Slovakia is probably the only country where the national hero Juraj Jánošík is an outlaw
I used the title from an English article about our national hero Juraj Jánošík. In March, Slovakia commemorates the trial of the bandit Juraj Jánošík, which took place in 1713 in Liptovský Mikuláš from March 16 and ended on March 18 with the execution of our Jánošík by stabbing.
Juraj Janosik
He was a bandit who had slipped out of his time 300 years ago. He did not kill anyone, he even took and buried his learned friend in the breaking wheel, despite the imminent death penalty.
In the 20th century, the character of Juraj Jánošík identified with the acting character of Paľo Bielik, who was born in Senice near Banská Bystrica and survived his childhood in Majer. Senica and Majer are part of our city today. His real father was a Hungarian nobleman, but Paľo Bielik is a convinced Slovak.
The Swiss have William Tell, the English Robin Hood. Despite the fact that the existence of Wilim Tell is not even proven – in the 21st century, 60% of Swiss people believe that they existed and are proud of him. Jánošík existed and we know that he was Slovak. Despite the fact that Slovakia has been a part of the European Union since 2004 – in Slovakia as if there was time left and it no longer honors traditions. And we had the first Slovak films about Jánošík in the first half of the 20th century.
Juraj Jánošík was born into a simple Slovak peasant family from Terchová near Žilina in January 1688. Jánošík left Terchová for the first time as a kuruc, a member of the rebel divisions of František Rákoczi in 1706. He had to go against the emperor on behalf of Rákoci. Before the end of the uprising, she returned to her Terchová.
As a soldier, he subsequently called in military service, his landowner Ján Löwenburg, this time on the side of the imperial troops. Already as Labanc (a member of the imperial army) he worked at Bytčiansky Castle. He guarded the imprisoned bandit captain Tomáš Uhorčík at the chateau. Uhorčík escaped from prison and contacted Jánošík at large. Jánošík was bought from his military service by his parents.
After meeting Uhorčík in September 1711, he became a member of a bandit party because he did not tolerate lordly oppression and respected freedom. Juraj Jánošík was caught at the turn of January and February 1713. He was a member of the bandit’s party for only 18 months. Even before that, in the autumn of 1712, Juraj Jánošík was arrested in Malohont when he was visiting Uhorčík – as a result of a raid by buyers from Banská Bystrica.
He was helped by the intervention of Pavel Láni, a sub-mayor of the Malohont capital, and they released Juraj Jánošík as innocent. Juraj Jánošík proved his great personality. After the New Year of 1713, Jánošík again took refuge in Klenovec, this time with his friends Martin Mravec (Uhorčík). He was caught there at the turn of January and February. Because the bastards found the stolen things during the search of the Ant’s house, they also arrested the owner of the dwelling.
The trial of Juraj Jánošík – even by torture, did not force him to betray his belief in freedom and humanity.
The trial of Jánošík began on March 16, 1713 in Liptovský Mikuláš. The chairman of the court was Sub-mayor Ladislav Okoličáni, the plaintiff Alexander Čemický, the lawyer Baltazár Palúdzky. The minutes contain a Latin-Slovak record during the court hearing. Everyone present knew Slovak. The minutes of the defendant’s interrogation were lost in the mid-nineteenth century.
Only its authentic description has been preserved, which probably comes from Janko Kráľ. Rather, it contains 29 questions asked by representatives of the Liptov capital to Jánošík during the voluntary interrogation. He did not answer thirteen of them at all. Seventeen questions from the representatives of the Trenčín capital follow. Here Jánošík answered all the questions. Juraj Jánošík’s company had more than twenty men from Kysuce, Moravia and Poland.
In his statement, Jánošík mentioned mainly those species that were no longer alive. He claimed about Uhorčík himself that he died in a shootout in the Kremnica hills. Prosecutor Alexander Černický emphasized that he was Rákoczi’s insurgent. Therefore, he proposed the death penalty for the bandit Juraj Jánošík.
The defender was Baltazár Palúdzky, who insisted that Jánošík did not kill anyone during his activity. After interrogation and torture, Jánošík was finally found guilty of robbery, violation of land laws and bad deeds. Hanging on the left side of the hook should be a punishment and a warning to others.
The lawyer rejected the accusation and especially the accusation of murder, stating that Jánošík returned from the Rákoczio insurgents and joined the imperial army, where he served at Bytčiansky chateau, then redeemed his father and he returned to his parents in Terchová – no one injured or killed. Because he had confessed voluntarily, he should not have been tortured.
The apparent mitigating circumstances, therefore, spoke in favor of giving Janosik a pardon. The fact that Jánošík was a supporter of Rákoczi was enough for the prosecutor. On the second day, March 17, he decided that Jánošík would be subjected to torture, due to the fact that he did not name all his supporters and protectors or where he hid the booty.
There is a lot of ambiguity in his voluntary statement and he was not willing to answer many questions at all. Jánošík admitted to beating Zeman Ladislav Zmeškal in Svätojánská dolina and Nemka Schardonka between Východná and Važec, and spoke only vaguely about his hiding place. Mr. Ján Radvanský from Radvan near Banská Bystrica, who went to the funeral of the landowner Petróci, was cut out thanks to the information of the postman. However, even cruel torture did not break Jánošík and did not betray anyone.
Legends about Jánošík
The first mention of Jánošík in the press was brought by the Banská Bystrica “Old literary art newspaper“In 1785. Under the heading”The discipline of one preacher for the soul of the main bandit Jánošík was excellent“It was written by A. Doležal. The character of Juraj Jánošík was slowly gaining popularity. The name Jánošík, Janko, Janík, Janošek began to appear in songs, legends, fairy tales, sayings, proverbs.
A bandit’s song with a Jánošík theme was published under the title “Jánošík, the robber of Liptov ” from 1809 she found herself in the second volume of the work of Bohuslav Tablic.
Pavol Dobšinský in the chapter of the book “Transnational customs of customs and superstitions dedicated to Jánošík and the upper boy” that Janko Kráľ, during the collection of material about Jánošík in Kokava na Malohonte, belongs to the local farmer Matej Zdu in the mid-forties of the nineteenth century, a copy of the composition „Jánošík, Liptov bandit “.
Movies about Jánošík
Several films about the Slovak folk hero Juraj Jánošík have been made, not only Slovak but also Polish. Because Poles consider Juraj Jánošík to be their Polish hero. The first silent film about Jánošík was made by American Slovaks as early as 1921. The second film about Jánošík in the lead role with Paľo Bielik was made in 1935.
In the years 1962/63, as a director, Paľo Bielik made the third color film about Jánošík. In 1974, the Poles made a film about Jánošík. A film was made in 2009 “Janosik. True history “ .From 1976 and 1991 come cartoons called “Bandit Jurko”.
At the end
I was extremely surprised when a member of the Bad Hindelang city council came to me in Augsburg during the European Fugger Road project – that he has a Polish wife and knows our Slovak hero Juraj Jánošík, whom she told him about.
Juraj Jánošík not only in the 19th but also in the 20th century was the most famous Slovak in the world. It is sad that in the 21st century, in order for someone to overcome him with their actions, instead, his figure in Slovak history is despised. It can be said that in the 19th century, his name was known to every peasant family in Slovakia, who did not even know how to read and write – which was common at that time. Jánošík has also become synonymous with Slovak folk art.
Juraj Jánošík was and I believe he will be a Slovak national hero. Unlike other 90% of Upper Hungary, he knew him. In Banská Bystrica, its so-called rifle. He was born in 1688 in Terchová and was executed only at the age of 25 – after inhuman torture he confessed to his guilt!
He was among the top 10 Slovaks – in the 21st century, some went so far as to defend torture. He was executed after cruel torture on a hook on March 18, 1713 in Liptovský Mikuláš. His cap is in the museum in Liptovský Mikuláš, his Wallachian is in the museum in Bratislava (the Hungarians gave it to us in 1957) and his rifle should be in the museum in Banská Bystrica.
Author: Vladimír Sklenka, Photo: illustration and archive