K. H. Borovsky - Jedovnice, Czech Republic - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

Live sized statue of K. H. Borovsky is one of his oldest statues in Czech Republic and the oldest in Moravian region. Statue came from 1900 and is created by sculptor Franz Volesský from Ceská Trebová. It is hard to realize today the work of the Preparatory Committe, which granted permission from Austrian authorities to build a monument to hard opponent (dissident) of the former regime.

Official unveiling of statue took place on Sunday, the 23. September 1900. It was a national celebration for the whole neighbourhood, which was attended by more than 2000 people.

Whole statue is made from stone and it isn't only K. H. Borovsky (wears the cloak and with some kind of "paper roll" in his hand), but also 2 meters high base with lion (symbol of Czech statehood) and two coat of arts (Moravian and Silesian one).

Text from the statue:
CS: Prislibujte si mne, poroucejte si mne, vyhrožujte si mne, prece zrádcem nebudu.
EN: Give a promises to me, command me, threaten me, but I'll not be a traitor.

Karel Havlícek Borovský (wikipedia)
He lived and studied at the Gymnasium in Nemecký Brod (today Havlíckuv Brod), and his house on the main square is today the Havlícek Museum. In 1838 he moved to Prague to study philosophy at Charles University and, influenced by the revolutionary atmosphere before the 1848, decided on the objective of becoming a patriotic writer. He devoted himself to studying Czech and literature.

After failing to find a teacher's job in Bohemia, he left for Moscow becoming a tutor in a Russian teacher's family: he was recommended by Pavel Josef Šafarík. 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 Havlícek 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 Kromeríž. He finally gave up the seat to focus on his journalism. Národní noviny became popular especially for his sharp-tongued epigrams and his wit.

Havlícek 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 Kromeríž assembly, but Havlícek continued to criticize the new regime. He was brought to court for his criticism (there was no freedom of the press in the Habsburg's territory) but he was found not guilty by a sympathetic jury. Národní noviny had to cease publication in January 1850, but Havlícek did not end 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 Havlícek stood again at the court to answer on charges of dissent. Again, he was found not guilty by a sympathetic jury of Czech commoners.

Against the 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), Krest 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 Nemcová put a crown of thorns on his head in the coffin. His funeral was attended by a procession of about 5,000 Czechs.

URL of the statue: Not listed

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