Ján Hollý

Ján Hollý (Hungarian János Holi; born March 24, 1785 Borský Mikuláš, Slovakia, † April 14, 1849 in Dobra Voda, Slovakia) was a Slovak poet and translator. He was the first major Slovak poet who wrote exclusively in the Slovak language. His predecessors mostly wrote in various versions of the Czech language, a Slovak Czech or Latin.

Life

He studied in Skalica, Bratislava and Trnava. He was a Catholic priest in the ward Madunice near Piešťany. Here he wrote his great works under a large tree, which is said to have stood at the site of the present railway station and to have been made ​​from the wood of the altar of the church in Madunice. He was an active member of the second phase of the national rebirth of the Slovaks.

Views

He was a patriot who was proud of the historical roots of the Slovak nation. He appreciated the humanity of the Slovaks, as well as their hard-working nature, Friedlebigkeit and the love and respect for nature.

Working

He wrote poetry and translated the poems of Anton Bernolák in the Slovak language. He used the theme of Svatopluk to wake the Slovak nation.