Václav Beneš Třebízský

Václav Beneš Třebízský (27 February 1849 – 20 June 1884) was a Czech priest and writer. Despite his short life, he was a very prolific author and was one of the most popular Czech writers of his time. He wrote mainly historical novels and short stories, but he also wrote several fairy tale books for children. The themes of his books supported Czech patriotism.

Life

Václav Beneš was born on 27 February 1849 in Třebíz, into a tailor's family. His father was a Czech patriot with an interest in history. He attended primary school in Kvílice and then the Piarist college in Slaný, where he had to walk , even though he was already suffering from tuberculosis of the lungs and joints at that time. He then studied theology at the Clementinum in Prague and learned other Slavic languages. During his studies, he began to create his first literary works and adopted the pseudonym Václav Beneš Třebízský to distinguish himself from the writer Václav Beneš Šumavský. Due to a worsening illness and treatment at the Teplice spa, he had to extend his studies by a year.

In 1873, he first underwent treatment at the spa in Mariánské Lázně. In 1875, Třebízský became a chaplain in Liteň. In 1876–1884, Třebízský was a chaplain in Klecany, where he wrote most of his major works. His health was still poor, and he recovered from pneumonia and pleurisy several times. Třebízský died of tuberculosis in on 20 June 1884 in Mariánské Lázně. He had a lavish funeral, attended by thousands of people. He was buried at the Vyšehrad Cemetery and a statue created by František Bílek was placed on the grave.

Work Václav Beneš Třebízský was one of the most popular Czech writers of his time. His books strengthened the patriotic feelings of the nation and there was great interest in all of them. Despite his short life, he managed to write hundreds of short stories and novels. Many of his works are set in places where he lived. He was mainly interested in writing historical stories, which took place in various periods of Czech history but his favorite was the Hussite period. To a lesser extent, he also wrote fairy tales for children.

List of works Třebízský's works include:

In the former rectory in Klecany, where Třebízský lived and worked, there is a memorial hall of V. B. Třebízský with an exhibition about his life and work.

In his native village of Třebíž is the monument to V. B. Třebízský. It includes a seated statue of Třebízský, unveiled in 1892. In Klecany there is a monument with his bronze bust, which was created by Ladislav Šaloun in 1898. Both these monuments protected as cultural monuments.

There is a memorial plaque in the park in Mariánské Lázně, where Třebízský spent the last days of his life.

Dozens of cities and towns in the Czech Republic have a street named after Václav Beneš Třebízský, including Prague (Vinohrady), Brno, Ostrava, Plzeň, Liberec, Olomouc, České Budějovice and Hradec Králové.