Svatopluk Čech (21 February 1846 – 23 February 1908) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

writer, journalist and poet.

Biography

Čech was born in Ostředek. He studied at gymnasium 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 ...

, then studied law, and later worked in the journals '' Květy'', '' Lumír'' and '' Světozor''. His first poem, ''Husita na Baltu'', was published in the almanac ''Ruch'' in 1868. Similarly to his work ''Adamité'', it is inspired by history (

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

). His poem ''Evropa'' (1878) takes its cue from revolutionary movements of the time, his poem ''Slávie'' (1882) propagates ideals of Slavic unity, the poem ''Václav z Michalovic'' (1880) depicts religious oppression by the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s, his poem ''Lešetínský kovář'' (1883 confiscated, 1899) social problems of industrialization. The books of lyrical poetry ''Jitřní písně'' (1887) and ''Nové písně'' (1888) reflect the national rebirth of the Czech people, and his poetry cycle ''Písně otroka'' reflects social problems. His best known work today is a series of satirical novels, ''Výlety pana Broučka'' (1888, 1889), two of which were used as the basis for Janáček's opera '' The Excursions of Mr. Brouček to the Moon and to the 15th Century'' (''Výlet pana Broučka do Měsíce''/''Výlet pana Broučka do XV. století''). Čech himself appears as an apparition in Act Three of the opera. A bridge in Prague bears the name Svatopluk Čech Bridge (''Most Svatopluka Čecha'') in his honor. Also multiple streets in various Czech cities are named after him. Svatopluk Čech died in

on 23 February 1908 at the age of 62. He was buried at the Vyšehrad Cemetery in Prague.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cech, Svatopluk 1846 births 1908 deaths Journalists from Austria-Hungary Poets from Austria-Hungary Czech journalists Czech poets Czech male poets Czech satirists Czech satirical novelists 19th-century poets 19th-century Czech male writers People from Benešov District Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery