Unterrichtsministerium#
Education, Ministry for, established as "Ministerium des oeffentlichen Unterrichts" (Ministry for Public Education") in 1848, newly established as "Ministerium fuer Cultus und Unterricht" (Ministry for Cultural Affairs and Education) in 1849 and suspended from 1861 to 1867. 1918-1920 and 1945 "State Office", 1919-1923 united with the Ministry of the Interior (State Office, later Federal Ministry of the Interior and Education), Federal Ministry for Education from 1923-1938 and from December 1945-1970, Federal Ministry for Education and Art 1970-1984, Federal Ministry for Education, Art and Sports 1985-1991, Federal Ministry for Education and Art 1991-1994, Federal Ministry for Education and Cultural Affairs from 1994-2000. In 2000 academic and scientific issues, previously within the remit of the Federal ( Ministry for Science) and Transport were transferred to the Ministry of Education, which then became officially known as the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture.
The Ministry for Education consisted of 6 departments dealing with the
following tasks: schools including the construction, maintenance and
closure of schools, kindergartens and day nurseries; training and
further education of teachers; affairs of scientific collections and
institutions; protection of monuments; cultural affairs; adult
education; documentary and educational films. The provincial and
district school inspectorates, teacher training colleges, the federal
general secondary and professional training schools, the museums and
the Hofmusikkapelle were responsible to the Ministry for Education.
Part of the Ministry for Education was the Office for Religious
Affairs (Kultusamt), which administers relations between the Republic
of Austria and the churches and religious communities. The School
Reform Commission, with its subdivisions, the Youth Film Commission
and the Commission for Children's and Young People´s Literature,
were information centres within the Ministry for Education.
Initially the Ministry for Education was housed in the
"Bankogebaeude" building in Singerstrasse road (Vienna's
1st district), since 1871 it has been housed in the Palais
Starhemberg on Minoritenplatz square (Vienna's 1st district),
since 1971 together with the Ministry of Science; the present Ministry
of Education is still on these premises.