Kristína Royová


Kristína Royová was a Slovak Protestant activist, thinker, revivalist, novelist and poet.
She was founder of the Blue Cross and diaconical centre in Stará Turá. Her literary works were translated into 36 languages. During the reign of communist party in former Czechoslovakia, Christian literature written by her was among those frequently confiscated by state security service ŠtB and at the same time she was blacklisted on the socialist era school curricula. She is now considered to be the Slovak author with the most frequently translated literary works and some literary critics regard her for being a "Slovak Kierkegaard".

Early life

Parents of Kristína Royová were descendants of two prominent Lutheran families. Father August Roy, close friend of J.M. Hurban, was member of Slavic society, co-founder of Matica Slovenská and Slovak gymnasiums. Mother was from house of Holuby, her brother Jozef Ľudovít Holuby was prominent Slovak botanist, ethnographer, church historian and archaeologist and her other brother Karol Holuby was executed close to present-day Šulekovo village in the revolutionary year of 1848.
The childhood of Kristína Royová was associated with Lutheran parish in Stará Turá, where local chaplains were at the same time her teachers. Still, the overall education she received had not fulfilled her vast intellectual potential. The great contribution to development of her skills was a one-year study at higher secondary school in Bratislava where she managed to master the German language.

Literary works