František Vladislav Hek

Birth house of Hek, now museum

Statue of Hek in Dobruška

František Vladislav Hek (April 11, 1769 in Dobruška, Bohemia – September 4, 1847 in Letohrad - until 1950 Kyšperk, in German Geiersberg) was a Czech patriot active in early phases of the Czech National Revival, writer and composer. He has been a major inspiration behind the fictionalized novel F. L. Věk by Alois Jirásek.

Biography

Hek was the son of a shopkeeper (of Dutch origin) from Dobruška. He received basic education in Dobruška and in Prague (since 1779) and since 1782 he studied at Piarists gymnasium in Prague. In Prague, Hek met the Czech patriots concentrated around the Kramerius' publishing house Česká expedice and around the Czech theatre groups. In the second half of the 1780s, he returned to Dobruška to take over the father's shop. Hek also served as local agent of Kramerius, loaned books from his large library (3,284 volumes in 1806) and tried to organize a local Czech theatre (it was forbidden by authorities). A fire in 1806 destroyed his shop completely and lost during the state bankruptcy of Austrian Empire in 1811. Since 1806, he cooperated with Josef Liboslav Ziegler (1782–1846), a patriotic priest. In 1821, his wife died and he retired. Hek then lived, among other places, in Herrnhut (in Czech language Ochranov), a center of Czech evangelical exile, and for last years of his life in Kyšperk (today's Letohrad), together with his daughter.

The historical novel F.L. Věk by Alois Jirásek is based on Hek's life, as described in his autobiography. A television series, F.L. Věk, was shot in 1971. City Museum in Dobruška ^[1] owns Hek's birth house and since 1972 hosts an exposition about Hek here. Dobruška's main square was named after F.L. Věk.

Works

The majority of the Hek's works were published after 1806; the 1820s were his most active period. The most important were his satirical epigrams. In 1820, he published book of epigrams "Great Friday" (Velký pátek), a scathing critique of provincialism in Dobruška. An example of epigram: "The Bigger Nitwit, the More Titles He Needs" (Čím větší vůl tím více titulů). Predictably, the work was banned and confiscated (only two original copies are known today), Hek was sentenced to three weeks in prison (he was pardoned due to his bad health) and had been harassed by authorities in Dobruška ever since. While living in Ochranov (Herrnhut), he translated old texts of Czech exilees into German. The most known music works were composed during the 1830-40s. Hek also wrote his own autobiography in German.

Literature

• Jan Jakubec: Dějiny literatury české (History of Czech Literature), volume I 1929, volume II 1934.
• Ladislav Hladký (director of the museum in Dobruška): F. Vl. Hek (F. L. Věk), 1972.

External links

• Museum in Dobruška: short information about Hek, photo (in Czech, scroll down)
• Short biography (in Czech)