Petar Preradović, 2005.
 
Croatian poet Petar Preradović, at his time known as legendary Prerad, is with his literary and life works representative of romantic times. Although he was during his schoolyears in Wiener Neustadt the pupil of Bohemian reformer Tomas Burian, which learned his pupils about his reformer's ideas, Preradović was excited by Croatian culture and literature just after he met Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski and Špiro Dimitrović. His first poem published in Croatian language was poets epistle to Šimo Dimitrović in 1843., and first Croatian published poem in Zadar newspapers "Zora Dal m atinska" (1844.) was "Zora puca"(The daybreak). His first anthology "Prvenci" was printed in Zadar in 1846, while his second anthology, "Nove pjesme" were printed five years later in Zagreb. He has devided his works in three parts: rodoljupke (patriotic poems), ljubovke (love poems) and separate translations of foreign poems "tuđinke", as well as summary of funeral poems called "Milim pokojnikom " (Beloved deceased). He was inspired by Panslavism , as well as european romantism and he excited his readers with patriotic and love lyrics (Mrtva ljubav-Dead love etc.) His patriotic lyrics have various the m es like disunion (Braća-Brothers etc.), love (Dvije ptice-Two birds etc.), nostalgia (Pozdrav domovini-Greatings to the fatherland etc.) and future (Car Dušan - The e m peror Dušan etc.). He is the author of many sonets, odes, poems for special occasions, hymns, ballads, romances and epitaphs.