The Habsburg Monarchy was, together with Prussia, the birthplace of the modern, state controlled school system. In the second half of the 18^th century, education became a political issue. Since then, numerous modernisation projects for education were written and discussed, and a specific legal framework was built in order to support the complex system of schooling. The state education also played a major role in integrating the Habsburg provinces, otherwise socially, economically or constitutionally very heterogeneous. These connections were especially reflected in a unique system of gymnasia throughout the Monarchy, or in the international importance of the University in Vienna that served as a centre for cultural and intellectual transfers among the students from the Habsburg lands. We decided to approach the school system through the perspective of the student, as the end user of the system, believing that such a reversal in perspective provides a better understanding of the actual scope of educational reforms in different political, economic or cultural environments of the Habsburg Monarchy.

We would like to thank all participants for interesting lectures and for the lively discussions. It has been two exceptionally enlightening and informative days which we will keep in good remembrance!

More information on the conference (programme, book of abstract) can be found here.

University of Split

Hosted by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split, an international conference titled Jews in the Balkans: History, Religion, Culture was held from May 8th to 10th 2017. The organizers of the conference were The University of Split – Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Moses Mendelssohn Centre for European-Jewish Studies in Potsdam and the Moses Mendelssohn Institute in Zagreb .

The conference aimed to illustrate the diversities and dynamics of Jewish life in the Balkans where Jews played, especially before World War II, an important role for the social, cultural and economic development of the region. In some areas, such as in the Macedonian city of Bitola, in Thessaloniki or in the Croatian-Dalmatian city Salona, Jews had been living since Ancient Roman times. During the Inquisition, Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal settled in what was then the Ottoman Empire, whereas Ashkenazi Jews had been taking up residence mainly in Slovenia and Croatia. A vibrant Jewish life developed especially in larger cities such as Zagreb, Belgrade, Sarajevo and Thessaloniki where Jews established communities and various cultural, sportive and humanitarian organizations. Even though we now have information about the life of the Balkan Jews, the knowledge about them remained limited. The conference offered a chance to deepen and to exchange our knowledge about the Jews of the Balkans. The region is defined here as comprising the countries of former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece.

Dr. Branko Ostajmer, a researcher on our project, participated at the conference with the lecture titled Marcus Ehrenpreis – a Rabbi in Đakovo 1896–1900. His lecture was presented in the section Jews as Transmitters of Political, Cultural and Religious Transfer and aimed to stress the importance of an education system for intellectuals transfers within the Habsburg Monarchy.

Full programmeFull Programme

Abstract of the presentation of Dr Ostajmer:

Marcus Ehrenpreis – a Rabbi in Đakovo 1896–1900
During his long life, Marcus (Markus Mordechai) Ehrenpreis (Lviv, Ukraine, 1869 – Saltsjöbaden, Sweden, 1951) lived and worked in different parts of Europe, being at the same time not only a witness, but also the protagonist of many important historical events and processes, including those most tragic from the period of the World War II. He left an especially deep mark in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he was the Chief Rabbi of Bulgaria (from 1900 to 1914), and in Stockholm, Sweden, where from 1914 up to his death he was the Chief Rabbi of Sweden. Therefore, these two phases of his life are the most thoroughly presented and discussed in the historiography. However, less is known about the time in the beginning of his religious service when Ehrenpreis spent four years (1896–1900) as a Rabbi in a small town called Đakovo in Croatia. At the turn of the 20th century, Đakovo, located in the center of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, was a town with some 4,000 inhabitants, but it was important as a diocese and as the seat of the Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer, a prominent Croatian political and religious leader of the time. The aim of the presentation is to widen the knowledge of Ehrenpreis’s life by thorough research of his years spent in Croatia. Special emphasis will be put on his efforts to promote the Zionist idea in Slavonia, which were the beginnings of Zionism in Croatia, and on his relationship with Bishop Strossmayer.

Dr. Ivana Horbec participated at the conference with a presentation titled Lessons in ‘Good Policy’ for the King’s Servant: Political and Cameral Studies in Croatia 1769-1776. 

Programme and the book of Abstracts

Lessons in ‘Good Policy’ for the King’s Servant: Political and Cameral Studies in Croatia 1769-1776. (abstract):

Parallel with extensive reforms which led to the formation of proto-modern government in Croatian-Slavonian Kingdom during the reign of Maria Theresa, new type of civil servant was introduced. Still predominantly from a noble background, he was receptive to reforms and loyal to the interests of the Viennese Court and, above all, competent to advise the King on necessary improvements in accordance with the enlightened government, while being accepted by the estates as traditional political structures. Accordingly, the professional education of civil servants became one of the major goals of 18^th-century educational reforms, and a range of state-controlled academies and university courses were established by Maria Theresa. Lectures on sciences serving state and political economy were given on these higher schools in order to teach prospective civil servants the art of ‘good policy’ (gute Polizei), or wise governance, which comprised theoretical knowledge of public administration, education, health, economy, security etc. as main postulates for incorporating common good and prosperity. One of these courses, the Course of Political and Cameral Studies (Studium politico-camerale) was established 1769 in Varaždin in Croatia. It was closely linked to the newly formed Croatian government and aimed to serve as a regional educational centre not only for prospective civil servants, but also for officials already in service. Focusing on the Course in Varaždin as an example of regionally recognized institution of higher learning in the period of the formation of state-controlled education system, this paper aims to analyse the educational policy of Maria Theresa towards her civil servants and to identify the knowledge required for public service during enlightened absolutism. The Course in Varaždin will be compared with similar courses in Austria and Hungary. Also, its success in Croatia, where it was supposed to function as the key institution for educational strategies of local noblemen, will be questioned.

The XIII. International Conference of Croatian Studies will be held in Pécs, 21-22 October 2016. The organizers of the Conference are the Department of Croatian Studies at the Institute for Slavic Studies of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Studies at the Pécs University, Regional Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Research Institute of the Croats in Hungary and the Cultural Institute of the Croats of Vojvodina. This year, the biennial conference is celebrating the 450th anniversary of the Battle of Siget, as well as the 25th anniversary of Hrvatski glasnik, the Croatian magazine issued in Hungary.

Team member dr. Branko Ostajmer will give a lecture at the conference titled Pécs as Croatian Educational Centre in the 19th Century, thus presenting his research conducted at the project “From Proto-Modernisation to Modernisation of the Croatia’s School System” on the subject of Croatian-Hungarian relations in the context of history of schooling and educational practices.

Wishing to encourage closer examination of the impact crisis, conflicts and solidarity had on the education and schooling system, i. e. the discussion on the influence of the school system on the crisis management in the Croatian history, the project “From Proto-Modernisation to Modernisation of Croatia’s School System” initiated the panel session on the History of Schooling and Education at the Congress. The panel moderator was Dr. Vlasta Švoger.

Six team members presented their research at the panel with lectures on following subjects:

Mislav Gregl, The Royal Academy of Zagreb During the War 1809 

Dr. Ivana Horbec, Resolving Political Conflicts Through Education: Teaching Public Law on Higher Schools of 18th-Century Habsburg Monarchy

Dr. Branko Ostajmer, Croatian Teachers during the Great War

Dr. Vlasta Švoger, The Revolution of 1848-1849 as an incentive for School Reforms in Croatia 

Dr. Milan Vrbanus, Resistances, Conflicts and the Organisation of Schools in Slavonia in the 18th and First Decades of the 19th Century

Dr. Dinko Župan, Solidarity, Donations and Poor Pupils: “School Canteen” in Osijek 1920-1930 

Dr. Milan Vrbanus

Mislav Gregl

Dr. Vlasta Švoger

Dr. Branko Ostajmer

Dr. Dinko Župan and Mislav Gregl

38th Historical Association of Slovenia Assembly was held in Ravne na Koroškem, 28-30 September 2016. The subject of the Assembly was “History of Education“. The Assembly was organized by the Historical Association of Slovenia HAS and Carinthian Historical Society.

Team members dr. Vlasta Švoger, dr. Dinko Župan and Mislav Gregl presented their current researches on the occasion:

Dr. Vlasta Švoger, On the Role of Informal Education in 19th Century Croatia (panel: Views on teaching history in schools)

In 19th century Croatia, informal forms of education were very important due to the unsatisfactory formal education system, which was characterised by an underdeveloped network of schools and their small numbers, especially schools for girls; the poor quality of education and underpaid teachers; too large class sizes; irregular school attendance by pupils; impossibility for higher education in Croatia until the foundation of the University of Zagreb in 1874, except in legal sciences and theology; as well as other problems. The role of informal forms of education in Croatia in the 19th century will be illustrated by the example of a number of distinguished Croatian intellectuals. On the basis of autobiography sources – autobiographies and diaries – I will demonstrate what the role of selfeducation, education with private tutors and governesses was in education and intellectual formation of distinguished teacher and educator Mijat Stojanović, publicist Imbro Ignjatijević Tkalac, politician and publicist Andrija Torkvat Brlić, writer Ksaver Šandor Gjalski and two Croatian female writers, Dragojla Jarnević and Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić. In their autobiographic and diary entries, they critically evaluated the positive and negative aspects of their own formal and informal education.

Dr. Dinko Župan, A Comparative Approach to Education of Women in France, England and Austrohungarian Monarchy in the Second Half of the 19th Century (panel: Women education and teachers emotions)

I will try to present the comparative approach to women’s education in France, England and AustroHungarian Monarchy in the second half of the 19th century. The main goals in schools’ politics of women’s education in France, England and Austro-Hungarian Monarchy is similar to construction of ideal image of womanhood. School’s politics of women’s education in the second half of the 19th century was primarily based on constructing desirable gender and class identities. According to the opinions of the then educational authorities and psychologists, the aim of the school system was to turn the female students into good mothers, wives and housewives. “The real woman” was the one who completely fulfilled her duties as a mother, wife and housewife, she is the one who was modest, obedient, diligent, lovely, religious, silent, shy and patient. This “natural” characteristics of femininity was presented in the pedagogical discourse in France, England and Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. During the 19th century the education system was built on the idea that Foucault calls “the regime of truth”. The knowledge and power were mutually connected and the education system used it to influence the cultural construction of female identities.

Mislav Gregl, Students from Duchy of Krain at Regia Scientiarum Academia in Zagreb in Early 19th Century (panel: Students in Zagreb, Gorizia and Rijeka)

The secondary and high education in Zagreb in early 19th century was organized within academy with gymnasium (Regia Scientiarum Academia cum Archigymnasio). The two-year study of philosophy served as obligatory preparation for studies of theology and law. Most students of philosophy were therefore at the age between 16 and 20. Zagreb was at the time relatively significant educational centre, although of limited (regional) scope, so there had been students who stemmed from the Duchy of Krain. By analyzing the school directories and other sources, we shall try to assess their conditions of living in Zagreb, grounds for decision to study in Zagreb, their wishes about their future professions and how all these issues had been influenced by the general political situation in the turbulent era of Napoleonic wars, when the Duchy of Krain temporarily became, as well as some Croatian lands, part of the Illyrian Provinces of French Empire.

The Assembly is organized by the Historical Association of Slovenia HAS and Carinthian Historical Society.

Full Programme available here.

Book of Abstracts

Mislav Gregl

Team members dr. Maja Matasović and dr. Ivana Horbec presented their research on the example of Croatian nobility with the paper titled Latin as ‚national‘, German as ‘cosmopolitan’? Multilingualism of Croatian nobility as a prerequisite of their political and social activity.

The programme (H-Soz-Kult):

Mittwoch, 28. September

14.00 Begrüßung durch den Direktor der Herzog August Bibliothek

Helmut Glück/Mark Häberlein: Einführung in das Tagungsthema

Sektion 1: Adelserziehung im konfessionellen Zeitalter (16. und frühes 17. Jahrhundert)
Leitung: Konrad Schröder

14.20 Benjamin Müsegades: Lernen durch Lesen oder Sprechen? Reichsfürstliche Französischkenntnisse am Übergang vom Mittelalter zur Neuzeit

15.00 Elena Taddei: „Nach Italien nit allein zur Erlehrnung der Sprache“. Ferrara als Ort des Fremdsprachenlernens im 16. Jahrhundert

15.40 Pause

16.00 Dörthe Buchhester: Sprachausbildung und Erziehungsdiskurse am pommerschen Herzogshof im 16. Jahrhundert

16.40 Martin Hóly: Fremdsprachen in der Erziehung des Adels in den böhmischen Ländern in 16. und 17. Jahrhundert

17.20 Matthias Asche: Catharinus Dulcis (1540–1626): Vom Glaubensflüchtling zum Hofmeister, Sprachmeister und Professor. Eine Biographie im Spannungsfeld von Gelehrsamkeit und Aufstiegserwartung

Donnerstag, 29. September

Sektion 2: Europäische Adelserziehung im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert
Leitung: Helmut Glück

9.00 Andrea Bruschi: Foreign Languages and Noble Culture: Modern Language Learning for the Elites in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century France and Italy

9.40 John Gallagher: Language Learning and Noble Culture in Tudor and Early Stuart England

10.20 Nils Jörn: “Was frühe blüht, pflegt frühe zu vergehen.” Gustav Helmfeld (gest. 1673) und die Hoffnungen der schwedischen Krone auf einen polyglotten Richter am Wismarer Tribunal

11.00 Pause

11.30 Ivana Horbec/Maja Matasović: Latein als ‘national’, Deutsch als kosmopolitisch? Die Mehrsprachigkeit des kroatischen Adels als Voraussetzung seiner politischen und sozialen Tätigkeit

12.10 Ineta Balode: Russischkenntnisse in deutschbaltischen Adelsfamilien des 18. Jahrhunderts

12.50 – 14.30 Mittagspause

14.30 Vladislav Rjéoutski: French, German, English and Italian in the Education of the Russian Nobility (18th–early 19th centuries)

Sektion 3: Adelige Frauen und Fremdsprachen
Leitung: Claudie Paye

15.10 Barbara Kaltz: Zum weiblichen Fremdsprachenerwerb in der Adelserziehung der Frühen Neuzeit

15.50 Helga Meise: Fremdsprachenerwerb für Fürstinnen: Hessen-Darmstadt und Baden-Durlach im 18. Jahrhundert

16.30 Gelegenheit zur Teilnahme an einer Stadtführung

Freitag, 30. September

Sektion 4: Adel und Fremdsprachen im Heiligen Römischen Reich (spätes 17. und 18. Jahrhundert)
Leitung: Mark Häberlein

9.00 Wolf Peter Klein: Wie kommunizierten Adelige? Einige Befunde und Überlegungen anhand von frühneuzeitlichen Sprachratgebern

9.40 Andreas Flurschütz da Cruz: Repräsentation und Edukation. Aspekte der Ausbildung am Hof und auf grand tour im hohen und niederen Reichsadel

10.20 Iris von Dorn: „zu einer Standes-mässigen … Erudition nach jetziger Welt-Art“. Die Fremdsprachenerziehung an der Ritterakademie Erlangen

11.00 Pause

11.30 Thomas Grunewald: Sprachunterricht und Kavalierstouren. Anton von Geusau (1695–1749) im Dienst der pietistischen Grafen von Reuß

12.10 Michael Rocher: Spracherziehung für den Adel am Philanthropin Dessau – Inhalte, Konzeptionen und Frequentierung

12.50 Abschlussdiskussion / Ende der Tagung

Conference Programme (German and Croatian)

More information about the anniversary celebration

University of Vienna

The research conducted at the project „From Proto-Modernisation to Modernisation of Croatia’s School System“ was presented with two lectures held at the conference – “Kroatische Intellektuellen – Wiener Studenten im 19 Jahrhundert. Einige Fallstudien“ (Croatian Intellectuals – Viennese Students in the 19th Century) authored by dr. Vlasta Švoger, and „Kroatische Studenten in Wien im Zeitalter des aufgeklärten Absolutismus“ (Croatian Students in Vienna during Enlightened Absolutism) authored by dr. Ivana Horbec.

From the media:

ORF, October 18th 2015.

MVEP

Hungarian State Archives

International Conference titled “Die habsburgische Variante des aufgeklärten Absolutismus” (The Habsburg Version of Enlightened Absolutism) was held in Budapest on October 8th and 9th 2015. The conference was organized by the Hungarian State Archives, Péter Pázmány Catholic University and Hungarian Society for 18th-Century Studies and was attended by 20 scientists from Hungary, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Russia, Great Britain and Croatia.

The paper discussing Croatian history, titled “Kroatischer königlicher Rat (1767–1779). Eine Wende in der Entwicklung des öffentlichen Dienstes in Kroatien” (Croatian Royal Council as a Turning Point in the Development of Public Service in Croatia) and authored by dr. Ivana Horbec, was also presented at the conference. The authoress analysed the importance of the Council for the making of protomodern criteria for public servants in Croatian-Slavonian Kingdom, with particular emphasis on the development of the possibilities of specialist education in legal and administrative sciences.

Conference Programme

Scientific conference with international invitees was held on the subject „Forests in Slavonia through History“ in Slavonski Brod, Croatia, on October 1st and 2nd 2015. The conference was organized by Croatian Institute of History – Department for the History of Slavonia, Srijem and Baranja.

Conference report

Team member dr. Dinko Župan presented the paper on school history at the conference, titled „Viennese school. Education of foresters from Slavonia in Mariabrunn (1813-1867)“

Powerpoint presentation of dr. Župan’s paper (in Croatian)