Training architectsand engineers at Prague Polytechnic Institute in the first half of the 19th century
Abstract
This publication explores the training provided to future architects and civil engineers at the Prague Polytechnic Institute in the first half of the 19th century. It seeks to contribute towards our understanding of how technical teaching developer in the Bohemia Crown Lands and its place in the wider European context.
The introduction briefly outlines the circumstances which led to the establishment of the Prague Polytechnic Institute around 1805, as well as the creation of the Institute's Department of Civil Engineering and the curricula used. The next chapter focuses on governor's decrees concerning compulsory training for architects and civil engineers issued between 1812 to 1819; these decrees made a major contribution to the institutionalization of civil engineering trainig and education in the Bohemia Crown Lands.
The chapter also presents a brief comparison of the polytechnic institutes in Prague and Vienna. The next part of the publication analyzes te activities and importance of the two key figures from the first generation of staff at the Prague Polytechnic Institute, active during the two decades following its foundation (Professor Jiří Fischer and the Institute's Director František Gerstner) in comparison with staff from the second generation, active during the 1830s and 1840s (Professor Carl Wiesenfeld and the Director Jan Henniger).
The final part of the publication focuses on the students at the Departmen of Civil Engineering and descibes key elements of their studies.