250th anniversary of the birth of Juraj Fándly

200 Sk commemorative silver coin

Juraj Fándly (21. 10. 1750 – 7. 3. 1811) – Roman-catholic priest, writer and educator, an enthusiastic national revivalist and propagator of the Slovak language. He belonged to the leading personalities of a group of enlighteners, who, headed by Anton Bernolák, created the ideological concept of Slovak national revival and undertook to codify the Slovak as a genuine written language.

As an enlightener, he was aware of the necessity to provide ordinary people with educational background. He considered preaching to be an important way of passing on knowledge to his flock. He summarized his ideas to this end in a voluminous work Casual and Feast-day Sermons. He saw as a prime task the publication of books for all layers of society:

Hard-working Domestic and Agricultural Master, On Fallow-ground and Bees, Folk-medicine Practitioner. These books not only conveyed simple recipes for becoming better farmers, but also the latest knowledge of contemporary scholars and of European cultural heritages of former generations. He explained and advocated the ecclesiastical-religious reforms of the Emperor Joseph II in his instructive and amusing work Confidential Debate between a Monk and a Devil.