István Kováts (
Slovene ''Števan Kovatš''; January 25, 1866 – December 11, 1945) was a
Hungarian Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
pastor, writer, and historian. He wrote in the
Prekmurje dialect
Prekmurje Slovene, also known as the Prekmurje dialect, East Slovene, or Wendish ( sl, prekmurščina, prekmursko narečje, hu, vend nyelv, muravidéki nyelv, Prekmurje dialect: ''prekmürski jezik, prekmürščina, prekmörščina, prekmör ...
(the language of the
Hungarian Slovenes
Hungarian Slovenes ( Slovene: ''Madžarski Slovenci'', hu, Magyarországi szlovének) are an autochthonous ethnic and linguistic Slovene minority living in Hungary. The largest groups are the Rába Slovenes ( sl, porabski Slovenci, dialecticall ...
).
He was born in
Lébény
Lébény ( la, Quadrata or ) is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, midway between Mosonmagyaróvár and Győr, Hungary. It has a Romanesque monastic church commenced in 1208. Similar family or clan-financed medieval Hungarian monastic churches ...
, near
Győr to the Lutheran landowner István Kováts and Katalin Kováts. He first studied in
Sopron, and then in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
at the
University of Halle-Wittenberg
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...
and
University of Jena
The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
The un ...
. He was ordained on September 29, 1889 and made a curate in
Tét
Tét (german: Tietzing) is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron county, Hungary. It is located between the town of Pápa (21 km north) and the city of Győr (24 km south) in the Little Hungarian Plain. According to 1990 census it used to have 4, ...
, and then sent to
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
in 1891. On March 12, 1892 he went to the
Slovene March, in
Murska Sobota, where he learned the local dialect.
He married Irena
von Berke {{unreferenced, date=June 2011
Berke ( hu, nagybarkóci Berke; german: Berke von Nagybarkóc) family was an old Hungarian noble family in the Slovene March ( Vas County, nowadays: Prekmurje, Slovenia). They were landowners and bankers.
On 10 De ...
, a Hungarian noblewoman who was the daughter of Mihaly von Berke, a wealthy landowner. They had three children; two daughters and one son. His son Karel Kováts (later Kovač) built the new Lutheran church in
Gornji Slaveči
Gornji Slaveči (; hu, Felsőcsalogány, german: Ober Slabitsch) is a village in the Municipality of Kuzma in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia.
Name
The name ''Gornji Slaveči'' (literally, 'upper Slaveči') contrasts with the name ''Dolnji Slave ...
and was the head of the Lutheran church in Slovenia.
István Kováts was the president of the Bank of the Slovene March and the head of the Lutheran Congregation of
Mura until 1941. From 1941 to 1945, he was the honorary head of the Lutheran Congregation of Mura. He built the new Lutheran church in Murska Sobota, and the Lutheran dormitory. In 1940 he wrote a history of Lutheran Vicarage of Murska Sobota, and he edited the almanac ''Evangeličanski koledar'' and the gazette ''Düševni List''. He died in
Murska Sobota on 11 December 1945. For his contribution to the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
he received the National Defence Cross (Nemzetvédelmi Kereszt) from
Miklós Horthy himself.
Alexander I of Yugoslavia awarded him the
Order of St. Sava (fourth class).
His work
* Zgodovina Mursko-soboške evangeličanske gmajne, ''Evangeličanski koledar'', 1940.
See also
*
List of Slovene writers and poets in Hungary
This is a list of Slovene writers and poets in Hungary.
A
* Imre Augustich
B
* József Bagáry
* Mária Bajzek Lukács
* Mihály Bakos
* István Ballér
* Irén Barbér
* Mihály Barla
* Iván Bassa
* József Bassa
* Balázs Berke
* Fe ...
* Michael Kovats de Fabriczy
Sources
Encyclopedia of Prekmurje Biography – István Kováts
Literature
* Kovats Štefan (1866–1945). ''Evangeličanski koledar'' 1952. 55-56.
* Theodor Hari: ''Zgodovina evangeličanske cerkve v Murski Soboti'', 2000.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovats, Istvan
Slovenian writers and poets in Hungary
Officers of the Order of St. Sava
1866 births
1945 deaths
University of Halle alumni
University of Jena alumni
People from Győr-Moson-Sopron County