudolf II and became a market-town and governing center of Turopolje. Today's Museum of Turopolje's building became the Noble Borough's  headquarters. There used to be a prison on the ground floor and spacious room for spravišče, district-prefect's and notary public's offices, cashier's office and the Noble Borough's archive on the upper floor. When serfdom was abolished and hrvatski narodni preporod (the Croatian National Reformation) was in full swing (1848), Turopolje's nobility split in two "wings". One wing represented Hungarian interests and tried to get some sort of guarantee for holding on to their rights as noblemen, although the new system did away with serfdom and set new standards. Other wing fought on governor Jelačić's side backing up his "vision" of new Croatia. In 1861. the royal office proclaimed that every single person living in Turopolje had to become a Turopolje borough's resident, no matter what their social status up to that moment was or if they had any rights based on their origin. According to the publication of additional clause in law, the Noble Borough of Turopolje became so-called "Community of the Land" and special decree about inseparability of Noble Borough's real estate was issued. According to this law, district-prefect should be appointed for a ten year period. The Borough was dissolved in 1947. and re-established on July 7th, 1991. along with the reinstatement of the Republic of Croatia. 

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