In year 1810, Karel Hynek Mácha was born in Prague. He was the leading Czech romantic author. His lyrical epic poem Máj (May) is one of the most beautiful works of the Czech literature.
Mácha went on to study law at Prague University; during that time he also became involved in theatre and joined the amateur company led by Josef Kajetán Tyl.
He loved visiting old and ruined castles where he often stayed overnight. In a letter written to a friend of his after a night spent at the castle Houska he described a terrifying dream during which he descended into a deep hole at the castle and met demonic beings.
During his Prague studies he fell in love with Marinka Štichová. After her premature death his works became excessively tragic. Furthermore he met Eleonora Šomková in some time later.
At the beginning of his journey he came across a fire in Litoměřice, during the extinguishing of which he caught a chill and two days later he was struck with diarrhea. His condition quickly worsened, he started vomiting, and died in the early hours of November 6th, the exact day he was supposed to marry Eleonora Šomková.
The cause of Macha's unexplained death remains vague, though it still seems unlikely that he died as a result of a chill he caught while fighting the fire. More likely he was infected by drinking the water intended for fighting the fire.
This mystery has stayed hushed up, as well as the appearance of this romantic poet, since not even one portrait of him has survived.
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