Theresianum

Theresianum (or Theresian Academy; German: Öffentliche Stiftung der Theresianischen Akademie in Wien) is a private boarding and day school governed by the laws for public schools in Vienna, which was founded by Maria Theresa of Austria in 1746.

In 1614, the Habsburgs purchased Angerfeldhof, a farmstead located just outside Vienna, and renovated it; Favorita, as the Habsburgs would call the re-modeled farmstead, became their imperial summer residence and a well-known venue for performances in the second half of the 17th century. Though the residence was burned down in the course of the Battle of Vienna in 1683, a bigger and more glamorous New Favorita was rebuilt over the following decades. Three Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire - Leopold I, Joseph I and Charles VI - resided in the castle. When in 1740 Emperor Charles VI died in New Favorita, his eldest daughter Maria Theresa decided not to enter the building again.

In 1746, Maria Theresa sold the castle to the Jesuits for 30,000 guilders in order to transform it into an educational institution, preparing talented young men for civil service. As stipulated in two founding letters, the newly established “imperial academy” under the auspices of Maria Theresa was based on the principles of strict selection, highest pedagogic and scientific standards and instruction in “modern” foreign languages.

In 1773, after Maria Theresa’s son Joseph II had dissolved the religious order of the Society of Jesus, Theresianum was temporarily closed. More than 20 years later, in 1797, Emperor Francis II re-opened Theresianum under the direction of the Piarists. He also completed the building’s present-day neo-classical façade and built ancillary facilities including a swim school. After the 1848 revolution in different parts of Europe, Franz’ successor, Franz Joseph I of Austria, decided to open admission to “sons of the bourgeoisie” and to put the school under public regulation.

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