Ľudovít Štúr, the creator of new Slovak language
Ľudovít Štúr is the reason that Slovakia is a country with its own language today. Without him, it might have been part of a larger Slavic nation, or controlled by Germany or Hungary. Štúr was born on October 28th, 1815 in Uhrovec in the Trenčín region he dedicated his short life to building the Slovak nation.
Between 1842 and 1843, Štúr decided to create a new Slovak language built on national identity. The new language was based on the central Slovak dialect because it was widespread, different from Czech and Polish, and had important historical roots.
Many scholars, Slovaks, Czechs and other Slavs were disappointed by this because they had hoped for a united Slavic nation. Štúr had proposed a Czechoslovak language in 1836, but Czechs did not want to accept any Slovak words.
In 1843, Štúr was ordered to stop teaching his new language because of „treason of the Hungarian homeland“, but many students continued to support him. One of his students, Janko Matuška, wrote a hymn in Slovak, „Lightning Over the Tatras“, which later became the official anthem of the Slovak Republic.
Štúr was a politician in the Hungarian government that controlled Slovakia at the time. There, he demanded an end to serfdom in Hungary. He also wanted to introduce civil rights and the use of the Slovak language in primary schools.
Although the pen may be mightier than the sword, during the revolutions of 1848-1849 Štúr led an armed uprising, fighting for the equality of Slovaks among the nations of Central Europe.
Later in his life, Štúr wrote an important philosophical book in German, Das Slawenthum und die Welt der Zukunft (Slavdom and the World of the Future), which suggested a move away from Slovak nationalism and towards Slavic unity.
Štúr died from a hunting injury on January 12th, 1856 in Modra in the Bratislava region, making 2016 the 160th anniversary of his death. His efforts live on through the Slovak language used today and the nation he helped to create.