Page - 86 - in Universities in Imperial Austria, 1848–1918 - A Social History of a Multilingual Space

86 ♦  Universities in Imperial Austria, 1848–1918 secondarily concerned with research. As in the Vormärz, they produced loyal state officials, not independent scholars, even if the official propaganda said otherwise. The success of creating Habsburg universities sympathetic to the mon- archy and to German as the language of culture was short lived, precisely because of the changes of 1848–60. From the moment the humanities entered the university, this institution remained at the forefront of nationalists’ in- terest. Benefiting from the liberal appointment policy that began in the late 1860s, universities later became the foremost producer of difference, whether linguistic, historical, or even artistic. In many fields, the scholars nominated by Thun-Hohenstein could, however, pursue their projects further, be they Figure 3 Busts of Hermann Bonitz (left) and Franz Exner (right) with the monument of Leo Thun-Hohenstein (middle). The inscription on Thun-Hohenstein’s monument reads: “COMES LEO DE THUN-HO- HENSTEIN MINISTER PUBLICUS 1849–1860 QUI AUSPICIIS IM- PERATORIS AUGUSTISSIMI FRANCISCI JOSEPHI I UNIVERSI- TATES ET GYMNASIA NOVIS LEGIBUS INSTITUTISQUE FELIC- ITER REFORMAVIT IN EA RE CONSILIO EXIMIORUM VIRORUM / EXNER ET BONITZ STRENUE ADIUTUS.” (Leo Thun-Hohenstein, public minister 1848–1860, who under the auspices of the venerable em- peror Franz Joseph I reformed the gymnasia and universities through new legislation and institutions in a very fruitful manner. In this he enjoyed the active help of the extraordinary men Exner and Bonitz.) (Archive of the University of Vienna, 106.I.3002. Sculptor: Karl Kundmann.)