150th anniversary of the birth of Jozef Cíger Hronský

200 Sk commemorative silver coin

Jozef Cíger Hronský (23.2.1896 Zvolen – 13.7.1960 Lujan, Argentina) is an important representative of modern Slovak literature. He is regarded as the pioneer of new trends in Slovak literary development in the 20th century. He is the author of extremely popular books for children and young people, collections of stories, novels and travel books. He was a leading representative of Matica slovenská, the leading Slovak cultural and academic organization. He was responsible for its development programme, which pursued the general development of Slovak national culture. He was not only concerned with development of the membership base, but also with the creation of its academic departments and the construction of the Slovak National Library. Extraordinary achievement is attributed to Hronský in connection with the development of publishing activity. He established the Neografia printing enterprise, at the time the most productive printing enterprise in Slovakia. It secured the financial independence of Matica slovenská. He continued his activities for Matica in exile in Argentina. In 1959, he became a co-founder of Matica slovenská abroad.