156th anniversary of Slovak National Memorandum

Wednesday (7-7) marks the 156th anniversary of the adoption of the Slovak National Memorandum, which was accepted by the Slovak National Assembly from 6 to 7 June, 1861 in the northern Slovak town of Martin. It stressed the need to ensure the Slovak peoples' self-sufficiency and equality within the Hungarian Lands and the necessity to establish an autonomous Slovak territory. The Memorandum also called for a Slovak administration, judiciary, and an adequate ratio of both the Slovak and Hungarian languages in official communication and teaching. The primary plotter behind the document was Štefan Marko Daxner, a Slovak nobleman, politician, lawyer, and poet, who was sentenced to death by Hungarian authorities, but was soon freed by the Austrian Imperial and Royal Army which were fighting against Hungary at the time.