Jan Sladký Kozina

Jan Sladký Kozina (* 10 September 1652 in Újezd u Domažlic; † 26 November 1695 in Pilsen) was a legendary Czech revolutionary leader of the Chodové peasant rebellion at the end of the 17th century.

Kozina symbolised the resistance of the Czechs during the "Period of Darkness", a time of oppression by the Catholic Church and the Germans.

Jan Sladký Kozina was first named Rosocha, after Rosoch Farm (U Rosochů) which belonged to his grandfather, and in which he was born and grew up. The names Sladký and Kozina were only given to him later. On 9 May 1678, aged 25, he married Dorota Pelnářová, took over the ancestral farm U Kozinů, and took his place in the middle yeomanry. They seem to have gone on to live as a quiet, godfearing couple.

He could neither read nor write, but made his name by his speeches, in which he drew attention to the mistreatments of the time, and became spokesman for the farmers' woes. He defended the rights of the Chodové people and demanded justice for the country people. It culminated in disagreement with the local magnate Wolf Maximilian Laminger von Albenreuth, also known as "Lomikar". Kozina was judged responsible for the peasant rebellion, arrested and executed later in Pilsen.

He was immortalised as a figure of resistance in the stories of Alois Jirásek and Božena Němcová. In Újezd u Domažlic a memorial to him was set up; his place of execution is marked by a plaque just inside what is now the main entrance to the Pilsner Urquell brewery in Pilsen.

Alois Jirásek wrote the book Psohlavci (The Dogheads), which was about the Chodové peoples and young Jan's struggles. This book is currently available in English form from the http://www.chodovepeople.com website.