University of Ljubljana
The University of Ljubljana (Slovene: Univerza v Ljubljani [uniʋɛ́ːrza w ljubljàːni], acronym: UL, Latin: Universitas Labacensis) is the oldest, largest, and internationally best ranked university in Slovenia, being among the first 500 or the first 3% of the world's best universities according to the ARWU. With over 63,000 enrolled undergraduate and graduate students, it is also among the largest universities in Europe.
History
Beginnings
Although certain academies (notably of philosophy and theology) were established as parts of Jesuit-led higher education as early as the 17th century, the university as such was first founded in 1810 under the named Écoles centrales by the French Imperial administration of the Illyrian Provinces. The university was disbanded in 1813, when the Austrian government regained control.
Quest for a national university
During the second half of the 19th century, several political claims for the establishment of a Slovene language university in Ljubljana were made. They gained momentum in the fin de siècle era, when a considerable number of renowned Slovene academians worked throughout Central Europe, while ever more numerous Slovenian students were enrolled in foreign-language universities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, particularly in the Austrian and Czech lands (Charles University in Prague or University of Olomouc, of which Slovene philosopher Franc Samuel Karpe became the rector in 1781). In the 1890s, a unified board for the establishment of a Slovenian university was founded, with Ivan Hribar, Henrik Tuma, and Aleš Ušeničnik as its main leaders. In 1898, the Carniolan regional parliament established a scholarship for all those students who were planning a habilitation under the condition that they would accept a post at Ljubljana University when founded. In this way, a list of suitable faculty started to emerge.