DějinyGeschichteDejiny

The aftermath of the war has had a significant impact on the development of higher education throughout history. There is no doubt, that the Second World War is relevant as one of the milestones in the development of European universities. It were the universities that became one of the key institutions, they were the centres of national ideology and history, they were strategic bodies in the process of educating new elites. The aim of the paper will be to present a dissertation project which, by applying approaches to the history of knowledge and urban history, examines the new position of knowledge and the purpose of tertiary education in Košice after 1945. By reconstructing the development of the university and its presence in the city, taking into account the role of the university in the process of urban transformation. The goal of the dissertation thesis itself will be to interpret the complex system of relations between the university, political and ideological influences, the city's industrial infrastructure and the city itself. To examine the symbiotic relationship between the university and the city in the second half of the 20th century and to present urban history as an important context in the history of tertiary education. This study analyses, identifies, and contextualizes these aspects on the example of Pavel Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, founded in 1959, because of the ongoing centralization and expansion of tertiary education. Pavel Jozef Šafárik University in Košice is one of the oldest modern institutions of higher education in Slovakia, and its tradition is a continuation of the Jesuit University of Košice (Universitas Cassoviensis), founded in 1657. Therefore, we consider it important, to record the history and development of this institution, determined mainly by political, cultural, and industrial circumstances at the time of its creation.