Editing Charles University (section)

== History ==
[[File:Prague Praha 2014 Holmstad Karl IV ved Korsridderplassen.jpg|thumb|Monument to the [[protector (title)|protector]] of the university, Emperor [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]], in [[Prague]] (built in 1848)|392x392px]]

===Medieval university (1349–1419)===
The establishment of a [[medieval university]] in [[Prague]] was inspired by [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]].<ref>Charles was since 11 July 1346 [[antiking]] of Romans, since 26 August 1346 [[king of Bohemia]], since 17 June 1349 lawful king of Romans as Charles IV and from 5 April 1355 [[Holy Roman Emperor]].</ref> He requested his friend and ally, [[Pope Clement VI]], to create the university. On 26 January 1347, the pope issued the bull establishing a university in Prague, modeled on the [[University of Paris]], with all four [[faculty (division)|faculties]], including [[theology]]. On 7 April 1348 Charles, the king of Bohemia, gave to the established university privileges and immunities from the secular power in a [[Golden Bull]]<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cuni.cz/UK-145.html | title = Littera fundationis Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis | date = 7 April 1348 | language = la}}</ref> and on 14 January 1349 he repeated that as the [[King of the Romans]]. Most [[Czechs|Czech]] sources since the 19th century—encyclopedias, general histories, materials of the university itself—prefer to give 1348 as the year of the founding of the university, rather than 1347 or 1349. That was caused by an [[Anti-clericism|anticlerical]] shift in the 19th century, shared by both Czechs and [[Germans]].

[[File:Medieval Class Bohemia.JPG|thumb|left|Teacher and students shown in a medieval manuscript from Bohemia]]
The university was opened in 1349. The university was sectioned into parts called ''[[Nation (university)|nations]]'': the [[Bohemia]]n, [[Bavaria]]n, [[Poland|Polish]] and [[Saxony|Saxon]]. The Bohemian ''natio'' included Bohemians, Moravians, southern Slavs, and Hungarians; the Bavarian included Austrians, [[Swabia]]ns, natives of [[Franconia]] and of the [[Rhine provinces]]; the Polish included [[Silesia]]ns, [[Polish people|Poles]], Ruthenians; the Saxon included inhabitants of the [[Margravate of Meissen]], [[Thuringia]], Upper and Lower Saxony, Denmark, and Sweden.<ref name = "CE">{{CathEncy|wstitle=University of Prague}}</ref> Ethnically Czech students made 16–20% of all students.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cs-magazin.com/2005-03/view.php?article=articles/cs050334.htm | title = Sedmdesátileté výročí insigniády z jiného pohledu | work = CS Magazin | first = Václav | last = Chyský | date = March 2005 | language = cs | access-date = 21 June 2009 | archive-date = 28 February 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190228235612/http://www.cs-magazin.com/2005-03/view.php?article=articles%2Fcs050334.htm | url-status = dead}}</ref> Archbishop [[Arnošt of Pardubice]] took an active part in the foundation by obliging the clergy to contribute and became a [[chancellor (education)|chancellor]] of the university (i.e., director or manager).

The first graduate was promoted in 1359. The lectures were held in the colleges, of which the oldest was named for the king the ''[[Karolinum|Carolinum]]'', established in 1366. In 1372 the [[Faculty of Law]] became an independent university.<ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EEABAAAAYAAJ | title = Album, seu Matricula Facultatis juridicae, 1372–1418, e codice membranaceo illius aetatis nunc primum luce donatum: Codex diplomaticus universitatis ejusdem | language = la | year = 1834 | author1 = Prague | author2 = Universität, Bohemia}}</ref>

In 1402 [[Jerome of Prague]] in [[Oxford]] copied out the ''Dialogus'' and ''Trialogus'' of [[John Wycliffe]]. The dean of the philosophical faculty, [[Jan Hus]], translated ''Trialogus'' into the [[Czech language]]. In 1403 the university forbade its members to follow the teachings of Wycliffe, but his doctrine continued to gain in popularity.

In the [[Western Schism]], the Bohemian ''nation'' took the side of king [[Wenceslaus, Holy Roman Emperor|Wenceslaus]] and supported the [[Council of Pisa]] (1409). The other ''nations'' of the university declared their support for the side of [[Pope Gregory XII]], thus the vote was 1:3 against the Bohemians. Hus and other Bohemians, though, took advantage of Wenceslaus' opposition to Gregory. By the [[Decree of Kutná Hora]] ({{langx|de|Kuttenberg}}) on 18 January 1409, the king subverted the university constitution by granting the Bohemian masters three votes. Only a single vote was left for all other three ''nations'' combined, compared to one vote per each ''nation'' before. The result of this ''coup'' was the emigration of foreign (mostly German) professors and students, founding the [[University of Leipzig]] in May 1409. Before that, in 1408, the university had about 200 doctors and Masters, 500 bachelors, and 30,000 students {{dubious|date=April 2021}}; it now lost a large part of this number, accounts of the loss varying from 5000 to 20,000 {{dubious|date=April 2021}} including 46 professors.<ref name = "CE" />

In the autumn of 1409, Hus was elected rector of the now Czech-dominated rump university. The university became a bastion of the [[Hussites|Hussite movement]] and mostly a regional institution.<ref>[[Lexikon des Mittelalters]]: "Prag. Universität", J.B. Metzler, Vol. 7, cols 163–164</ref> Soon, in 1419, the faculties of theology and law disappeared, and only the [[Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague|faculty of arts]] remained in existence.

===Protestant academy (1419–1622)===
[[File:Praha Karolinum výklenek 1.jpg|thumb|[[Karolinum]] – the oldest building of Charles University built in the 14th century|358x358px]]

The [[Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague|faculty of arts]] became a centre of the [[Hussite]] movement, and the chief doctrinal authority of the [[Utraquists]]. No degrees were given in the years 1417–30; at times there were only eight or nine professors.<ref name = "CE" /> Emperor [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]], son of Charles IV, took what was left into his personal property and some progress was made. The emperor [[Ferdinand I of Germany|Ferdinand I]] called the [[Jesuits]] to Prague and in 1562 they opened an academy—the ''[[Clementinum]]''. From 1541 till 1558 the Czech humanist {{ill|Mattheus Collinus|de|Matthaeus Collinus}} (1516–1566) was a professor of Greek language.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://libri.cz/databaze/kdo18/search.php?zp=6&name=KOL%CDN | work = KDO BYL KDO v našich dějinách do roku 1918 | title = KOLÍN (Kalina) z CHOTĚŘINY Matouš (Mattheus Collinus a Choterina) | language = cs | access-date = 2008-03-08 | archive-date = 2016-08-29 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160829011932/http://libri.cz/databaze/kdo18/search.php?zp=6&name=KOL%CDN | url-status = dead}}</ref> Some progress was made again when the emperor [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolph II]] took up residence in Prague. In 1609 the obligatory celibacy of the professors was abolished.<ref name = "Timeline">{{cite web | url = http://www.cuni.cz/UKENG-3.html | title = Timeline of Charles University in Prague | publisher = Charles University | date = 12 June 2006}}</ref> In 1616 the Jesuit Academy became a university. (It could award academic degrees.)<ref name = "Timeline" />

Jesuits were expelled 1618–1621 during the early stages of the [[Thirty Years' War]], which was started in Prague by anti-Catholic and anti-Imperial Bohemians. By 1622, the Jesuits had a predominant influence over the emperor. An Imperial decree of 19 September 1622 gave the Jesuits supreme control over the entire school system of Bohemia, [[Moravia]], and [[Silesia]]. The last four professors at the Carolinum resigned, and all of the Carolinum and nine colleges went to the Jesuits. The right of handing out degrees, of holding chancellorships, and of appointing the secular professors was also granted to the Jesuits.

===Charles-Ferdinand University (1622–1882)===
Cardinal [[Ernst Adalbert of Harrach]] actively opposed the union of the university with another institution, the withdrawal of the archiepiscopal right to the chancellorship, and prevented the drawing up of the Golden Bull for the confirmation of the grant to Jesuits. Cardinal Ernst funded the ''Collegium Adalbertinum'', and in 1638, Emperor [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III]] limited the teaching monopoly enjoyed by the Jesuits. He took from them the rights, properties and archives of the Carolinum making the university once more independent under an imperial protector. During the last years of the [[Thirty Years' War]] the [[Charles Bridge]] in Prague was courageously defended by students of the Carolinum and [[Clementinum]]. Since 1650, those who received any degrees took an oath to maintain the ''[[Immaculate Conception]] of the Blessed Virgin'', which has been renewed annually.

[[File:Clementinum baroque library 7.jpg|thumb|left|Baroque library hall in Clementinum, which originally belonged to the university, today part of [[National Library of the Czech Republic]]|262x262px]]
On 23 February 1654, emperor [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III]] merged ''Carolinum'' and ''Clementinum'' and created a single university with four faculties:'''Charles-Ferdinand University''' ({{langx|la|Universitatis Carolinae Ferdinandeae}}).<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url = http://libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/text/t45.html | first = František | last = Čapka | title = Dějiny zemí Koruny české v datech | chapter = VII. Vláda Habsburků a protireformace | language = cs | isbn = 978-80-85983-67-8 | url = http://www.libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/ | publisher = Libri | location = Prague | year = 1999 | access-date = 21 June 2009 | archive-date = 12 July 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140712045425/http://www.libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/ | url-status = dead}}</ref> ''Carolinum'' had at that time only the [[Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague|faculty of arts]], as the only faculty surviving the period of the [[Hussite Wars]]. The dilapidated Carolinum was rebuilt in 1718 at the expense of the state.

The rebuilding and the bureaucratic reforms of universities in the [[Habsburg monarchy]] in 1752 and 1754 deprived the university of many of its former privileges. In 1757 a Dominican and an Augustinian were appointed to give theological instruction. However, there was a gradual introduction of enlightened reforms, and this process culminated at the end of the century when even non-Catholics were granted the right to study. On 29 July 1784, [[German language|German]] replaced Latin as the language of instruction.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cuni.cz/UK-1584-version1-history_of_UK.doc | title = History of Charles University | format = [[DOC (computing)|DOC]] | date = 18 May 2004 | publisher = Charles University | access-date = 21 June 2009 | archive-date = 26 March 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200326161820/http://www.cuni.cz/UK-1584-version1-history_of_UK.doc | url-status = dead}}</ref> For the first time [[Protestantism|Protestants]] were allowed, and soon after [[History of the Jews in the Czech lands|Jews]]. The university acknowledged the need for a Czech language and literature [[Chair (academic)|chair]]. Emperor [[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold II]] established it by a courtly decree on 28 October 1791. On 15 May 1792, scholar and historian {{ill|Franz Martin Pelzel|cs|František Martin Pelcl}}<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ujc.cas.cz/lingviste/pelcl-frantisek.html | title = František Pelcl | publisher = Institute of the Czech Language of the [[Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic]] | language = cs | access-date = 17 March 2012 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120205030917/http://www.ujc.cas.cz/lingviste/pelcl-frantisek.html | archive-date = 5 February 2012}}</ref> was named the professor of the chair. He started his lectures on 13 March 1793.<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url = http://libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/text/t57.html | first = František | last = Čapka | title = Dějiny zemí Koruny české v datech | chapter = VIII. Od osvícenského absolutismu k národnímu obrození | language = cs | isbn = 978-80-85983-67-8 | url = http://www.libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/ | publisher = Libri | location = Prague | year = 1999 | access-date = 21 June 2009 | archive-date = 12 July 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140712045425/http://www.libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/ | url-status = dead}}</ref>

In the revolution of 1848, German and Czech students fought for the addition of the Czech language at the Charles-Ferdinand University as a language of lectures. Due to the demographic changes of the 19th century, Prague ceased to have a German-language majority around 1860. By 1863, 22 lecture courses were held in Czech, the remainder (out of 187) in German. In 1864, Germans suggested the creation of a separate Czech university. Czech professors rejected this because they did not wish to lose the continuity of university traditions.

===Split into Czech and German universities===
It soon became clear that neither the [[German-speaking Bohemian]]s nor the Czechs were satisfied with the bilingual arrangement that the university had established after the revolutions of 1848. The Czechs also refused to support the idea of the reinstitution of the 1349 [[Nation (university)|student nations]], instead declaring their support for the idea of keeping the university together, but dividing it into separate [[University college|colleges]], one German and one Czech. This would allow both Germans and Czechs to retain the collective traditions of the university. German-speakers, however, quickly vetoed this proposal, preferring a pure German university: they proposed to split Charles-Ferdinand University into two separate institutions.

[[File:Hopfner Promotionsurkunde.jpg|thumb|Doctoral diploma of [[Friedrich Hopfner]], issued 1905 by the [[German Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague]]|263x263px]]
After long negotiations, Charles-Ferdinand was divided into '''German Charles-Ferdinand University''' ({{langx|de|Deutsche Karl-Ferdinands-Universität}}) and '''Czech Charles-Ferdinand University''' ({{langx|cs|Česká universita Karlo-Ferdinandova}}) by an act of the [[Imperial Council (Austria)|Cisleithanian Imperial Council]], which Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph]] sanctioned on 28 February 1882.<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url = http://libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/text/t73.html | first = František | last = Čapka | title = Dějiny zemí Koruny české v datech | chapter = X. Směřování k samostatnému státu | language = cs | isbn = 978-80-85983-67-8 | url = http://www.libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/ | publisher = Libri | location = Prague | year = 1999 | access-date = 21 June 2009 | archive-date = 12 July 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140712045425/http://www.libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/ | url-status = dead}}</ref> Each section was entirely independent of the other, and enjoyed equal status. The two universities shared medical and scientific institutes, the old insignia, aula, library, and botanical garden, but common facilities were administered by the German University. The first rector of the Czech University became {{ill|Václav Vladivoj Tomek|de|Václav Vladivoj Tomek}}.

In 1890, the Royal and Imperial Czech Charles-Ferdinand University had 112 teachers and 2,191 students and the Royal and Imperial German Charles-Ferdinand University had 146 teachers and 1,483 students. Both universities had three faculties; the Theological Faculty remained the common until 1891, when it was divided as well. In the winter semester of 1909–10 the German Charles-Ferdinand University had 1,778 students; these were divided into: 58 theological students, for both the secular priesthood and religious orders; 755 law students; 376 medical; 589 philosophical. Among the students were about 80 women. The professors were divided as follows: theology, 7 regular professors, 1 assistant professor, 1 docent; law, 12 regular professors, 2 assistant professors, 4 docents; medicine, 15 regular professors, 19 assistant, 30 docents; philosophy, 30 regular professors, 8 assistant, 19 docents, 7 lecturers. The Czech Charles-Ferdinand University in the winter semester of 1909–10 included 4,319 students; of these 131 were theological students belonging both to the secular and regular clergy; 1,962 law students; 687 medical; 1,539 philosophical; 256 students were women. The professors were divided as follows: theological faculty, 8 regular professors, 2 docents; law, 12 regular, 7 assistant professors, 12 docents; medicine, 16 regular professors, 22 assistant, 24 docents; philosophy, 29 regular, 16 assistant, 35 docents, 11 lecturers.<ref name = "CE" />

The high point of the German University was the era preceding the First World War, when it was home to world-renowned scientists such as physicist and philosopher [[Ernst Mach]], [[Moritz Winternitz]] and [[Albert Einstein]]. In addition, the German-language students included prominent individuals such as future writers [[Max Brod]], [[Franz Kafka]], and [[Johannes Urzidil]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.johannes-urzidil.cz/zivot.html | title = Johannes Urzidil – život – chronologie | publisher = Společnost Johannese Urzidila | language = cs | access-date = 21 June 2009}}</ref> The "Lese- und Redehalle der deutschen Studenten in Prag" ("Reading and Lecture Hall of the German students in Prague"), founded in 1848, was an important social and scientific centre. Their library contained in 1885 more than 23,519 books and offered 248 scientific journals, 19 daily newspapers, 49 periodicals and 34 papers of entertainment. Regular lectures were held to scientific and political themes.

Even before the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] was abolished in late 1918, to be succeeded by [[Czechoslovakia]], Czech politicians demanded that the insignia of 1348 were exclusively to be kept by the Czech university.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} The ''Act No. 197/1919 Sb. z. a n.'' established the Protestant Theological Faculty, but not as a part of the Charles University.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://psp.cz/eknih/1918ns/ps/stenprot/043schuz/s043002.htm | title = Národní shromáždění československé 1918–1920, 43. schůze, část 2/10 | date = 8 April 1919 | language = cs | work = Společná česko-slovenská digitální parlamentní knihovna}}</ref> (That changed on 10 May 1990, when it finally became a faculty of the university.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://web.etf.cuni.cz/ETFENG-24.html | title = A brief history of the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University | publisher = Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University | date = 12 March 2009}}</ref>)

In 1920, the so-called ''[[Iuridictum:Lex Mareš|Lex Mareš]]'' (No. 135/1920 Sb. z. a n.) was issued, named for its initiator, professor of physiology [[František Mareš]], which determined that the Czech university was to be the successor to the original university.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://psp.cz/eknih/1918ns/ps/stenprot/105schuz/s105003.htm | title = Národní shromáždění československé 1918–1920, 105. schůze, část ⅜ | date = 1 January 1920 | language = cs | work = Společná česko-slovenská digitální parlamentní knihovna}}</ref> Dropping the Habsburg name ''Ferdinand'', it designated itself '''Charles University''', while the German university was not named in the document, and then became officially called the '''German University in Prague''' ({{langx|de|Deutsche Universität Prag}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://is.cuni.cz/webapps/archiv/public/books/bs/1201577654060565/?lang=en|title=Registries of the German University in Prague|website=is.cuni.cz}}</ref><ref name="history of CUNI">{{cite web|title=History of Charles University|url=http://www.cuni.cz/UKEN-106.html|website=cuni.cz|publisher=Charles University in Prague|access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref>

In 1921, the German-speaking Bohemians considered moving<ref>{{cite web | url = http://senat.cz/zajimavosti/tisky/1vo/tisky/T1174_00.htm | publisher = Senát Národního shromáždění | title = Zákon o přeložení sídla německé university v Praze | language = cs | date = 16 December 1921 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120719020502/http://senat.cz/zajimavosti/tisky/1vo/tisky/T1174_00.htm | archive-date = 19 July 2012}}</ref> their university to [[Liberec]] ({{langx|de|Reichenberg}}), in northern Bohemia. In 1930, about 42,000 inhabitants of Prague spoke German as their native language, while millions lived in northern, southern and western Bohemia, in [[Czech Silesia]] and parts of [[Moravia]] near the borders with Austria and Germany.

[[File:Pečeť Univerzity Karlovy v Praze.jpg|thumb|The insignia of the university; bone of contention between the universities]]
In October 1932, after Naegle's death, the Czechs started again a controversy over the insignia. Ethnic tensions intensified, although some professors of the German University were members of the Czechoslovak government. Any agreement to use the insignia for both the universities was rejected.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} On 21 November 1934, the German University had to hand over the ''insigniae'' to the Czechs. The German University senate sent a delegation to Minister of Education Krčmář to protest the writ. At noon on 24 November 1934, several thousand students of the Czech University protested in front of the German university building. The Czech rector [[Karel Domin]] gave a speech urging the crowd to attack, while the outnumbered German students tried to resist. Under the threat of violence, on 25 November 1934 rector {{ill|Otto Grosser|de|Otto Grosser}} (1873–1951) handed over the ''insigniae''. These troubles of 1934 harmed relations between the two universities and nationalities.

The tide turned in 1938 when, following the [[Munich Agreement]], German troops entered the border areas of Czechoslovakia (the so-called [[Sudetenland]]), as did Polish and Hungarian troops elsewhere. On 15 March 1939 Germans forced Czecho-Slovakia to split apart and the Czech lands were occupied by Nazis as the [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]]. ''Reichsprotektor'' [[Konstantin von Neurath]] handed the historical ''insigniae'' to the German University, which was officially renamed ''Deutsche Karls-Universität in Prag''. On 1 September 1939 the German University was subordinated to the Reich Ministry of Education in Berlin and on 4 November 1939 it was proclaimed to be ''Reichsuniversität''.<ref>{{cite journal | url = http://vesmir.cz/clanky/clanek/id/3894 | journal = Vesmír | title = Německá lékařská fakulta v Praze (1883–1945) | language = cs | first = Ludmila | last = Hlaváčková | issue = 73 |date=December 1994}}</ref>

On 28 October 1939, during a demonstration, [[Jan Opletal]] was shot. His burial on 15 November 1939 became another demonstration.<ref>{{cite book | chapter-url = http://libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/text/t94.html | first = František | last = Čapka | title = Dějiny zemí Koruny české v datech | chapter = XI. Léta první i druhé republiky a protektorátu | language = cs | isbn = 978-80-85983-67-8 | url = http://www.libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/ | publisher = Libri | location = Prague | year = 1999 | access-date = 27 June 2009 | archive-date = 12 July 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140712045425/http://www.libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/ | url-status = dead}}</ref> On 17 November 1939 (now marked as [[International Students' Day]]) the Czech University and all other Czech institutions of higher learning were closed, remaining closed until the end of the War. Nine student leaders were executed and about 1,200 Czech students were interned in [[Sachsenhausen concentration camp|Sachsenhausen]] and not released until 1943. About 20<ref>{{cite journal | url = http://www.cuni.cz/IFORUM-2430.html | journal = IForum | issn = 1214-5726 | publisher = Charles University | title = 17. listopad 1939 je opředen mýty, říká historik Petr Koura | first = Petr | last = Svoboda | year = 2005 | language = cs}}</ref> or 35<ref>{{cite journal | url = http://www.parazitologie.cz/zpravy/10-4/cl-10.html | publisher = Česká Parazitologická Společnost | journal = Zprávy ČPS | issue = 4/10 | date = December 2002 | title = 17. listopad 1939 | first = Josef | last = Chalupský | language = cs | access-date = 2008-03-08 | archive-date = 2021-05-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210515232220/http://www.parazitologie.cz/zpravy/10-4/cl-10.html | url-status = dead}}</ref> interned students died in the camp. On 8 May 1940 the Czech University was officially renamed '''Czech Charles University''' ({{langx|cs|Česká universita Karlova}}) by government regulation 188/1940 Coll.

[[ File: Insignien der Karls-Universität (detail).tif |thumb|Detail of the stolen insignia of Charles University. From left: Sceptre of the Faculty of Theology, the Faculty of Law, the sceptre of the Rector, the sceptre of the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Philosophy.]]

World War II marks the end of the coexistence of the two universities in Prague. In 1945 the insignia of the university (the rector's chain, the scepters of the individual faculties, the university seal and also the founding documents and other historical documents) were stolen by the Nazis. None of these historical objects have been found to this day.

===Present-day university (since 1945)===
Although the university began to recover rapidly after 1945, it did not enjoy [[academic freedom]] for long. After the communist coup in 1948, the new regime started to arrange purges and repress all forms of disagreement with the official ideology, and continued to do so for the next four decades, with the second wave of purges during the [[Normalization (Czechoslovakia)|normalization]] period in the beginning of the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cuni.cz/UKENG-181.html |title=History of CU |publisher=Cuni.cz |date=2014-04-04 |access-date=2014-08-12}}</ref>
[[File:Rektorat Univerzity Karlovy a areal historickeho Karolina v Praze (UK0007).jpg|left|thumb|281x281px|Façade of the entrance to [[Karolinum]], the centre of Charles University]]
Only in the late 1980s did the situation start to improve; students organized various activities and several peaceful demonstrations in the wake of the [[Revolutions of 1989]] abroad.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prague-life.com/prague/charles-university |title=A University Fit for a King |publisher=Prague-life.com |access-date=2014-08-12}}</ref> This initiated the [[Velvet Revolution]] in 1989, in which both students and faculty of the university played a large role. [[Václav Havel]], a writer, dramatist and philosopher, was recruited from the independent academic community and appointed president of the republic in December 1989.

Since 26 January 2022, Prof. [[Milena Králíčková]] is the first woman rector of the Charles University.<ref>{{Cite web |title=President appoints Milena Králíčková first-ever woman rector of CU |url=http://cuni.cz/UKEN-379.html?news=14567&lang=en |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=Charles University}}</ref>

On 21 December 2023, [[2023 Prague shootings|a mass shooting]] occurred at the university. 14 people were killed, and 25 others were wounded.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 December 2023 |title=Prague shooting: Several dead and dozens injured in university shooting|publisher=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67793962 |url-status=live |access-date=21 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221144820/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67793962 |archive-date=21 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |author=Laca, Peter |date=21 December 2023 |title=Several Dead, Wounded in Prague University Shooting, Police Say|work=[[Bloomberg News]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-21/several-dead-wounded-in-prague-university-shooting-police-say |url-status=live |access-date=21 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221184150/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-21/several-dead-wounded-in-prague-university-shooting-police-say |archive-date=21 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="sz">{{cite news |last1=Nohl |first1=Radek |last2=Svihel |first2=Petr |title=Po střelbě na Filozofické fakultě je deset mrtvých, další jsou vážně zranění |url=https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/domaci-zivot-v-cesku-ve-skole-v-centru-prahy-se-strili-242277 |website=Seznamzpravy |access-date=21 December 2023 |language=cs |archive-date=21 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221152945/https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/domaci-zivot-v-cesku-ve-skole-v-centru-prahy-se-strili-242277 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=21 December 2023 |title=Gunman dead after killing 14 at Prague's Charles University |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67793962 |access-date=23 December 2023 |archive-date=21 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221144820/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67793962 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[David Kozák|The 24-year-old perpetrator]] then killed himself.<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite web |last1=Higgins |first1=Andrew |last2=Gross |first2=Jenny |last3=Toler |first3=Aric |title=At Least 15 Dead in Czech Republic After Shooting at Prague University |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/21/world/europe/prague-shooting.html |website=The New York Times |date=21 December 2023 |access-date=21 December 2023 |archive-date=21 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221174300/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/21/world/europe/prague-shooting.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bayer |first=Lili |date=22 December 2023 |title=Prague shooter killed himself after attack on university, police say – as it happened |work=the Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/dec/22/prague-shooting-czech-republic-charles-university-updates |access-date=23 December 2023 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=23 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223012242/https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/dec/22/prague-shooting-czech-republic-charles-university-updates |url-status=live}}</ref> Before the shooting at the university, the perpetrator killed his father at their home in [[Hostouň (Kladno District)|Hostouň]].<ref name="bbctrail">{{cite news |last1=Kirby |first1=Paul |title=How killer left a trail of victims across Prague |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67802094 |access-date=23 December 2023 |agency=BBC |publisher=BBC |date=23 December 2023 |archive-date=23 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223020936/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67802094 |url-status=live}}</ref> He was also identified as the person responsible for the murders of a man and his two-month-old daughter in Klánovice Forest six days earlier on 15 December.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nohl |first=Radek |title=Střelec z filozofické fakulty se přiznal k vraždě v Klánovickém lese |language=cs |website=[[Seznam Zprávy]] |url=https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/domaci-kauzy-strelec-z-filozoficke-fakulty-se-priznal-k-vrazde-v-klanovickem-lese-242641 |date=27 December 2023 |access-date=27 December 2023 |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227143158/https://www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/domaci-kauzy-strelec-z-filozoficke-fakulty-se-priznal-k-vrazde-v-klanovickem-lese-242641 |url-status=live}}</ref>