A major reform in the reign of Joseph II was the establishment in 1786 of the provincial building directorates, through which the court aimed to regulate all public building works in the monarchy. Although the original aim of unifying building regulations throughout the realm was never achieved, the reform was a success and remained in force, with a few minor amendments, until the revolutionary year of 1848. One reason for its success was the elite corps of civil engineers who staffed these institutions. This study looks at advances in technical education, especially engineering, in the Habsburg monarchy from the beginning of the 18th century and the emergence of the Collegia Nobilia, or elite colleges, where graduates were prepared for a career in the Imperial Army. Besides military architecture, the colleges also taught the fundamentals of civil engineering, turning out some of the best‐trained creators of early modern architecture. The development and nature of this elite engineering training is examined with reference to the engineering academies of Prague, Vienna and Olomouc. In all three cases we stress the colleges’ status within the state framework, and their evolution in the light of changing official doctrine and methods of instruction. In all three cases it is clear that during the latter half of the 18th century the original ‘aristocratic’ colleges began to decline and were slowly replaced by similar state‐controlled establishments. As a first step, the court of Joseph II introduced a specialized course in practical architecture at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. From around 1800 this model was gradually superseded by the progressive French‐style polytechnic, a modified version of which remains the standard model for technical education to this day., Michal Konečný., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Adventus of Francis I and Maria Theresa to Florence the capital of the grand duchy of Tuscany represents an event that should not be forgotten. A reference to this ceremonial entrance of the emperor that took place on January 20, 1739 is nowadays commemorated by the Arco di Trionfo in Florence, by the relief on sarcophagus of Maria Theresa and Francois I in Imperial Crypt in Vienna as well as in the preserved written records. Based on one of the period sources (Relazione Dell’ Ingresso fatto in Firenze Dalle Altezze Reali del Serenissimo Francesco III Duca di Lorena, e di Bar, ec. ec. Granduca di Toscana, E della Serenissima Maria Teresa, Arciduchessa d’ Austria, e Granduchessa di Toscana. Il dì 20. Gennaio 1738. ab Inc.), the course of the ceremonial entrance was reconstructed. Bearing in mind its author’s intention to provide an idealized record of the event aiming to glorify the new grand duke the text was subjected to collation with hard facts of the period to obtain a more realistic view of the event., Terezie Pilarová a Magdaléna Marjaková., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy