Petar Preradović (March 19th, 1818 Grabrovnica - August 18th, 1872 Fahrafeld, Austria) was the most productive and most favorite poet of the Illyrian era.
His most famous verses were dedicated to the Croatian language. Due to his father's early death he was forced to choose a career in the military and was educated abroad, which almost resulted in him forgetting his native language. His first poems were written in German. His meeting with Ivan Kukuljevic Sakcinski was of tremendous importance for him, as he got so carried by his affection for his homeland that his country and his native language became his greatest inspiration. Aside from patriotic songs he also wrote love poetry.
His most famous poems are “Dead Love” “Be Still, Still My Heart”, “The Traveler”, “The Tongue of My People”. He died as a general in Austria, was buried in Vienna, but his remains were returned to the arcades of Mirogoj, to Zagreb.