Charles IV and the University in Prague ****************************************************************************************** * ****************************************************************************************** The establishment of an institution of higher learning belongs undoubtedly to the most sig achievements of Charles IV. The Bohemian and Roman King had no doubts that a new universit not only for the rise of the prestige of the Kingdom of Bohemia, but also for the developm education in the transalpine part of the Holy Roman Empire. He did not choose Prague rando residential town, which, in a short period of time, should have turned into a centre of im The first attempts to create an institution of higher learning were undertaken already by grandfather, Wenceslas II, but the plan failed due to many difficulties. Charles had reviv before ascending to the Bohemian throne and, in 1346, turned to Pope Clement VI, his forme friend, with the request to establish the University in Prague. Even the Archbishop of Pra Pardubice, supported this request during negotiations at the papal seat in Avignon. The Po on 26 January 1347 issued the necessary foundation deed. The Bohemian king subsequently su university project to the Bohemian provincial assembly and, after its approval, on 7 April his own founding deed that was confirmed by the Golden Bull of the Roman and Bohemian king institution of higher learning (i.e. studium generale) north of the Alps and east of Paris established. The university, which was built under the protection of the patron, St. Wenceslas, was of significance for the Bohemian ruler. Charles IV established the university with a clear in promote education in the Czech lands and turn it into an international institution of the for the whole empire. During the years spent in France and Italy he had the opportunity to universities in Roman countries, providing a clear image to the newly established learning that corresponded to the models of prestigious universities in Paris and Bologna. Members community should have been composed not only of domestic but also many foreign teachers an mainly from Central European regions. The University was, therefore, divided into the so-c representing areas, from which the greatest number of students came. In Prague, it was the Bavarian, Saxon, and Polish nation. These nations also participated at the management and university later on. The division to individual faculties also followed the model of an institution of higher l In Prague, from the very onset, the system of ideal number of four faculties was in place. of Liberal Arts, also known as the Faculty of Arts, predecessor of the present Faculty of formed the basis of this system. Its task was to provide students with a broad general edu for the study at higher specialized colleges. Students could then decide to study at one o three faculties – law, medicine, or theology, which was the most significant of them. For most students and teachers attended the Faculty of Arts – during its prime time thirty uni lectured there. Other faculties were much more modest in terms of headcount. The establishment of a university represented only the first step of the intended plan. If to fulfil the hopes of the monarch, it had to obtain adequate legal and material support. early as 14 January 1349, the university received important privileges, including the righ own statute and tax exemptions (i.e., Eisenach imperial diploma). Its first chancellor, Ar Prague – Ernest of Pardubice, oversaw the development of the university. He took care of t of the first university status (approved 10 April 1360). As early as in 1352, the archbish extra tax upon clergy and from its revenue he purchased the first estates for the universi pensions should have been paid for university professors. Even in the subsequent years, th sought to support the university teachers. For example, he provided, at his own expense, p Vitus Cathedral for a master of theology. Without the support of the monarch all these ref a rich and confident university would have not sufficed. The university, initially, had no permanent seat, thus, lectures were held at various chur monasteries of Prague – e.g. in St. Vitus Cathedral, St. Thomas church in Malá Strana, or Monastery of St. James. The students, who suddenly lived directly in the private homes of masters and paid rent, were not better off either. The situation only improved in the late Faculty of Arts obtained the first house at the monastery of St. Francis and St. Agnes. Th Charles IV and its southern Habsburg neighbour helped to solve this unfavourable situation Austrian Duke Rudolf founded university in Vienna, which could become a serious competitor institution of higher learning. Charles did not intend to wait for the rise of the Vienna urgently supported the development of the University in Prague. The very next year, on 30 founded a college, which following a model of Sorbonne in Paris provided facilities for bo and the students of the university. The college was also named after the founder – Collegi and should have provided accommodation for twelve masters of the liberal arts. On the same also decided to establish the second college of All Saints, for which he reserved the hous opposite the St. Nicholas church. The king, at the same time, established that the Collegi All Saints at the Prague Castle should, in the future, be occupied only by university prof them with an adequate income. The founder did not forget about the medical students either founded the college in today’s Kaprova street. The university obtained a dignified seat and adequate facilities during the reign of Charl Wenceslas IV. In the early 1380s, the Charles College moved to the Old Town, where Wencesl houses of Rotlev family for it. In 1383, Wenceslas acquired a complex of buildings that a master, Jan Rotlev, managed to partly connect in one palace and, after further adjustments premises the university three years later. The so-called Carolinum served as a centre of u and remained the seat of the chancellor to the present day. The palace also served as a re other university masters and several representative spaces for the university assemblies. ceremonial gatherings of the university community as well as two smaller spaces, which wer by the Faculty of Arts and Saxon nation, were of the greatest importance. In subsequent ye underwent further adjustments and was rebuilt to the form it has today. Bibliography: ČORNEJOVÁ, Ivana – SVATOŠ, Michal (eds.). Dějiny Univerzity Karlovy. 1. díl: 1347/48-1622. Karolinum, 1995. KUBIČEK, Alois – PETRÁŇOVÁ, Alena – PETRÁŇ, Josef. Karolinum a historické koleje Universit Praze. Praha: Státní nakladatelství krásné literatury a umění, 1961. PETRÁŇ, Josef (ed.). Památky Univerzity Karlovy. Praha: Karolinum, 1999.