BU Mint Set

The University of Ljubljana (Universität Ljubljana) was established after the end of the First World War and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. The territory of present-day Slovenia became part of the newly founded Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Königreich der Serben, Kroaten und Slowenen) in 1918. Until then, many Slovenian students had to travel to cities such as Vienna, Graz or Prague to pursue a complete university education. The establishment of a university with Slovenian as the language of instruction and scholarship had therefore long been a concern of Slovenian politicians and intellectuals.

There had already been precursors of academic education in Ljubljana in earlier centuries, including philosophical and theological studies at the Jesuit college and institutions of higher education during the French administration of the Illyrian Provinces (Illyrische Provinzen). However, a university with several faculties and independent status was not established until 1919. Its founding fields included theology, law, philosophy, engineering and medicine. The first lecture was delivered by the linguist Fran Ramovš on 3 December 1919; it dealt with the historical grammar of the Slovenian language.

The new institution of higher education was closely linked to the development of Slovenian-language scholarship. For numerous fields, terminologies in Slovenian had to be developed, and textbooks and scholarly publications had to be prepared. At the same time, the university trained specialists for administration, schools, the judiciary, medicine and technical professions. It thus became a central institution of cultural and state life in Slovenia.

Over the course of the 20th century, the University was reorganised several times and expanded to include additional faculties and academies. Even after the establishment of further Slovenian higher-education institutions, it remained the country’s largest university. The centenary therefore presented itself as an occasion for a state commemoration: it not only recalled the establishment of an educational institution, but also the establishment of Slovenian as a language of university teaching and research. The coin issue thus places the anniversary in the context of the development of modern Slovenian institutions after 1918.