Johannes Choinan

Jan Chojnan (1616-1664) was a Sorbian linguist and theologian. He had written the oldest known grammar of the Lower Sorbian language and that was a milestone for the creation of the modern Lower Sorbian standard literary language. In the midst of the seventeenth century he used to work as a lutheran priest in Zerkwitz near Lübbenau where he had created his major work. The Lower Sorbian grammar written in 1650 was based on the dialect spoken in the vicinity of the Cottbus town. Chojnan was also the first known Lower Sorbian author who used simile in the Lower Sorbian literature. There is a commemorative plaque placed in the niche of his church in Zerkwitz and also the street named after him.