Masaryk University
| Masarykova univerzita | |
 |
|
| Latin: Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 1919 |
| Rector | Assoc. Prof. Mikuláš Bek |
|
Academic staff
|
2,200 |
|
Administrative staff
|
3,000 |
| Students | 35,115 |
| Location | Brno, Czech Republic |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | blue |
| Affiliations |
EUA Compostela Group Utrecht Network |
| Website | www |
Masaryk University (Czech: Masarykova univerzita; Latin: Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the second Czech university (after Charles University established in 1348 and Palacký University existent in 1573–1860), it now consists of nine faculties and 35,115 students. It is named after Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of an independent Czechoslovakia as well as the leader of the movement for a second Czech university.
In 1960 the university was renamed Jan Evangelista Purkyně University after Jan Evangelista Purkyně, a Czech biologist. In 1990, following the Velvet Revolution it regained its original name. Since 1922, over 171,000 students graduated from the university.
Masaryk University was founded on 28 January 1919 with four faculties: Law, Medicine, Science, and Arts. The founding of the second Czech university was possible only after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy because of the resistance of the German-controlled city council, which feared giving power to the Czech residents of Brno. Brno was at that time a bilingual city. One notable demonstration in favour of establishing a university in Brno happened in 1905.
From the beginning, the university suffered from a lack of money for development. The fragile state of public finances in 1923–1925 and 1933–1934 led to proposals of abolishing both the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science. Both faculties eventually survived until 17 November 1939 when the whole university was closed following the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. A number of professors of Masaryk University were executed or tortured; for example, the Faculty of Science lost one quarter of its teaching staff. Many of the executions took place in the Mauthausen concentration camp in 1942.
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