The Mediaeval Universities of Pécs and Pozsony [antikvár]

The present year 1967* is marked by two importantcentenaries commemorating the anniversaries of thefoundation of two mediaeval universities in Hungary, inthe heart of Central Europe. One is that of the Universityof Pécs1, a lovely city at the foot of the gentle slopes ofMecsek at the southern edge of the old Roman Pannónia,exposed to the caress of southern winds that once broughtthe message of the Italian Renaissance to Hungary. Itsuniversity was established 600 years ago.The other centenary commemorates the 500th anni-versary of the University of Pozsony2, a city on the bankof the blue Danube, in the encouraging voisinage of theprincely city of Vienna.An Anjou FoundationThe Studium generale of Pécs was called into life600 years ago by Louis the Great3 (1342-1382), king ofHungary, scion of the House of Anjou. His father, CharlesRobert (1307-1342), of French ancestry, founded thesecond national dynasty of Hungary4. The great merits ofthe Anjou kings were bringing Hungary closer to theWest and making it, as a contemporary said in 1330,queen among the surrounding countries.