Havlíčková Borová

Karel Havlíček Borovský

Karel Havlíček Borovský was one of the most prominent Czech journalists, poets, critics and satirists of the 19th century. He was born in Borová on October 31, 1821 as a second son of local merchant Matěj Havlíček and his wife Josefa. Young Havlíček soon established a very strong relationship with the then parson of Borová Jan Brůžek. The strict and educated man, who detected a great talent and an unusual character in the defiant and rebellious boy, became the defining authority of Havlíček´s childhood. At the age of five, Havlíček started to attend the local primary school, his teacher was director Antonín Línek.

Havlíček then went on to study on the main school to Jihlava, where he was sent by his father in order to learn German. Then he studied in the Německý Brod secondary school, from which he graduated with honors in 1838. After that, he continued his studies on the Faculty of Arts in Prague, where he got acquainted with the ideas of Panslavism. At the end of 1840, he entered a seminary. He was expelled from it in September 1841 on the grounds of insufficient knowledge of Hebrew and offensive relation to theology. He then began to study Slavic literature and history. During the years 1843-44 he held the position of a tutor in a family in Moscow. However, his stay in Russia led to disillusionment and to the realization of the fact that the idea of Slavic solidarity under Russia´s patronage was unfeasible. The stay was very important for Havlíček as far as his literary work is concerned. He draws from it in his Pictures from Russia. Already in Moscow, he started to write epigrams, a genre he later became a great master of.

After he returned from Russia, Havlíček lived in Německý Brod. Then he moved to Prague, where he caused sensation with his review of Josef Kajetán Tyl´s The Last Czech. On January 1, 1846 he became an editor of Pražské noviny (The Prague Gazette). He helped increase its circulation and improve the quality of the reporting. In view of the situation at that time, Havlíček started to be more and more involved in covering political issues. On April 5, the Národní Listy newspaper was launched with Havlíček holding the position of editor-in-chief. Apart from his journalistic activities, he was also involved in the preparations of the Slavonic Convention in Prague and in the summer, he was elected member of the Imperial Parliament. Year after that, in February, he launched Šotek, a fiction supplement of Národní listy. The newspaper then gradually grew more radical. In November, an offer was made to him to sell the paper, which he declined. As a result, his paper was banned in January 1850.

Havlíček moved to Kutná Hora, where he launched the Slovan (Slav) magazine with the assistance of František Procházka. Havlíček published his most radical and critical articles in this magazine. However, after two lawsuits, he shut it down and moved back to Německý Brod in autumn of 1851. During the night between December 15 and 16, 1851, he was arrested and deported to Brixen in Tyrolia. In spring 1852, his wife Julie and his daughter Zdeňka joined him there. The exile has negatively affected Havlíček´s mental health. In Brixen, he wrote his most famous works - The Baptism of St. Vladimír, Tyrolian Elegies and King Lávra. In spring 1855, Havlíček´s exile was lifted and he was finally allowed to return to his country. Soon before he came, his wife died of tuberculosis. Because of that, Havlíček had to ask for a residence permit in Prague to be able to visit her grave and see his daughter. He went to Prague again in 1856 to have a medical check up. On recommendations of the doctors, he underwent treatment in the spas of Chuchle and Šternberk. From there, he was transported back to Prague. He died of tuberculosis on July 29, 1856. He is buried on the Olšany cemetery in Prague.

Author: Jana Veselá, Havlíčkova Borová

Contacts Information

Městys Havlíčkova Borová
Náměstí 278
Havlíčkova Borová
PSČ 582 23

+420 569 642 200

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