
Jindřich Fügner (born Heinrich Fügner, 12 September 1822,
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
– 15 November 1865, Prague) was co-founder (together with
Miroslav Tyrš
Miroslav Tyrš (born Friedrich Emanuel Tirsch, in Czech: Bedřich Tyrš; 17 September 1832 – 8 August 1884) was a Czechs, Czech philosopher, Art history, art historian, sports organizer and together with Jindřich Fügner the cofounder of th ...
) and the first ''starosta'' (leader) of the
Sokol movement
The Sokol movement (, ) is an all-age gymnastics organization founded in Prague in the Czech lands of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of "Mens sana in corpore sano, a strong mind ...
.
Biography
Fügner was born in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
to Peter (1787–1863) and Frances (Františka) (1794–1863) Fügner. His father was a businessman (Handelsmann), a native of
Leitmeritz. Police records show that the family of Peter and Frances had two daughters: Caroline and Julia and three sons: Ferdinand, Heinrich and Wilhelm.
Thanks to private study and study abroad he gained a broad education and learned several foreign languages. Later, he run a trade insurance business. Though his business was successful, he had higher goals. He was devoted to music, sports and social interests.
Thanks to the legacy of his grandfather (inherited his vineyards and boats) his family was quite wealthy. As a successful businessman, he became the owner of the Italian company ''Nuova Societa Commerciale d'Assecurazioni'', a general trade company.
[MUCHA, Vilém. Dějiny dělnické tělovýchovy v Československu. Praha : Olympia, 1975. Kapitola Doba vzniku Sokola, s. 14.]
Fügner, a German by birth, never mastered the
Czech language
Czech ( ; ), historically known as Bohemian ( ; ), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 12 million people including second language speakers, it serves as the official language of the ...
. His decision to adopt a political and national identity as a Czech was derived from a strong sense of his local identity as a "Praguer" and from his disenchantment with social pretensions of the German elite in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
and the northern
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
.
The Czech patriotic circles introduced him to
Tyrš. Soon after, Fügner and Tyrš worked together on founding the Czech gymnastic association. The association was named
Sokol Prague and Fügner became the association first leader (''
starosta
Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands.
The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...
'').
[Jindřich Fügner (online article)](_blank)
/ref> He introduced and promoted tykání, i.e. the way of addressing one person using the second person singular (you) among the association members and addressing the members as "brothers". The red jacket he used to wear, became part of the Sokol uniforms. Thanks to him the first Sokol society was established in the Sokol Street (a former fortification) in Prague.[Dějiny dělnické tělovýchovy, str.11] He died at the age of 43; the cause of his death was most likely blood poisoning
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells.
Blood is compo ...
. His funeral became a national manifestation.[Pohřeb Jindřicha Fügnera. Národní listy. 1865-11-20, roč. 5, čís. 259, s. 1.]
References
Literature
* Otto Urban: Hienrich/Jindřich Fügner - Ein Typus des modernen Böhmischen Bürgers in Robert Hoffmann: Bürger zwischen Tradition und Modernität, Böhlau Verlag Wien, 1 January 1997 pp. 271–280
* Jaroslav Zyka-Borotínský: Jindřich Fügner: Vzpomínky sokolské, F. Topič, 1925
* Renata Tyršová: Jindřich Fügner: paměti a vzpomínsky na mého otce, Volume 1, Český čtenář, 1926
* Jindřich Fügner 1822-1922: k stým narozeninám prvého starosty pražské tělocvičné jednoty Sokol, Matice Sokola pražského, 1922
* Jindřich Fügner: nástin jeho života a působeni : k uctění 20 leté památky úmrtí prvního starosty svého, Nákladem vlastním, 1896
External links
Jindřich Fügner viz též Jindřich Fügner
Jindřich Fügner zakladatel Sokola
Výstavní panel výstavy Pod křídly Sokola: Jindřich Fügner a Miroslav Tyrš
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuegner, Jindrich
1822 births
1865 deaths
Sportspeople from Prague
People from the Kingdom of Bohemia
Sokol movement members
Sports executives and administrators
People associated with physical culture
Burials at Olšany Cemetery