Panslavs with coat of arms

Two unique and bizarre human destinies represented by two noblemen – Baron Gregor Friesenhof (1840 – 1913) and Prince Livio Odescalchi (1863 – 1938). They were separated by one generation, several rungs on the aristocratic ladder, and their lifelong interests. For one it was agriculture and meteorology in the broadest sense of the word, for the other rather art, science and politics. However, they also had a lot in common. Both of them were foreigners by origin, their residences were only a little over 10 kilometers apart, they became white crows in their families, many considered them crazy, and their lives crossed paths several times. In the end, they were united by their relationship to the Slovak environment and the Slovak national political movement. Friesenhof was a member of the Matica slovenska committee, a correspondent for the Slovak press and the soul of a unique economic association with a tolerant attitude towards Slovak citizens and their interests. Odescalchi had contacts with Slovak politicians, was at the head of a coup in the region in 1918, organized the Slovak nobility in favor of the Czechoslovak Republic and was in a close relationship with Matica slovenska.

The life destinies of both personalities, together with their origins and family environment, as well as their regional and national roots, create stories that could not be invented by humans and that could only be " created" by history in its uniqueness and variety.

Prof. PhDr. Roman Holec, DrSc. (1959, Bratislava), deals with the history of the " long" 19th century, his specialization is economic and social history, currently mainly the history of the nobility and environmental history. He is the author of 17 separate book titles, co-author of over ten syntheses and almost two hundred scientific studies published in 15 countries. He studied at the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University in Bratislava, Department of Slovak and History. He works at the Historical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, he is a professor of history at the Department of Slovak History of the Faculty of Arts, Charles University.