BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Wednesday, February 13, 1822 (approximately)

In honor of the Emperor Francis II’s birthday yesterday, and to demonstrate the imperial family’s dedication to the arts and sciences, Beethoven’s friend, pupil and patron Archduke Rudolph makes a sizable gift to the Olmütz Lyceum (at that time a high school, today the Palacký University Olomouc). This gift takes the form of a contribution to its zoological collection, as well as a donation to the attached medical school of a costly medical instrument for reviving the apparently dead (presumably to avoid burying them alive). This reporting is according to the Brünner Zeitung of Sunday, February 17, published in Brno.

The University’s central library By Michal Maňas – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=393424).

This institution is now the oldest university in Moravia, founded in 1573. It first taught only theology but soon branched out into other fields. The university moved to Brno briefly in 1778 but in 1782 it returned to Olmütz, though then it was degraded to a Lyceum rather than a university. Its status as a university was not restored until 1827.

The university’s central library, also known as the Armoury, is seen here. This library is next door to Rudolph’s palace as archbishop.