Andrej Sládkovič

Andrej Sládkovič
Portrait by Jozef Božetech Klemens
Born	30 March 1820 Krupina, Austrian Empire
Died	20 April 1872 (aged 52) Radvaň Nad Hronom, Austria-Hungary
Other names	born as Andrej Braxatoris
Employer(s)	Lutheran priest, poet, translator and publicist
Partner	Antónia Júlia Sekovičová (wife)
Signature

Andrej Sládkovič (born as Andrej Braxatoris, pseudonyms Andrej Braxatoris-Sládkovič, Andrej Sládkovič, Ondřej Krasislav Sládkovič; 31 March 1820, Krupina – 20 April 1872, Radvaň Nad Hronom, today the part of the city of Banská Bystrica) was a Slovak poet, critic, publicist, translator and Lutheran priest.

Life

Andrej Sládkovič was born into a family of teachers in Krupina. His school years started in his home town (1826–30). He later attended a gymnasium in Krupina and at the Lutheran lyceums in Banská Štiavnica and Bratislava. He continued his studies in theology at the University of Halle, Kingdom of Saxony (1843–44).

In years 1839 – 1840 he taught Pavol Pišla in his household where Andrej Sládkovič met Marína Pišlová, the woman who inspirated him to write a poetical work Marína, and in 1938 he worked as an assistant of teacher in Ladzany. In 1841 together je contribute on with Samuel Jurkovič to create the "slovak national theater" in Sobotište.

In years 1842 – 1843 he worked as an educator in Hodruša-Hámre, soon after he came back from studies at the University of Halle he has became a family educator in Pavol Bezegh family in Rybáre (today the part of the city of Sliač). In 1947 he became a pastor, he served in Hrochoť. With an enthusiasm he welcomed the revolution in years 1848 – 1849. He believed the ideals of freedom, equality and brotherhood penetrate to the consciousness of nations and will become determinative in wide social-political and cultural context. In 1949 he has been captured and investigated. Since 1856 until his death in Radvaň he served as a pastor. He was a member of the Ľudovít Štúr's group and was also one of the founders of the Matica slovenská.

Works

• Sôvety (1843–44)
• Marína (1846, his most significant poem, also translated into Hungarian, German, Polish and French)
• Zaspievam pieseň o slobodnej vlasti (1848)
• Nehaňte ľud môj (1848)
• Detvan (1853, an opera was made in 1928)
• Milica (1858)
• Svätomartiniáda (1861)
• Pamiatka na deň 4. augusta (1863, remembers establishment of the Matica slovenská)
• Hojže, Bože, jak to bolí, keď sa junač roztratí (1863)
• Lipa cyrilo-metodejská (1864)
• Gróf Mikuláš Šubić Zrínsky na Sihoti (1866)

Sládkovič also translated works from German (Goethe), Russian (Pushkin) and French (Voltaire, Jean Racine).

External links

• Works by or about Andrej Sládkovič at the Internet Archive
• Andrej Sládkovič at osobnosti.sk (in Slovak)
• A complete collection of his poems available for download at Zlatý fond SME (in Slovak)