Milota Zdirad Polák

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Matěj Milota Zdirad Polák

Matěj Milota Zdirad Polák (also Matěj Polák , later Moric Polak ) (born February 14, 1788 in Zásmuky ; † March 31, 1856 in Wiener Neustadt ) was an Austrian officer and Czech poet.

Life

The son of the cobbler and fruit trader Jakub Polák attended schools in Prague from 1798 and in 1807 became an assistant teacher at the Prague Orphan School in today's Politických Vězňů Street. In 1808 he volunteered for the Austrian army, which was formed against Napoleon's armies . He served under Prince Albert Gyulay Count of Maros-Németh and Nádaska , took part in the Battle of Aspern in May 1809 and in the Battle of Wagram in July . During his short service in the army, he achieved the rank of ensign . Until the beginning of 1813 he was stationed with his regiment in Eastern Bohemia. After being promoted to lieutenant , he was transferred to the 15th regiment, with which he took part in the Battle of Dresden in August 1813 and two months later in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig . In 1814 he took part in the celebrations on the occasion of the Paris Peace Treaty . After a short stay as first lieutenant of the marshal and later intendant of the Austrian army, Baron Franz von Koller in Galicia and Hungary, he traveled with him to Vienna and Italy.

From 1818 to 1820 he worked as a tutor for Koller's sons August and Alexander in Prague and at his master's seat in Obříství .

After the outbreak of the uprisings in Naples in 1820, he returned to Italy with his commander-in-chief. Koller died in 1827 and Polak enlisted in the Theresian Military Academy , where he taught Czech and literature until 1830 . After being promoted to captain , he returned to his regiment and served in northern Hungary until 1837. In 1832 he married the daughter of the artillery officer Baron Augustin, who was 24 years his junior. In 1837 he returned to the military academy and taught war history as a professor and as a prefect of languages. In the same year he was promoted to major , in 1843 to lieutenant colonel . He left the army in 1849 as major general . He died of a stroke at the age of 68.

Works

Presumably he began writing German poetry as a young man. He entered the Bohemian literary world at the beginning of the 19th century. During his stay with the 21st Regiment in Chrudim , he first came into contact with Bohemian patriots around Josef Liboslav Ziegler , a chaplain in Dobřany , who also included the businessman František Vladislav Hek . A deep friendship developed between Polak and Ziegler, in the course of which Ziegler recognized Polak's talent and repeatedly encouraged him to continue writing. In 1813 the first part of his extensive lyric work appeared, which was later reprinted. His writing colleagues, such as Šebestián Hněvkovský , Antonín Jaroslav Puchmajer , František Palacký and Josef Jungmann , praised the work and called it ingenious. A large part of his works burned in the great fire in Wiener Neustadt in 1834 . Some are still popular as folk songs in the Czech Republic today.

During his stay in Italy he wrote a travelogue about his experiences in Vienna, Styria and Carinthia, as well as in Venice, Tuscany, Rome and Naples. He describes the landscapes, praises the architecture and describes the characteristics and customs and customs of the population.

He also took part in the excavations at Pompeii , from which he brought back memorabilia for his master. In his works there are also copies of around 50 ancient epigraphs .

After his death, his literary works were published in numerous collections, newspapers and magazines of the representatives of the “revivalists” , for example in the magazines Lumír and Nová beseda .

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Polák, Milota Zdirad
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Polák, Matěj Milota Zdirad (full name); Polák, Matěj; Polak, Moric
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian officer and Czech poet
DATE OF BIRTH February 14, 1788
PLACE OF BIRTH Zásmuky
DATE OF DEATH March 31, 1856
Place of death Wiener Neustadt