Josef Hlávka

Josef Hlávka
Josef Hlávka (1908)
Born	15 February 1831 Přeštice, Bohemia, Austrian Empire
Died	11 March 1908 Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary
Nationality	Czech
Education	University Degree
Occupation	architect, builder
Known for	Hlávka Foundation

Josef Hlávka (15 February 1831 – 11 March 1908) was a Czech architect, builder, philanthropist and founder of the oldest Czech foundation for sciences and arts.

Hlavka studied at the Technical University in Prague and later architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Shortly after he had finished his studies, the Czech architect František Šebek retired and left him his well-established company in Vienna. Later Hlávka built the Opera House in Vienna, Regional maternal hospital in Prague, the Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans in Czernowitz (now Chernivtsi, Ukraine), which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and now the seat of the university there, and numerous apartment buildings in Vienna.

The Czech Academy of Science and the Arts was founded (1888/1890) owing to the significant financial support from Josef Hlávka who became its first President. When the floods damaged the Charles Bridge in Prague in 1890, Hlávka pushed through and co-funded its renovation in the original Gothic style. Moreover, he founded student dormitory in Jenštejnská Street, Prague and donated the dorm for gifted but poor students. In 1904 Hlávka gave all his fortune to the foundation, named after him and his wives Nadání Josefa, Marie a Zdenky Hlávkových ("Foundation of Josef, Marie and Zdeňka Hlávka"); this foundation is the oldest continuously operating Czech institution of its kind.

The 100th anniversary of the death of Hlavka was declared by UNESCO as a World Cultural Anniversary.