In the
Međimurje microregion, members of the family have been mentioned in written sources since the first half of the 16th century. On 4th April 1540,
Gašpar Ernušt sold the entire
Jurovec estate near
Sveti Martin na Muri to Ivan Simonić Mlakovečki. Croato-Hungarian King
Ferdinand I of Habsburg confirmed this transaction twice later, in 1552 and 1554. This fact is important because his neighbour and the owner of most of Međimurje from 1542 to 1556 was
Nikola Šubić Zrinski,
Ban (Viceroy) of Croatia, the most famous and powerful Croatian
nobleman of his time. Ivan's successor, Nikola I Mlakovečki (* 1547; † 1603), had very good relations with
Juraj IV Zrinski, the son of the Croatian Ban. Both converted to
Protestantism and spread it together. Nikola bought several additional manors from Zrinski and expanded his property in northern Međimurje. It included Jurovec,
Lapšina,
Gradiščak,
Bukovje,
Žabnik,
Vratišinec and
Novakovec. He himself was known as a very robust and strong man and served as commander of military units in southern Hungary in numerous battles against the
Ottoman Turks. After his death, he was buried in
Sveti Martin na Muri, and his
gravestone has been preserved. It is now exhibited in the
Međimurje County Museum in
Čakovec. Nikola II Mlakovečki, son of the previous one, became
baron in 1614 and acquired new possessions. He was the lord of
Susedgrad near
Zagreb, one of the most important castles in central Croatia, and was considered the richest and most respected Protestant nobleman in Croatia. After the death of the young Croatian Ban
Juraj V Zrinski in 1626 in the military camp near
Bratislava, Nikola II married his widow Magdalena (née
Széchy). He was mentioned in a 1641 letter from
Zagreb bishop Benedikt Vinković, in which the bishop asked the baron to renounce Protestantism and convert to
Catholicism, but this was unsuccessful. In addition to
Susedgrad and smaller estates in Međimurje, the family also owned the estates of
Opeka,
Oroslavje and
Stubički Golubovec. Nikola III Mlakovečki, the successor of Nikola II, was last mentioned in 1667. After his death there is no further information about that family in historical sources available. == Castles and manor houses ==