Matija Gubec (real name Ambroz Gubec, ca 1548 – 1573) was a Croatian peasant and the leader of the Croatian-Slovene peasant revolt, whose fate and death made him become a part of the history of the City of Zagreb. Ambroz Gubec, from the village of Hižakovec, was a serf on the estate of the landowner Franjo Tahy. His name is mentioned in the Church tithing regulations in 1556 and 1560, as well as in the feudal land regulations of Stubica in 1567. The name Matija was most probably attributed to Gubec, known as the ‘peasant king’, after the legend of the good king Matija and was first mentioned in the work of the Hungarian historian Miklós Istvánffy (1538 – 1615). Although spreading successfully in the beginning, the peasant revolt was short-lived. The peasants very quickly started to lose the conquered territory in battles with the nobility. After defeats in Slovenia and parts south of the Sava, they withdrew to Zagorje where on February 9, 1573 the decisive battle of Stubičko polje between the peasants and the nobility was fought.
The nobility army was led by the nobleman Gašpar Alapić. The peasants were defeated and Matija Gubec was captured and taken to Zagreb where he was condemned to death. According to Istvánffy, Gubec was publicly tortured and forced to wear a red-hot iron crown before being quartered. His execution is held to have taken place in St. Mark’s Square in Zagreb.
According to Istvánffy, Gubec was publicly tortured and forced to wear a red-hot iron crown before being quartered. His execution is held to have taken place in St. Mark’s Square in Zagreb.