Personage > Ivan Zakmardi of Dijankovec

Ivan Zakmardi Dijankovečki was born around 1600 in Križevci, in a respectable family owning an estate called Dijankovec. He finished Jesuit High School in Zagreb and graduated in philosophy in Olomouc, in Czech Republic. Being a capable lawyer and a humanist, he was appointed to highest governing positions. He was also a protonotary and a representative on the Assembly in Požun.Notary and treasurer Ivan Zakmardi gave orders to make a special Chest of Privileges. Terrestrial acts, charters, laws and privileges, accompanied with the inventory, were kept in there, so it established the foundation of the present Croatian State Archives. Ivan Zakmardi inscribed a poem in Latin in the Chest, describing the basis of Croatian legal system. At the very end, Ivan Zakmardi mentions three rivers - Kupa, Sava and Drava. These are the rivers Croatia managed to keep, after years of fighting and bloodshed.

Zakmardi's overriding concern had been to resolve the crisis which hit his home town, Križevci, after the war against the Turks. He wanted to improve education system in Križevci, turning it into an important cultural centre. His aim was to introduce the activities of Pauline Fathers in the town, since their main monastery in Lepoglava was the hub of culture. The Pauline Monks agreed to come to Križevci and they established a school and a monastery. In return, Zakmardi left them his estate in Dijankovec, his father's house, and some other estates. In 1670 the Paulines also established a Gymnasium comprising four grades (parva, principa, grammatica, syntaxis).

On April 20, 1667, the Paulines were given permission to establish a monastery in Križevci, and later on to build the Chapel of St Ana next to the monastery. Ivan Zakmardi died on April 25, 1667 in Banjska Bistrica. A memorial in his honour was unveiled in 1923, and the town Gymnasium, as well as the main street were named after him. On September 3, 2005, another memorial was set in Dijankovec, on the Zakmardi family estate.