THE 325TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CROATIAN UNIVERSITY

Motif: a mezzotint engraving of the old Vice-chancellor’s chain, the University building and the signet on the chart of the Emperor Leopold I. The opening of the first teaching institution in Croatia was closely connected to the establishing of the Society of Jesus and their school in 1607. In 1662 the Jesuits founded the Academy for advanced students of philosophy.In 1669 the Emperor Leopold I issued a chart granting to the Jesuit Academy all the privileges that were enjoyed by other universities within the boundaries of the German Empire: Köln, Vienna, Graz, Trnava and Košice. The Emperor’s chart was put into force by the Croatian Parliament in 1671. The Jesuit Academy was made up of the Faculty of Theology and of the Faculty of Philosophy. It closed down in 1773 when the Society of Jesus was dissolved. The Austrian government soon began to interfere with education and other spheres of social life with the aim to centralize and germanize the whole empire. A secular Academy was re-established in Zagreb in 1776 being the only establishment for reading theology, philosophy and law. Croatian was lectured by Matija Smodek (1832) and our notable linguist Vjekoslav Babukić (1848) at the Department for Croatian Studies, but all other subjects were lectured in Latin. The fortunes of the Academy fluctuated in several reorganizations of the system of education in the Austrian countries. The Academy was again dissolved in 1850 and solemnly re-established in 1874 as the Croatian University, comprising the Faculties of Law, Philosophy and Theology. The first Vice- chancellor was Matija Mesić. Today, Zagreb University comprises 33 faculties, polytechnics and academies with 47.000 students and 3.500 teaching staff. The Croatian Post and Telecommunications issued a First Day Cover and a First Day Sheet.