According to the geographer Strabo's reports in the 1st century, today's location of the city of ?akovec was the site of Aquama (wet town) in Roman times and at the time a marshland, a military post and a legionnaire camp.
The name ?akovec (Hungarian: Cs�ktornya, German: Csakathurn or Tschakathurn) comes from the surname of the count Dimitrius Cs�ky. With the beginning of the 13th century he erected the timber fortification which was later named Cs�k's tower (Croatian: ?akov toranj). It was mentioned for the first time in 1328 and the place appeared in the official books in 1333. From 1350 to 1397, it was in the possession of the Lackovi? family. The period of more significant economic and cultural growth of ?akovec is considered to have started in 1547, when Nikola �ubi? Zrinski of Szigetv�r became the owner of the area. At that time the castle was lavishly decorated, surrounded by a park and sculptures of famous army leaders and monarchs. Duke Juraj IV Zrinski granted privileges to the inhabitants of the ?akovec fortress and its suburbs on May 29, 1579. This was the starting point for ?akovec to become a free market town and the date is celebrated today as "City Day". The castle which was owned by the Zrinski family between the 16th and the 18th century is known today as the "Old Town of the Zrinskis" (Stari grad Zrinskih) and considered as the landmark of the city. It is located in the Zrinski Park (Perivoj Zrinskih) only a few steps from the downtown and the central square respectively.
In 1738 the city was devastated by an earthquake, in 1741 by a fire and another earthquake hit it in 1880. At the end of the 18th century, the owners of the town became the counts Fe�teti? and it was turned into a big estate where industry, crafts and trade developed. In 1848 the ban Josip Jela?i? captured ?akovec from the Hungarians and joined it to Croatia. The first railroad track was built here in 1860 and helped to connect Budapest with the ports Rijeka and
