Juraj Jánošík

Juraj Jánošík
Wood engraving by Władysław Skoczylas, which reads, "The name of Janosik will never perish".
Born	January 1688 Terchová, Kingdom of Hungary (today Slovakia)
Died	March 17, 1713 (aged 25) Svätý Mikuláš, Kingdom of Hungary (today Slovakia)
Nationality	Hungarian (ethnic Slovak)
Other names	Juro Jánošík, Jurko Jánošík, Jerzy Janosik, Jánosik György
Occupation	soldier, prison guard, highwayman
Known for	Slovak folk hero

Juraj Jánošík (first name also Juro or Jurko, Slovak pronunciation: [ˈjuraj ˈjaːnɔʃiːk]; Polish: Jerzy Janosik Polish pronunciation: [ˈjɛʐɨ jaˈnɔɕik], Hungarian: Jánosik György; baptised January 25, 1688, died March 17, 1713) was a famous Slovak highwayman. Jánošík has been the main character of many Slovak and Polish legends, novels, poems and films. He is a semi-legendary character in East-Central Europe.

According to the legend, he robbed nobles and gave the loot to the poor, a deed often attributed to the famous Robin Hood. The legend was also known in neighbouring Silesia, the Margraviate of Moravia and later spread to the Kingdom of Bohemia. The actual robber had little to do with the modern legend, whose content partly reflects the ubiquitous folk myths of a hero taking from the rich and giving to the poor. However, the legend was also shaped in important ways by the activists and writers in the 19th century when Jánošík became the key highwayman character in stories that spread in the north counties of the Kingdom of Hungary (much in present Slovakia) and among the local Gorals and Polish tourists in the Podhale region north of the Tatras (Tatra). The image of Jánošík as a symbol of resistance to oppression was reinforced when poems about him became part of the Slovak and Czech middle and high school literature curriculum, and then again with the numerous films that propagated his modern legend in the 20th century. During the anti-Nazi Slovak National Uprising, one of the partisan groups bore his name.