Božena Němcová

Her image is featured on the 500 CZK denomination of the Česká koruna, "the Czech Republic's five-hundred crown note".

Biography

According to the dating up to now accepted by the majority of Czech authors, Božena Němcová was born in 1820 as Barbara Pankl (or Barbora Panklová according to the usual Czech name-giving for women) in Vienna as a daughter of Johann Pankl from Lower Austria and Teresie Novotná, a maid of Bohemian origin. In her childhood she lived near the small town of Ratibořice, where her grandmother Magdalena Novotná played an important part in her life. Němcová would later write her most famous novel with the main character inspired by her grandmother.

When she was 17 years old, she married Josef Němec, fifteen years her senior, who worked as a customs officer and was therefore a state employee. The marriage was arranged by Barbora's parents and became an unhappy one, as the married couple did not understand each other very well. Němec was said to be a rude and authoritarian man. He was a Bohemian patriot, which did not sit well with his superiors, and he was often transferred to different locations and later lost his job. The couple had four children and suffered from a lack of money. Němcová died in poverty, estranged from her husband. She is said to have been in an intimate relationship with the poet Václav Bolemír Nebeský. The Bohemian patriots arranged a magnificent funeral for her.