Siege of Varaždin
Part ofHungarian campaign of 1527–1528
Varaždin in late 17th century
Date 27 September 1527 Location Varaždin,Kingdom of Croatia Result Withdrawal of Frankopan's army
Belligerents
Habsburg supporters	Zapolya's supporters
Commanders and leaders
Pavao Kečkeš	Christoph Frankopan  (DOW)
Strength
Unknown	10,000 Infantry 3,000 Cavalry
Casualties and losses
Unknown	At least one

Thesiege of Varaždin was a siege in theKingdom of Croatia. The war came as a result of Croatian, Slavonian and Hungarian noble diets electing different candidates for their kings, following the death ofLouis II of Hungary atBattle of Mohacs.

Following the death of Louis II at the Battle of Mohacs, Croatian nobles gathered at Cetingrad in early 1527 in order to discussthe election of a new king. Their choice was the powerfulFerdinand I of Habsburg, whom Croats wanted to get more thoroughly engaged in their defensive efforts against expandingOttoman Empire.^[1] In another part of the Kingdom, Hungarian nobles elected their own candidate –John Zapolya at their own noble diet inSzekesfehervar in late 1526. The same candidate was also elected on Slavonian noble diet, which happened in Dubrava, near Čazma, Croatia, under the influence ofSimon Erdody, the bishop ofZagreb and countCristoph Frankopan, the only Croatian noble who didn't attended the Cetingrad diet. This effectively brought the kingdom into a state of civil war between supporters of the opposing kings.^[2]

Ferdinand launched his campaign fromVienna as his 20,000-strong army marched intoHungary. Habsburg commanders soon successfully captured the towns ofGyőr,Komárom,Esztergom,Visegrád andBuda, while Zapolya's forces retreated towards riverTisza. They were nevertheless intercepted by Habsburg forces near Tarcal in Hungary, where Habsburg generalNicholas, Count of Salm decisively defeated them in theBattle of Tarcal. John Zapolya therefore invited his supporter, ban Cristoph Frankopan, to come to his aid.^[3]

Frankopan assembled his 13,000-strong army nearKriževci, which according to Croatian historianRudolf Horvat consisted of 10,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry. On the morning of September 24, Frankopan's army was approached by apparent emissaries from Varaždin, who declared their allegiance to him and handed him the town keys, however, once he actually came to Varaždin the town garrison turned out to be pro-Habsburg. Frankopan's commanders then ordered their troops to start digging trenches around town and prepare their siege engines. As he was scouting for weakpoints in town walls, a defending cannon opened fire and one of the missiles gravely wounded Frankopan. The wound was apparently so bad that his guts could be seen, hence his doctors gave up all efforts of even trying to save him. Dying Frankopan issued orders to carry on with the siege, however majority of the army he assembled began dispersing irretrievably.^[4] A handful of soldiers that remained by him, started carrying him toKoprivnica, however, he succumbed to his wounds upon reachingMartijanec.^[3] His death was a major blow for Zapolya's side, as they lost a powerful supporter in Croatia.

• 16th-century military history of Croatia
• 1527 in Croatia
• 16th-century sieges
• Sieges involving Croatia
• 1527 in Europe
• Conflicts in 1527
• History of Varaždin
• Hungarian campaign of 1527–1528

• CS1 Croatian-language sources (hr)
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