Karel Havlíček Borovský

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Karel Havlíček Borovský (IPA: [ˈkarɛl ˈɦavliːtʃɛk ˈborofskiː] (Borová, today Havlíčkova Borová October 31, 1821 - Prague, July 29, 1856) was a Czech writer, poet, critic, politician, journalist, and publisher. He lived and studied Gymnasium in Německý Brod (today Havlíčkův Brod) and his house on the main square is today the Havlíček Museum. He moved to Prague to study philosophy at Charles University in 1838 and, influenced by the revolutionary atmosphere before the 1848, he decided to become a patriotic writer. He devoted himself to studying Czech and literature. After graduating he began studying theology because he thought the best way to serve the nation would be from the position of a priest. He was expelled, however, after one year for "showing too little indication for spiritual ministry".

He failed in finding a teacher's job in Bohemia, so he left for Moscow to become a tutor in a Russian teacher's family (he was recommended by Pavel Josef Šafařík). He came as a Russophile and a Pan-Slav, but after recognizing the true reality of the Russian society he took the pessimistic view that "Pan-Slavism is a great, attractive but feckless idea". His memories on the Russian stay were published first in magazines and then as a book under the name Obrazy z Rus (Pictures from Russia).

After he returned to Bohemia in 1844, he used his writing skill to criticize the public habit of embracing everything written in the recently re-born Czech language. His attack was aimed specifically at a novel by Josef Kajetán Tyl. František Palacký helped Havlíček get a job as Editor of the Pražské noviny newspaper in 1846.

In April 1848 he changed the name of the newspaper to Národní noviny (National News). This paper became one of the first newspapers of the Revolutionary-era Czech liberals. He was concerned with the preparations of the Congress of the Slavs in Prague. In July he was elected a member of Austrian Empire Constituent Assembly in Vienna and later in Kroměříž. He finally gave up the seat to focus on his journalism. Národní noviny became popular especially for his sharp-tongued epigrams and his wit.

Havlíček was, politically, a "liberal nationalist." However, he refused to allow a "party line" to inform his opinions. Often, he would criticize those that agreed with him as much as those that disagreed. He exoriated revolutionaries for their radicalism, but also advocated ideas like universal suffrage--a concept altogether too radical for most of his fellow liberals. He was a pragmatist, and had little patience for those that spent their time romanticizing the Czech nationality without helping it achieve political or cultural independence. He used much of the space in his newspapers to educate the people on important issues--stressing areas like economics, which were sorely neglected by other nationalist writers.

The Revolution in the Austro-Bohemian portion of the Habsburg monarchy was defeated in March 1849 with dissolution of the Kroměříž assembly, but Havlíček continued to criticize the new regime. He was brought to court for his criticism (there was no freedom of the press in Habsburg lands) but he was found not guilty by a sympathetic jury. "Národní noviny" had to discontinue in January 1850, but Havlíček did not stop his activities. In May 1850 he began publishing the magazine Slovan in Kutná Hora. The magazine was a target of censorship from its start. It had to stop publication in August 1851, and Havlíček stood again at the court to answer on charges of dissent. Again, he was found not guilty by a sympathetic jury of Czech commoners.

Havlíček translated and introduced some satirical and critical authors into Czech language culture e.g. Nikolai Gogol (1842) or Voltaire (1851)¹.

Against the sense of law he was arrested by the police on the night of December 16, 1851, and forced into exile in Brixen, Austria (present-day Italy). He was depressed from the exile, but continued writing. While in exile, he wrote some of his best work: Tyrolské elegie (Tirol Laments), Křest svatého Vladimíra (Baptism of St.Vladimir) and Král Lávra (King Lavra). When he returned from Brixen in 1855, he learned that his wife had died a few days earlier. Most of his former friends, afraid of the Bach system, stood aloof from him. Only a few publicly declared support for him. He died from tuberculosis, aged 35. Božena Němcová put a crown of thorns on his head in the coffin. His funeral was attended by a procession of about 5,000 Czechs.

[edit] References

Reinfeld, Barbara. "Karel Havlíček (1821 - 1856): A National Liberation Leader of the Czech Renascence." New York: Columbia UP, 1982.

• Chalupný E.: Havlíček - prostředí, osobnost, dílo, Praha 1929
• Procházka V.: Karel Havlíček Borovský, Praha 1961
• Nejtek V. M.: Karel Havlíček Borovský, Praha 1979
• Czech Who is who

¹ Otakar Zachar, introduction to Listy Amabedovy, 1908cs:Karel Havlíček Borovský de:Karel Havlíček Borovský eo:Karel Havlíček Borovský fr:Karel Havlíček Borovský ka:კარელ ჰავლიჩეკ-ბოროვსკი ru:Гавличек-Боровский, Карел sk:Karel Havlíček Borovský