Karel Havlicek Borovsky Multi-Cache

Karel Havlíček Borovský. Journalist, writer, satirist and politician. Czech nation defender. Founder of modern Czech journalism and the most important Czech newspaper of the revolutionary years 1848 – 1850. A relentless, politically engaged critic of Austrian regime, a person with a significant impact on Czech public opinion. One of the most important Czechs of our history.

The name of Karel Havlíček Borovský (31.10.1821 - 29.7.1856) is inseparably connected with the town Havlíčkův Brod. Karel Havlíček was born in the nearby village Borová close to the town Přibyslav, the Havlíček family moved to the town at the time called Německý Brod in 1832. Karel finished the classical gymnasium (=grammar/high school) here, and the town became his only true home where he always came back from his life’s journeys. The Vysočina Museum is based in Havlíček’s house nowadays. There is a permanent exhibition dedicated to this exceptional person.

The KHB’s legacy is truly extraordinary in comparison with his short life. His courageous political commitment in the revolutionary years 1848-1849 is admirable and anyone who has ever read a text will understand why he was so hated by the Austrian Empire and why the regime was so scared of him. For more than three years he was able to resist the government regulations that were “tailor-made” for him. He did not break down when the successful Národní noviny (“National Newspaper”) that he founded in 1848 in Prague was banned from publishing in 1850, and left for Kutná Hora. He continued his rebellious activity in the new magazine Slovan for another year there.

Karel Havlíček was deported to Brixen by court order at the end of 1851, on the eve of the incoming Bach’s absolutism. He was supposed to disappear from the sights of the Czechs and they were supposed to forget about him. However, they did not forget. His funeral in 1856 grew into an anti-Austrian demonstration.

He left unforgettable legacy in his work. Kutná Hora Epistles (Epištoly kutnohorské), Pictures from Russia (Obrazy z Rus), The Tyrolean Elegies (Tyrolské elegie), King Lavra (Král Lávra), The Baptism of Saint Vladimir (Křest svatého Vladimíra). You know them, don’t you. A little bit difficult texts for school reading-books, however, we adults should understand them. And what about epigrams, those short and trenchant lines? Many of them have something to say even nowadays. For instance the well-known: "Moje barva červená a bílá, dědictví mé poctivosť a síla!" (“My colour is red and white, my legacy is my honesty and strength!”).

The cache is not at the initial coordinates. There you will find the Havlicek House with a memorial plaque.

Final coordinates:
N 46° 43.(D-A)(K-G)(A+C)
E 011° 38.(A+B)(C-E)(A-F)