Academia Istropolitana

The bull of Pope Paul II, dated May 19, 1465, in which he authorized King Matthias Hunyadi (r. 1458-1490) to found a university in Hungary. ; Earlier, King Louis the Great (r. 1342-1382) established higher education institutions in Pécs in 1367 and Sigismund of Luxembourg (r. 1387-1437) in 1395, but these institutions ceased to operate around 1410, even according to the most benign estimates. With Matthias Hunyadi, a generous patron came to the Hungarian throne in 1458, and was encouraged by his humanist-educated confidants, including Chancellor János Vitéz, who had been made Archbishop of Esztergom, to make the knowledge previously acquired in Italy available in Hungary, multiplying the number of Hungarian students. ; The bull of May 19, 1465, authorized Matthias to found a university in a place of his choosing, with freely chosen faculties, and to provide its teachers with regular salaries. János Vitéz wanted to place the institution, organized and furnished on the model of the University of Bologna, in his own archiepiscopal seat, but since István Gmaintl, a citizen of Bratislava, left his wealth to the treasury, the Academia Istropolitania – the Greekized name of Istropolis Bratislava – opened its doors in this city in 1467. ; The university's main organizer was Vitéz, who generously donated his private wealth and, following the German model, also assumed the leadership of the institution as chancellor. At Matthias's invitation, many internationally renowned lecturers came to Hungary to teach, including Regiomontanus, a forerunner of the Copernican worldview, the Polish astronomer Márton Ilkusz, and the Italian theology professor Johannes Gattus. Royal support was evident in the financing of lecturers, and Taddeo Ugoleto, the Corvinus' supervisor, even organized a library for the university. ; The institution's heyday can be dated to the years 1467-70, after Matthias's relationship with his conspiring chancellor deteriorated, and the star of the Academia Istropolitana also fell. With the death of John the Brave in 1472, the famous teachers left Bratislava, and after the reign of Matthias, education officially ceased. From the time of Władysław II (r. 1490-1516), we find sources that the university building was used as an armory and its roof tiles were taken away. The city of Bratislava did not have a higher education institution for centuries: although Ferdinand II (r. 1619-1637) planned to found a new university, it was only reopened by the decree of Joseph II (r. 1780-1790) in 1784.