One of the least known regions of medieval Hungary is the Transdravia, which dropped out of Hungarian historical public conscience already in the 19th century. The northern border of the area is the Drava river, the Danube constitutes its north-eastern and eastern borders, the southern border is marked by the Sava and the western border by the Kingdom of Hungary. The smaller, eastern part of the territory, the areas between the Danube and the Sava is called Szerémség, bordering the county of Valkó in the west, the county of Szerém in the east, and Zimony in the eastern corner. The greater western part is commonly referred to as Slavonia. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the name Slavonia meant different territories across different ages. Currently, Serbia and Croatia share the Szerémség, and the Transdravia region with the center in Pozsega is named Slavonia in the Croatian common language, the region of Varazdin, Kőrös and Zagreb is referred to as “continental Croatia” or north-western Croatia. In the late Middle Ages, the western part of the area between the Drava and the Sava was called Slavonia, the eastern part of the area was not specifically named. From the 18th century, the eastern part of the area was referred to as Slavonia, and the western part as Croatia. Originally, Croatia was located on the Adriatic seaside. From the 15th century onwards the very significant Ottoman advance “pushed” the Croats to the north, thus beginning the Croatianization of the Drava-Sava close.
After the expulsion of the Turks, it was in the interest of the Habsburg government to remove the territory from under the control of the Hungarian estates, and achieved its goal.
Returning to the medieval history of the area, the Drava-Sava-close was occupied by the Hungarians at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. The subjugation of the Szerémség under Hungarian control took place later, Szerémvár laid in Bulgarian hands until 1018, then it was owned by the Byzantine Empire, being acquired by the Hungarians in 1071.
The general Croatian and Hungarian historical opinion differ on the early medieval affiliation of the western part of the Drava-Sava close. According to the Croats, this area was part of the early Kingdom of Croatia, which existed until the end of the 11th century. László I occupied Croatia in 1091 and annexed it to his country. According to the majority of Hungarian historians, this conquest concerned the areas south of Zagreb.
Incidentally, the conquest of Croatia became final when, in 1102, Kálmán was crowned King of Croatia.
The county organization in the Drava-Sava-close also followed the Hungarian model. The larger, western part of the area became part of the Kolon county in Transdanubia, and from it Somogy and Zala counties originated. The eastern part belonged to Baranya county. Somogy and Zala Counties extended into Transdravia even in the 13th century, this is true of Baranya county across the whole Middle Ages. The counties of Valkó and Pozsega probably seceded from Baranya. Thus, in the 11th century, the Hungarian-type county system was formed in the western part of the Drava-Sava-close, and in the eastern part, with regard to military and border protection tasks, a frontierispán’s office was organized. After consolidation, Szerém county was established, which was integrated into the county system. The diocesan border also stretched here, between the bishopric of Pécs and the archdiocese of Kalocsa. The Hungarian kings exercised their power over Croatia through the ban. The rule of the bans first applied to the coast, then from the end of the 12th century it extended to the Sava region.
By the 13th century, the structure of the county organization was completed in the eastern areas of the Drava-Sava-close, this applied to the counties of Varasd, Valkó, Pozsega and Verőce. In the west, on the other hand, the provincial power was built over the county, so the counties of Zagreb and Kőrös were under the ban.
The Slavonian Banat was one of the most prestigious dignitaries in the country, often a member of the royal family, one prince ruling Slavonia and another one Croatia.
It is also important to examine the history of church administration, especially the prominent role of St. Ladislaus. In the late Middle Ages, Slavonia, the counties of Zagreb, Pozsega and Valkó belonged to the diocese of Pécs, Szerém county to the archdiocese of Bács-Kalocsa. The diocese of Pécs was founded in 1009, perhaps at the same time as Kalocsa. The exact time when the bishopric of Zagreb was founded is unknown, with all certainty it was established by King St. Ladislaus in honour of St. Stephen. We do not know whether this happened around 1090, before his campaign in Croatia, or later, around 1094–1095. New bishoprics were founded in the 13th century. The bishopric of Szerém was established in 1229, with the task of converting south of the Sava. The other bishopric was the Bosnian, whose seat was established in Diakóvár, Valkó County.
Regarding the ethnic composition of the area, we can say that in the west the majority were Slavs, in the east Hungarians. Significant settlements of the latter were found in South Baranya, Valkó and Szerém counties. The area took a strong part in the process that resulted in the appearance of a large number of new, modern stone castles throughout the country in the second half of the 13th century. After the Tartar invasion, the returning King Béla IV. strongly supported this process. The castle builders were members of the largest genera, prominent among them were the Monoszlós, Gutkeleds, Csáks or Héders, but smaller owners also undertook in fortifying, the Castle of Medve, which can still be seen today, was built by the Bishop of Zagreb.
The last period of the 13th century was determined by the role assuming of the provincial lords, the importance of the Kőszegis and the Csákis should be emphasized in this area.
In summary, we can conclude that the Drava-Sava-close was an integral part of medieval Hungary, as opposed to coastal Croatia, which has maintained its economic, geographical and cultural separation throughout.
The prominent city in the area was Zagreb, with the bishopric founded by St. Ladislaus and its cathedral. The historic material of the Zagreb Cathedral Treasury and Library is particularly rich.
The art historical analysis of the Zagreb Cathedral has long been neglected in the Hungarian literature, although the building is one of the few surviving cathedrals of medieval Hungary, notwithstanding that the radical restoration has strongly stripped it of its original state.
In this article, in addition to the historical summary, we also present an important medieval church, which by the depiction of the legend of St. Ladislaus proves that in addition to the history of Transdravia, its architecture and murals are closely connected with other areas in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Újhelyszentpéter (Novo Mjesto) and its church
The town was first mentioned in 1409 as “Novoloco”. It is referred to as Szentpéter (“Sz. Peter”) in 1429, and was first mentioned as Újhelyszentpéter (“Wyhel-Zenth Peter”) in 1446.
The settlement is not included in the description of the bishopric of Zagreb in 1334, although the church is evidently standing already at that time. In the Diocese of Kemle, to which our settlement also belongs, several churches dedicated to St. Peter are mentioned, such as the Preszeka (Preseka) and Orehóc (Orehovec) churches in 1334 and the Rakonok (Rakovec) church in 1381.
In 1409 and 1501 the parishioners of the church in Újhely are mentioned, but his patron saint is not revealed on any occasion. The settlement was owned by the Rakonoki family together with the eponymous Rakonok and Bikszád in the 14–15th century, followed by the Bikszádi family.
Újhelyszentpéter Church is located on the left bank of the Lónya River, northeast of Zagreb. The center of the region, Zelnavár, which played a leading role in the history of Marócsa county in the 12th and the 13th centuries is located beyond the Lónya River, to the west.
It’s a larger sized rural brick church built in the middle of the 13th century, with a wide nave and a slightly narrower, short, rectangular sanctuary (Picture 2). There is a modern half-gabled sacristy built on the site of a 14th century sacristy joining the north side of the sanctuary. The sanctuary has the same ledge height as the nave, but its roof is lower than that of the nave and is separated from it by a pediment leaning against the chancel arch. The nave is flat-slabbed, the sanctuary is roofed with a slightly lower ribbed vaultage resting on consoles. The church has an entrance dating in modernity that opens in the axis of the western façade. The monumental restoration of the building, combined with external and internal wall research and mural restoration, is currently unfinished.
The outer wall corners are divided by contemporaneous lisenes broken at right angles. These are missing in the western wall corners of the sanctuary. The concave coronation ledge is modern, and the simple, protruding plinth also appears to be largely renovated. In the middle lane of the western façade, there is a modern brick masonry mixed with carved stones bounded by irregular seams with vertical lines. It is also home to the simple, brick-walled, semi-circular western gate. The early entrance was in its place. This can only be observed in original details on the right and partly on the left side of the new gate, details in bricks which once were projecting in front of the façade plane, but later were recessed during remodelling, vertically enclosed on both sides, which appear to be the remains of a horizontally closing gate structure. During the modern era remodelling of the western façade, a small circular window opening above the gate and a semi-circular ambry with a basket arched floor plan on each side of the window were also built. The façade is crowned by a rectangular bell tower with a semi-circular bell window on each side.
Three semicircular slit windows open on the south wall of the nave. In the western part of the façade, a similar smaller slit window illuminates the gallery, starting from higher and ending slightly higher as well. These windows have walled, sloping brick cavities. The three nave windows were later enlarged downwards, then walled up, and replaced by two lower, segmental, baroque windows. During the most recent monumental restoration, the Baroque windows were walled up and the early window shapes restored. In the axis of the eastern and southern walls of the sanctuary there is a semi-circular, stone-framed slit window a both sides. The stone frame of the south opening is a completely modern reconstruction. To the west of it, in the western part of the southern sanctuary wall, close to the adjoining nave wall, is a walled in, pointed arched door.
In the nave the early wooden slab was replaced by a modern flat slab. The remnants of the stone shoulder rails broken into the side wall of the nave by the front arcades of the former west gallery, and above it, the connection of the wide, walled in parapet, are clearly recognizable on both sides. These remains testify that the early gallery overhung more eastward than the present-day modern gallery. The wide cobblestone wall of the south gallery window has a segmental inclosing.
In front of the columnar pillars of the wide, pointed, undivided chancel arch stands a chunky half-column on a rectangular plinth with concave upper edges. The pillars of the chancel arch and the consoles of the sanctuary vault are carved in stone, their surfaces are fragmented, burnt, and testify to the fire that destroyed the church. The plinth and capital of the half-columns are also very damaged. The cracked surfaces of the southern triumphal arch pillar, along with the capital and the plinth, were supplemented during the restoration, hardly any of them retain their original nature. Into the northern sacristy a stone-framed, arched, 14th century sacristy door opened on the western wall of the northern wall of the sanctuary, which is now walled in – the modern sacristy can be accessed from the outside. Traces of the walled in south sanctuary door visible from the outside are not visible from the inside due to the recently restored plaster surfaces. On the north wall, a little farther than 1 meter from the east wall angle, two vertical stone elements of unknown purpose can be seen, the section in the middle, which once protruded from the wall plane was carved down. On the south of the eastern sanctuary wall there is a small, pedimented ambry with a straight back wall. The stone-carved ribs of the sanctuary vault have a simple, pointed arch profile, the vaulted front arches are pointed, and the vault infillings have a strongly rising clause line.
On both chancel arch half-pillars, in the low, strongly widening capital, the remains of the wide, plate-shaped neck and palmette-leaf decoration endured only on either side, at the edges. On the eastern edge of the northern half-column head is a three-lobed half-palmette with a wedge-cut handle, originally turning from the tendril, and a three-lobed, standing leaf starting from the neck, also with a wedge-cut handle, while on the western edge a fragment of a lobed leaf is visible. Only a small, lobed leaf fragment can be seen on the western edge of the southern half-column head. Of the consoles of the sanctuary vaulting, the south-western and south-eastern one’s surfaces have been completely destroyed, and the north-western one’s has three-pointed, concave-surfaced spear leaves. On the north-eastern there is a long-stemmed three-lobed leaf in the middle, accompanied on both sides by three-lobed half-palms (Picture 3). The capstone has a rib-width, circular disc with four three-arm half-palms branching clockwise from the centre.
In 2010, during the restoration of the roof, two fragments of a circular window were found, which are currently preserved in the Zelna Museum (Picture 4). Maja Cepetić completed the reconstruction of the circular window, defined a size of 66×66 cm, and assumed that the original location of the window was on the 8.5 m wide, 7 m high west façade, above the gate. According to Cepetić, the circular window was created in the first construction period of the building before the Tartar invasion, as opposed to a fragment of a later window, probably with tracery, which may have replaced the circular window in a subsequent construction period.
Restoration and reconstitution work was carried out in the church between 1997 and 2017, and in 2002 archaeological research was carried out inside the church. According to this, both the foundations and the walls were made of brick. The existence of three walking levels was confirmed and three altar foundations were unearthed. Traces of a wooden gallery, of which we know from 18th century visitations, have also been found.
According to research, the church was built in the middle of the 13th century, from which time the four windows on the south nave wall and one window on the east wall of the sanctuary, as well as the chapters of the triumphal arch and the consoles of the sanctuary arise. In the 14th century, alterations were made to the sanctuary, and to the nave in the 15th century. The church was reconstructed in baroque style in the second half of the 17th century, another reconstruction took place in the 18th century, and during the interventions between 1898 and 1913, the church gained its pre-restoration form.
As for the murals of the church, the research dates back to the beginning of the 14th century, when László Rakonoki was in possession. The depiction of the Cloaked Mary and the donor on the chancel arch, as well as the legend of St. Ladislaus on the northern nave wall, may come from this period (Pictures 5 and 6).
Medieval frescos of the Cloaked Mary in the Drava-Sava-close have survived in the following churches: Pozsega (Požega), Church of St. Lawrence, Szentkatalinfalva (Zagorska Sela-Ivanic Miljanski), Church of St. John the Baptist, Belc (Belec), Church of St. George, Zajezda, Church of the Virgin Mary. (Pictures 7–9).