Bust of Josef Ladislav Jandera

The bust of Josef Ladislav Jandera is situated on Gothard Hill in Hořice, near St. Gothard’s Church. It commemorates the great mathematician, member of the Premonstratensian Order and Hořice patriot Josef Ladislav Jandera. It is no coincidence that the bust is located here, since Jandera, as a local patriot, was responsible for saving Gothard Hill from being mined out and had a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary built there in the Empire style.

Josef Ladislav Jandera was born in Hořice in 1776, studied at the grammar school in Hradec Králové and, after graduating, enrolled to study philosophy in Pragues. Besides philosophy, he also devoted his energies to smathematics and theology. In order to broaden his theological horizons and also because of his strong religious convictions he decided to join the Premonstratensian Monastery in Strahov, Prague, where he became a priest at the age of 26 and took the name Ladislav. His friend Bernard Bolzano, who would also later go on to be a renowned mathematician, joined alongside him. However, he had not left the university for good. He spent more and more time studying mathematics and became the assistant to Professor Stanislav Vydra, a prominent mathematician, theologian and national revivalist. Due to Vydra's health problems (he suddenly went blind), Jandera became his substitute and in 1804 was appointed professor of mathematics. He then spent the next 50 years teaching at what was then the Faculty of Arts and published several works, the most famous of which is Prima calculi exponentialis elementa nova. He was twice appointed dean of the faculty and in 1828 was also appointed rector. In his home town of Hořice he donated an annual sum of 200 gold pieces to preserve the local chronicle and did everything he could to provide the municipality with his financial and organisational supportpro. His teaching work won him several awards, including the Order of Franz Joseph. He primarily taught logic and mathematics to first-year general studies students and his pupils also included figures such as Karel Hynek Mácha and Karel Jaromír Erben. Hořice never forgot its famous native and patriot and there are several monuments commemorating him around the town. The bust on Gothard Hill was erected at the initiative of the local Sokol club back in 1892 and was designed by the Hořice sculptor Pavel Jiříček.,The entire surrounding area was also landscaped and called Janders's Orchards in his honourn. 

OTAVOVÁ, M.: Ladislav Jandera – současník Bernarda Bolzana. 30. mezinárodní konference historie matematiky. Jevíčko 21. 8. – 25. 8. 2009. Praha 2009, str. 164–166.

 

OTAVOVÁ, M.: Ladislav Jandera a pěstování početní zdatnosti na pražské univerzitě. 31. mezinárodní konference historie matematiky. Valašské Meziříčí 18. 8 – 22. 8. 2010. Praha 2010, str. 199–202.

 

Národopisný sborník okresu hořického, Hořice 1895.

 

TOMÍČKOVÁ, O.; BUKAČ, V.: Hořice odedávna dodneška, Hořice 2008.

Bust of Josef Ladislav Jandera (Author: Public domain)