Slovak Garden

The Slovak Cultural Garden is comprised of three acres, spanning two levels, from East Boulevard to Martin Luther King Boulevard. At its heart is a sandstone terrace that opens onto an oval-shaped lawn and which sits between busts of Stefan Furdek and Jan Kollar, initially dedicated in 1932, the Slovak Garden was rededicated in 1934, and again in 1939.

The busts of Furdek and Kollar reflect the complexity of the story of Slovakian identity in Europe and the United States, specifically in Cleveland. A Catholic priest and Lutheran minister, respectively, Furdek and Kollar embody both of Slovakia’s primary religious traditions. Furdek served as paster of Cleveland’s Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, where he ministered for 32 years until his death in 1915. He organized the First Catholic Slovak Union and the First Slovak Ladies Union in 1889, and he was a prolific author, writing an important reader that was used widely in Slovakian schools. Born in the 18th century, Kollar was a Lutheran minister who defended the language rights of both Lutheran and Catholic Slovaks against the encroachment of the Austro-Hungarian empire. His poetry predicted Slovakian independence.