Count

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

ess Sidonija Rubido Erdödy (1819–1884) was Croatia's

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 first opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 primadonna and an important member of the Illyrian movement

Illyrian movement

The Illyrian movement , also Croatian national revival , was a cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian intellectuals during the first half of 19th century, around the years of 1835–1849...

.

Origins

The Rubido

Rubido

The Rubido family of Madrid originated in Castile. They were ennobled in the 12th century.The Croatian branch of that family came to Croatia in the first half of the 19th century....

 family of Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

 originated in Castile

Kingdom of Castile

Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...

, where they were ennobled in the 12th century. The Croatian branch of that family came to Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

 in the first half of the 19th century.

Life

Sidonija Erdödy Rubido was born on February 2, 1819, on Razvor estate, near a place called St Peter, above the hilltop of Sveta gora (St Mount) with the Chapel of Our Lady of Jerusalem. At that time there was no maternity hospital in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

, but her name was enlisted in the registry of births within the Parish of St Mark. Sidonija started a primary school in Gornja Rijeka by initiating the building of a new school. Today the primary school in Gornja Rijeka carries her name. Ivan Peklic wrote a book on her life - Sidonija Rubido Erdody: Prva Hrvatska Primadona.

Legend

In 1858 she was the first to sing the Croatian anthem

Lijepa naša domovino

"Lijepa naša domovino" is the national anthem of Croatia. It is often referred to as just "Lijepa naša" in Croatia, which is also a phrase widely used as a metonym for the country....

 (Croatian Homeland) from her castle in Gornja Rijeka, Zagorje

Hrvatsko Zagorje

Hrvatsko Zagorje is a region north of Zagreb, Croatia. It comprises the whole area north of Medvednica mountain up to Slovenia in the north and west, and up to the regions of Međimurje and Podravina in the north and east...

. But, there is no historical evidence to confirm the legend.