Charles University in the history of the nation and state ****************************************************************************************** * ****************************************************************************************** Charles University in Prague is the oldest university in central and south-eastern Europe. which it was founded was one of a blossoming of European universities; the founder of our Charles IV, played a key role in this. Charles himself was exceptionally well-educated, an strongly influenced by his long periods of residence in Paris, where he came into contact intellectual culture of France, as well as his subsequent sojourn in Italy. Charles valued is evident not only from the fact that he founded our university, but also from the fact t his life he surrounded himself and communicated with exceptionally well-educated people. When Charles founded the university in Prague in 1348, no institution of higher education the greater part of the European continent that lay north of the Alps and east of the bord From the very start our university was, in its deed of foundation, endowed with the same p enjoyed by the universities of Paris and Bologna. In another document Charles expressed hi university enjoy the same success as those in Paris and Oxford. As you can see, Charles se standard for his university – it was to be the equal of the foremost institutions of its t world. Witness to the role played by the university at this very early stage is the fact that man students attained high office, frequently in places very far removed from the borders of t Lands. At the same time, the community of the Prague university shared the fortunes of the in the state of Bohemia. At historic moments it was at the centre of events, and sometimes inconsiderable price for this. * * * The Prague university experienced a period of considerable development during the second h nineteenth and the first decades of the twentieth century. Certainly, university grounds, disputes, which in 1882 resulted in the division of the university into two parts – Czech Faculty of Theology did not open until 1891/1892). This division necessitated the building of separate Czech faculties. These new buildings, at great cost, but with extraordinary intensity and speed, continue to serve the needs of today. Within these buildings was formed the life of the individual faculties, institutes, and other facilities. A number of new departments and specialisations were set up very qui medical and natural sciences, as well as the humanities. There was a rapid growth in numbe students – for example, in 1891/1892 the Faculty of Arts had 141 students, a number which 1,486 by 1905/1906. This growth was due to the dynamic growth in the number of good-qualit grammar and comprehensive – schools. The general growth of education, the rise of the Prague university and other institutions education (Prague Technical University, Academy of Fine Arts) took place at a time when th Lands (and, indeed, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy as a whole) were experiencing, despite t depression (the crisis of 1873-1879), times of unheard-of economic development – a railway built at breathtaking speed, countless new factories sprung up and large towns and cities a quite remarkable speed. Educated people – technicians, doctors, lawyers, secondary-schoo qualified specialists in administration – were needed everywhere. In other words – economi went hand-in-hand with the development of higher education and education in general; they the same coin. At this time the university in Prague made a massive contribution to the tr Czech society into one that was modern and educated.      A large number of illustrious individuals were active at both the Czech and German un of whom earned the respect of society at large. Five professors of the university became m government of the Austrian part of the Dual Monarchy and several were elected to the Czech Imperial council, one of whom was Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. It was Masaryk who led efforts t new, Czechoslovak state; together with him stood Milan Rastislav Štefánik, who was awarded at the Prague university, and Edvard Beneš, who in 1913 became a private associate profess university. Figures who belonged to the university’s academic community, or who arose from it, made a contribution to the creation, governing and building of the new state. The success of the, short-lived, state was built on the existence of well-prepared, educated elites – and Char made an incalculable contribution to this. The ethos of the high appreciation of society of education, educational institutions and, universities, was transferred from the Dual Monarchy era to the First Czechoslovak Republi contained in the university in Prague facilitated the creation of new universities in Brno The Czech Charles University gained major new buildings, saw further growth in the numbers and students and became part of the backbone of the new state. * * * Despite all the political, ethnic and social problems of the period, the university in Pra a long period of relatively peaceful and dynamic development between the mid-19th century The events of the year 1939 had a drastic effect on Charles University. The execution of n 17 November 1939, the closure of Czech universities, the imprisonment of many students and to concentration camps: this was only the beginning. Many university teachers lost their l experienced imprisonment and persecution. With its attack on universities and the educated totalitarian Nazi regime was attempting to achieve total control over and the decimation o nation. It is evident that the totalitarian regime was well aware of the role and strength the danger that it represented. Major purges and interventions by a totalitarian regime also affected Charles University d Communist coup of February 1948 and the subsequent period, with the humanities being parti The so-called ‘normalisation’ period after 1968 was also a difficult one for the universit this, the considerable commitment of many people working at the university ensured that it maintained their quality as well as their connection with the outside world, even if commu restricted in a variety of ways. * * * The final days of the so-called ‘normalisation’ regime began on 17 November 1989, when a s made its way from Albertov to Národní street. Since that time our society has enjoyed free democracy, as well as a secure existence as part of the European Union. Recent events that not far from the borders of the European Union are an emphatic reminder of the fact that t cannot be taken for granted; the defence of these values has claimed many victims in the p must continue to be protected with great vigilance. While not all here will agree with me, I would say that no previous generation in our coun such favourable conditions as the current one. While today’s freedom and democracy have th dark sides and shortcomings, of which we are well aware, I would say that, despite these, amongst not only the most important values of human existence, but also the best environme fostering of good education. * * * The years since 1989 have seen the creation of many new universities and a massive rise in university students. We must, however, ensure that this is not accompanied by a decline in of study and the mere handing out of diplomas, rather than the fostering of education. It of Charles University to not only maintain, but also to improve the quality of its output teaching, but also in science. This includes caring for our country’s cultural richness an a cultured atmosphere is created within our country. It is only in this way that a good ba this country can be ensured. In this, the illustrious past and tradition of Charles Univer an inspiration and obligation for today. As in the past, the community of Charles University cannot today think of its own prosperi in the past, Charles University must be one of the institutions forming the backbone of ou our country. This means not only enjoying academic freedoms, but also advocating their pre positive deepening, because only a free, self-confident and open university can fulfil its same time, though, this entails a responsibility towards society as a whole and the state that it is on university soil that the prosperity of both grows. Responsibility for direct the country along the right path has always been particular to the university community, e times, and for this it often paid a high price – and this continues to apply, with no less Josef PETRÁŇ,Česká filosofická fakulta 1882-1918, in: Jan HAVRÁNEK (ed.),Dějiny Univerzity 1802-1918, Praha 1997, s. 298.