Georgian-Austrian Unknown Preludes of the Treaty of Georgievsk

Studying the external policy of the king Erekle II is a topical issue for the modern historiography. The information maintained in the archives of various European cities, namely of Vienna, Vatican and Venice, convey to us the fact that while exercising pragmatic attitude toward relations with the European countries the King of Kartli and Kakheti considered the interests of both his own country and of those European countries as well. Over the years 1781-82 Erekle II sends his ambassadors to Europe twice: first he sends a Capuchin monk Domenique who dies in Constantinople in uncertain circumstances not having reached the destination; after him Erekle II sends another Capuchin Mauro the Veronese who also dies for unknown reasons while still on his way. It is a very important fact that the letters sent by the King Erekle, unlike the ambassadors, reach their destination which is the Emperor’s Court in Austria.The present article shows the international political background that the king Erekle II had at that time and that he attempted to use for the interests of his country.The plan of dividing Europe anew, officially developed by the relevant imperial authorities of Saint Petersburg and Vienna, aimed at neutralizing the Ottoman Empire and dividing its territories. According to the Greek Project, it was supposed to resurrect the Byzantine Empire that would be formally independent from Russia but factually acting as a marionette with the Romanov dynasty ruling in it and build Dacia Kingdom as a buffer between the Ottoman and the Austrian Empires.This project was topical for Erekle II who was trying to get involved in the international political processes to the maximum level as the king of a sovereign and independent country, as in the result of implementation of the Greek Project Georgia would obtain an environment of Christian countries instead of the previous encirclement by Muslim countries. Thus, Georgia would find herself in an absolutely different qualitative dimension that had been a sacred dream of the Georgian Kings at all times. This was why the Greek Plan held such a great importance for Erekle II. This international project was made secret by the empress Catherine the Great and Joseph II, therefore, the official pragmatic reason that Erekle II referred to when sending ambassadors to Austria which was obtaining financial support for two regiments was merely a mask behind which in reality the ambassadorial mission served the purpose of active involvement and participation in the implementation of the Greek Project. The Austrian Emperor’s Court, on its part, was going to use this intension of the Georgian king for its own pragmatic goals which implied strengthening of the Holy Roman Empire that had been actually made fictitious by that time. The widely acknowledged and reputed international level diplomats of the Austrian Empire Kaunitz and Kobenzl were involved in the process.

The Historical Road Maria Theresia in the Călimani Mountains - Past, Present and Future

The Roman road Maria Theresia is known for its historical heritage; in the past, the troops of the Austro-Hungarian Empire housed weapons and food here. Built hundreds of years ago, the route crosses the Călimani mountains. In the elaboration of this article I applied as a research method the case study, which allowed me access to some historical and military information, namely the fact that the historical road had been designed since the time of Emperor Joseph II, but it was completed only in 1820, during the reign of Emperor Francis I of Austria. This study allowed me to collect certain data related to the way in which this road is valued and is attributed remarkable tourist values, and all this through the project undertaken by the Tășuleasa Social Association, which aims to arrange this route as thematic path, precisely to rediscover the imperial road with the value of a historical monument, but also to highlight the natural setting of the Călimani Mountains. Throughout the investigations and the documents studied, I found that many volunteers joined this great project, to keep a road with a distant history practicable. From this case study, it appears that this road has been so well valued that it manages to attract more and more tourists, eager to know both the history of these places, but also to participate in the organized marathon or for a simple hike.

Schöne Wissenschaften

„Schöne Wissenschaften“ macht die kunst- und naturwissenschaftlichen Sammlungen unter Kaiser Joseph II. (reg. 1765–1790) zum Ausgangspunkt weitreichender Fragen zur Sammlungsgeschichte, zum Öffentlichkeits- und Wissenschaftsverständnis im Wien der Aufklärung. Über das Sammlungswesen hinausgehend, widmen sich die Beiträge des Buches auch den zahlreichen Initiativen, die sich zur gleichen Zeit programmatisch mit dem Verwissenschaftlichen, Systematisieren und Ordnen auseinandersetzten, und Impulse für die Ordnung und Präsentation der kaiserlichen Sammlungen lieferten. Aus Perspektive des Sammelns, Ordnens und Präsentierens wird ergründet, inwieweit die josephinischen Sammlungen die Ideen der Aufklärung bündeln, vermitteln und popularisieren, und sie so zu Wissens- und Erkenntnisorten werden.

Portrait in Western European porcelain of the XVIII century

This article is dedicated to portrait images in Western European porcelain of the XVIII century. Research is conducted on the works created in various European countries, such as Germany (Meissen), France (Sevres), Austria (Vienna), and England (Wedgwood Pottery Manufactory). Prominent masters of porcelain –Kendler, Boizot, Grassi – are the authors of the portraits. Sculptural portrait images of August III – painter of the court of the French Queen Marie Antoinette and the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II are notable for exquisite artistic merit. The article reviews porcelain sculpture, as well as oil painted portraits. Interpretation of the images manifests the features of three styles characteristic to art of the XVIII century: Baroque, Rococo and Classicism. Portrait images reflect the themes typical to the Age of Enlightenment. The article describes the peculiarities of the creations of artists who worked in various European porcelain manufactories. Research methodology is based on the detailed stylistic analysis of the works of Baroque, Rococo and Classicism; fundamental examination of the works in historical sequence for determining the evolutionary changes; comparative analysis for revealing national and authorial specificities. The novelty is defined by the fact that this article is first to comprehensively analyze the portrait images in porcelain of such countries as Germany, France, and Austria of the XVIII century, as well as in identification of the features characteristic to different artists.

Cameralism in the Habsburg Monarchy and Hungary

The article argues that Cameralism and the Habsburg Monarchy were in strong mutual interchange during the eighteenth century. After the Great Turkish War and the War of the Spanish Succession, the Habsburg Monarchy had to incorporate vast territories into the monarchy’s governmental system. Integration, unification, and centralization were on the agenda. Viennese government circles relied on Cameralism as the leading theory of state, economy, and society, while Cameralism rose, broadened, and became institutionalized in administration and higher education. The most important works of late-seventeenth-century Cameralism were formulated in the service of Emperor Leopold I. Cameralism with different branches of knowledge serviceable for the state became fully institutionalized in the higher education in the Habsburg Monarchy—including Hungary. Cameralism, specifically the ideas of Johann Heinrich Gottlob von Justi, can be linked to the fundamental administrative reforms of Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz under Maria Theresa in the 1740s and of Emperor Joseph II in the 1780s. Justi developed an idea of government characterized by centralization, uniformity, and bureaucracy, which became a priority goal of Joseph II’s reforms. Finally, Cameralism was the backbone of policies in finances, taxation, and trade regulations though more openminded toward rising economic ideas.

Dating and Historical Context of a Greek Manuscript Containing Palaiologoi Emperors’ Portraits (Paris. gr. 1783)

This article puts forward a new later dating of the Greek manuscript BnF, Paris. gr. 1783 kept in the National Library of France and containing portraits of emperors of the Palaiologoi dynasty. The manuscript contains important texts related to the Constantinople period of court history and culture. Historiographers used to date the manuscript to the fifteenth century according to the portrait of Patriarch Joseph II (†1439), a famous participant of the Ferraro-Florence Council, which can be seen in the Italian fresco paintings of the fifteenth century. Meanwhile, the study of the manuscript’s palaeographical features shows that it was written by an anonymous scribe from Crete who worked in Venice and Rome for Italian humanists in the middle — third quarter of the sixteenth century. The handwriting of the famous Cretan calligrapher, employee of Francis I’s library in Fontainebleau Angelus Vergecius, as well as some other scribes associated with him was typologically close to the handwriting of the main scribe of the manuscript. Analogies to this handwriting can also be seen in the handwriting of Manuel Provataris, another famous scribe of the epoch, a Cretan Greek from Rethymno, employee and copyist of the Vatican Library. The new palaeographic dating of the Paris. gr. 1783 manuscript changes the date of creation of portrait drawings of the Byzantine emperors of the Palaiologoi dynasty and Patriarch Joseph II. Also, it is important to change the dating of all texts contained in the manuscript including such important texts as one of the three lists of imperial tombs of the Church of Sts. Apostles in Constantinople, as well the list of the offices of the Byzantine court. The Paris. gr. 1783 manuscript should be excluded from the circle of Late Byzantine booklore and attributed to post-Byzantine book heritage.

Monumente zu Ehren Kaiser Josephs II. Ökonomisierung und Standardisierung im Denkmalkult

Monuments in Honour of Emperor Joseph II. Economization and Standardization in the Cult of Monuments. The Habsburg Emperor Joseph II (r. 1765–1790) was commemorated in the late 19th century in the Austrian hereditary lands, especially in Lower Austria, and in Bohemia, by means of numerous full-length monuments, whereby the ruler was held in high esteem above all because of his religious policy and the liberation of the peasantry he initiated. Most of the statues come from the Moravian foundry in Blansko and do not show elaborate iconographic programmes, but were intended to popularise the regent in the form of generally understandable, easily recognisable solutions. This production demonstrates on the one hand the economization of the cult of monuments directly linked to casting technology, and on the other hand the politicizing coding of entire regions characteristic of the late 19th century which – far from the major metropolises – became hotly contested sites of the Habsburg culture of remembrance.

The beginnings of Studium Ruthenum. A contribution to the history of the ukrainian education in Galicia, 1779–1787

This article describes the beginnings of Studium Ruthenum, the Institute of Theology and Philosophy, operating within the University of Lviv. The background for the analysis is the educational reforms carried out in Austria by Maria Theresa and Joseph II. The author focuses on the relationship between diocesan seminaries and the General Seminary in Lviv, and deals with the issue of the language of instruction and the teaching of the German language.