Charles Explorer logo
🇬🇧

The Lifepath of Březnice native František Ladislav Hovorka

Publication at Faculty of Education |
2018

Abstract

This study deals with biography of Březnice native František Ladislav Hovorka (1857-1917), who is considered as the important persons in the sphere of Czech-Polish cultural relations in the second half of 19th and the beginning of 20th century. When he graduated at Klatovy Grammar school, he studied law at the German University in Prague.

During his studies, Hovorka was engaged by the activities in various associations, mainly Academic readers club, Literary and Rhetorical Association Slavia or Štítný. Furthermore, he began to translate Polish authors since 1879 ( J.

I. Kraszewski, A.

Fredro, M. Bałucki, S.

Dobrzański, K. Zalewski and others) and manage journal Ruch focused on the Slavic literary production.

He was also the founder of Divadelní listy (Theatre Pages), but he spent the most time in the editorial board of Voice of the Nation, a newspaper of the Old Czech Party. In 1879, he also founded his own bookstore in Prague and Czech-Polish club 14 years later.

Already before World War I, he was in close contact with Serbia politicians and intellectuals and engaged in favour of Serbia also in the social and cultural areas. He also supported war refugees from Polish Galicia in all possible ways.

In the spring of 1916, he was arrested and accused of treason. He died on 5 January in a psychiatric clinic in Vienna's Steinhof