This museum is dedicated to one of the best-loved figures in Croatian history, local peasant hero Matija Gubec. 16th century central Europe was characterised by peasant uprisings due to poor living conditions and ill-treatment by feudal landowners. After years of suffering at the hands of notorious blue blood Franjo Tahy, in 1573 Gubec led a plot to overthrow the government and set up a peasants’ state. The revolt threatened to destabilise a large region, thus the feudal armies reacted with brutal speed. Gubec and his men lost the last peasant stronghold, Stubičke Toplice, in a bloody battle. Gubec was taken to St Mark’s square in Zagreb where he was publicly executed in a most gruesome manner.
As well as telling the story of this folk hero, the Museum’s collection includes displays on the historical development of the region and on the life of the nobility. A baroque chapel in the grounds houses the Permanent Exhibition of Sacral Art in Zagorje.