The date of October 28, 1918 is especially important for our nation. For the first time, the Slovaks joined the common independent democratic republic together with the Czechs.

On the day exactly, but 103 years earlier, the national awakener and codifier of standard Slovak Ľudovít Štúr was also born. His birth house stands under Rokoš hill, in the village Uhrovec. Many also call it the cradle of Slovak greats, as Alexander Dubček, a politician and the main figure of the Prague Spring, was born in the same house on November 27, 1921.

Their common birth house was originally a Hungarian school with a teacher's apartment. The house is small and cozy, there are only four rooms - a bedroom, a room with an exhibition dedicated to Štúr, another dedicated to Dubček and finally the so-called School.

You will find it in the middle of the village, under a majestic tree, behind a wooden fence. The house was built in the 18th century, today it is managed by the Trenčín Museum and is a protected monument. The exhibition focuses more on the life and work of the thinker, politician and co-founder of standard Slovak Ľudovít Štúr. Since he also devotes himself to the period of his childhood and youth, it is possible to learn many interesting things from everyday life in the mountains surrounded by the West Slovak village.

It was written exactly on October 28, 1815, when the husband Samuel and Anne Štúrovec gave birth to a son. A day later, he was baptized in an evangelical church and named after Louis. They lived in a teacher's house and the father's teacher also gave Ľudovít his first basic education. He also gained love, pride and militancy for the nation at home. Since it was a national-minded family, it is no wonder that the steps of the most famous of the Štúrovce family led to the publication of Slovak newspapers or the legalization of Slovak. In his short life, he managed the careers of several people together. We learn about Ľudovít Štúr as a respected journalist, linguist, writer, politician and thinker. Two days before Christmas in 1855, he was hunting, where he shot himself unhappily. He died of his injuries on January 12, 1856 in Modra. Four days later, a nationwide funeral was held there. At the end of October, we commemorated 205 years since his birth. Only the coincidence of coincidences probably caused that two important Slovak personalities were born in a picturesque village near Bánovce nad Bebravou, even in the same house. Before entering the house, the names and portraits of both politicians are removed from the facade and fence. He connected their birth house, national feeling and Uhrovec can be rightfully proud of both of his natives.

photo: Stanislav Hladký