From the beginning of the 20th century until the establishment of Czechoslovakia, the Mining Academy (VSB) in Příbram was marked by national conflicts between the German and Czech sections of the academic staff, as well as between German and Czech students. For many years, the school faced a real threat of being relocated to one of the German-speaking regions or divided into Czech and German sections attached to Prague’s two technical universities.
At the outbreak of the First World War, wartime events initially affected the school only indirectly. During the first three years of the war, men were called up for military service only after reaching the age of twenty-one. It was not until 1917 that the Habsburg Monarchy began reinforcing its military fronts with secondary-school students, resulting in educational changes such as the introduction of so-called wartime school-leaving examinations. While VŠB professors were generally too old to be drafted, many assistants, adjuncts, administrative staff, and students were enlisted.
During the 1916/1917 academic year, German professors revived plans for a new organization of the school. A key figure in resisting these efforts was Professor of Mathematics and Physics and multiple-time rector of VSB, Josef Theurer, a prominent personality in Příbram’s scientific and cultural life. Commenting on the situation, he stated: “If a change were to occur, it must not make things worse. Technical universities are no better equipped than we are, and their development has been delayed for years by the war... Today, a change would be tantamount to closing the institution.” Due to disagreements within the academic senate regarding the election of a new rector, Josef Theurer, as its senior member, was entrusted with carrying out rectoral duties from the 1917/1918 academic year onward.
Throughout the war, teaching at VSB in Příbram continued according to the established curriculum. In the final two years of the conflict, however, the worsening economic situation increasingly disrupted the university’s operations. Problems in railway transport led first to restrictions and later to the cancellation of student excursions. The institution also struggled with coal shortages, obtaining kerosene for alternative lighting, and securing other essential supplies.
In 1918, the position of the Czech faction within the academic staff weakened following the loss of two Czech professors. The growing German majority posed a serious threat to the unity of VŠB. Rector Josef Theurer, who was also entrusted with rectoral duties during the 1918/1919 academic year, viewed the situation pessimistically. In a letter to his colleague J. Petřina from the Czech Technical University in Prague, he wrote: “...personally, I now see only one possibility of salvation: to join you at the Czech technical university.” Only the declaration of an independent Czechoslovakia brought hope for a more favorable future.
The first reports of the collapse of the monarchy and the establishment of the republic reached Příbram on the afternoon of 28 October 1918. Amid widespread enthusiasm, symbols of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy were removed and red-and-white flags were displayed throughout the town. On 29 October 1918, at 10 a.m., a public gathering was held in the square in front of the Mining Directorate building. Before a large crowd of local residents, Member of Parliament Hynek Klička, on behalf of the Czechoslovak National Committee, proclaimed the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic.
That same morning, Josef Theurer, acting as head of the rectorate, took an oath at the town hall, pledging: “Until the final settlement of state affairs, to uphold valid laws and regulations and to work for the benefit and prosperity of the Czechoslovak state.” On the afternoon of 29 October 1918, the Czech professors of VSB, Josef Theurer, Ludvík Kirschner, and František Částek, met to discuss the university’s future. They agreed that from the outset they would strive to relocate VŠB to Prague, either as an independent institution or as part of the Czech Technical University.
Out of consideration for their German colleagues, they decided that German would temporarily remain the language of instruction. German was also retained as the language used in meetings of the academic staff. Czech, however, was to become the language of communication with Czech authorities. It was further decided that all incoming and outgoing Czech-language documents would continue to be translated into German until further notice. Official rectorate announcements were to be issued bilingually.
The Czech professors sought from the beginning to treat their German colleagues fairly and wished to avoid nationality once again becoming a source of conflict. These decisions were presented to the German professors on 30 October 1918. While they reserved the right to coordinate their actions with professors from other German universities, they also declared their intention to establish a German mining faculty at the German Technical University in Prague. The same measures were presented to VŠB students during a general academic assembly later that day.
In the following days, Acting Rector Josef Theurer discussed the future of VSB with the Czechoslovak National Committee in Prague and its representative, Professor Otakar Srdínko, who arrived in Příbram on 5 November 1918 to formally transfer the institution into the ownership of the Czechoslovak state. These discussions focused on the university’s organizational integration into the new state, financial support, the language of instruction, appointments to academic chairs, and the future location of VSB, which was expected to be moved to Prague.
Although VSB achieved an important position among Czechoslovakia’s technical universities during the interwar period and made significant contributions to scientific advancement in engineering and the natural sciences, the dream of relocating the institution to the capital was never realized.
Text: Petr Kašing
Photos: VSB-TUO Archive