Andrzej Kotula (10 February 1822 in Grodziszcz – 10 October 1891 in Cieszyn) was a Polish lawyer and activist from Cieszyn Silesia. He was son of Józef, peasant, and Maria. Kotula graduated from Protestant gymnasium in Cieszyn and philosophical high school in

Pressburg Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

. In 1848 he graduated in law from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, where he met Paweł Stalmach, with whom he later cooperated closely back in Cieszyn Silesia. In the same year Kotula together with Stalmach participated in

Slavic Congress Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slavi ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, where they were protesting against including Cieszyn Poles in the Czecho-Slovak section. In 1848-1891 he contributed to ''

Tygodnik Cieszyński ''Tygodnik Cieszyński'' ("Cieszyn Weekly") was a weekly Polish magazine published in Cieszyn (Teschen) in 1848–1851. It was the first local magazine in Cieszyn Silesia, and the oldest Polish magazine in Cieszyn Silesia. The first issue appear ...

'' and ''

Gwiazdka Cieszyńska ''Gwiazdka Cieszyńska'' ("Cieszyn Star") was a weekly Polish magazine published in Cieszyn (Teschen), Silesia in 1851-1939. After 1906 it appeared biweekly. It succeeded '' Tygodnik Cieszyński'' magazine which appeared in 1848-1851. The magazin ...

'' magazines. Since 1853 he worked as an administration clerk in Ipolyság,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. In 1857 he moved to Frysztat, where he worked as notary. In 1867 Kotula came back to Cieszyn, where he ran his notary office until his death. Kotula was very active in public life, always engaging in establishing various Polish associations and institutions. He was also an active member of the Lutheran community. He was secretary of ''Czytelnia Ludowa'' (People's Library), member of several organizations and one of the founders of ''Macierz Szkolna Księstwa Cieszyńskiego'' (School Association of the Duchy of Cieszyn). Kotula wrote poems, fairy tales and ballads. Kotula was interested in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

- he was collecting and conserving plants, mushrooms, beetles and butterflies. He had three sons - botanist Bolesław, engineer Andrzej, and bookseller and publisher Jerzy.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotula, Andrzej 1822 births 1891 deaths People from Karviná District People from Austrian Silesia People from Cieszyn Silesia Polish Lutherans Polish activists 19th-century Polish lawyers University of Vienna alumni 19th-century Lutherans Participants of the Slavic Congress in Prague 1848 Lawyers from Austria-Hungary