Ján Nepomuk Batka, jr.

Ján Nepomuk Batka Jr. – city archivist, music historian, publicist, and organizer – led the cultural and musical life of Pressburg (today's Bratislava) for nearly half a century. He was a member of the City Council, secretary of the Church Music Association (Kirchenmusikverein) at St. Martin’s Cathedral, a member of the Theatre Commission, the Art Association, the Association for Scientific Lectures, as well as a member of the Freemason lodge Silence. He was active in the protection of architectural and artistic monuments and also worked on improving the social security of artists. For almost forty years, he processed the archival collections of the city of Bratislava and contributed significantly to their enrichment.

For nearly fifty years, he published observations, reviews, critiques, obituaries, essays, and articles on musical personalities, societies, and the musical history of Bratislava in the newspaper Pressburger Zeitung. In 1913, Batka authored and edited a supplement to the newspaper titled Pressburg as a City of Music. Music and Musicians in Pressburg. Using his texts, his collection and research work, as well as contributions from other musicians, Josef Točfous compiled another extensive supplement titled A Hundred Years of Musical Life in Pressburg (1927), considered the first modern publication on the musical history of Bratislava.

He personally knew many of the most prominent figures of the contemporary musical world, and thanks in part to his efforts, leading European conductors, composers, and performers appeared in Bratislava. His strongest artistic friendship was with Franz Liszt. By staging Liszt’s works from the 1860s to the 1880s, he established a so-called Liszt cult in the city. One notable event was the performance of Liszt's Gran Mass, conducted by the composer himself. Similarly, his oratorio The Legend of St. Elisabeth was performed by the Church Music Association at St. Martin’s Cathedral. Batka was also a great admirer of Bratislava-born composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel. On April 13, 1885, he organized a concert of Hummel’s works, attended by both Franz Liszt and Anton Rubinstein. Batka initiated the creation of Franz Liszt’s bust, located on today’s Rudnay Square in front of St. Martin’s Cathedral, and he also secured the construction of a monument to Johann Nepomuk Hummel in front of the Bratislava Municipal Theatre. Both monuments were created by Pressburg native and renowned Viennese sculptor Viktor Tilgner. Today, the Hummel monument stands on Hviezdoslav Square in front of the German Embassy.

He played a key role in the construction of the new Municipal Theatre, today the historical building of the Slovak National Theatre (SND). In cooperation with notable historian and archaeologist Franz Floridus Rómer, he established the Bratislava City Museum. He supported the founding of the city library in 1900, donating several thousand books from his personal collection. In 1885, he co-founded the Pressburger Art Association (Pressburger Kunstverein), which became a driving force in the field of visual arts. He supported young artists, such as composer Béla Bartók, one-handed pianist Géza Zichy, and sculptor Ján Fadrusz. In addition to financial support, he used his extensive network of contacts to help them with concert opportunities.

Another area where Batka was active was heritage preservation. One of his dreams was to restore Bratislava Castle, which at that time was a burnt-out ruin. He bequeathed his valuable estate to the city, including period documents, artworks, and more. His documents went to the Bratislava City Archive, photographs to the Bratislava City Museum, and his sculptures and paintings became the foundation of the Bratislava City Gallery collections. Unfortunately, many items, such as furniture, were lost over time. Batka left behind more than 10,000 letters of correspondence with key figures of the musical world, including Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss, Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, and Hans Richter. This collection, of great cultural value, is housed in the Bratislava City Archive, where it is being processed and digitized. Several hundred letters to his wife Mária Valentová provide insight into his artistic journeys and friendships with major personalities of the time.

In 1911, Batka was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph in recognition of his long-standing contributions. Less than a year after his death, on October 26, 1918, a bust in his honor was unveiled on Rudnay Square, placed next to the monument of Franz Liszt. The marble sculpture is the work of Pressburg sculptor Alojz Rigele. However, the bust did not remain there for long. As the political landscape changed and Batka became irrelevant to the new regime, his memory faded. That same year, Austria-Hungary collapsed, and Pressburg became part of Czechoslovakia, renamed Bratislava a year later. Today, both of Batka’s busts are housed in the collections of the Bratislava City Gallery (GMB).

The Bratislava City Museum commemorated the 100th anniversary of Batka’s death with an exhibition titled Ján Batka and Bratislava, held at the J. N. Hummel Museum on Klobučnícka Street. His legacy as a patron of the arts in Pressburg was also honored at a conference, Ján Batka (1845–1917), held on October 4, 2017, under the auspices of the Bratislava City Museum. His birthplace is located at Baštová 2, near Michael’s Gate in Bratislava.