Gerard van Swieten (1700–1772) was one of the most important advisors of the Empress. He is especially known as the moderniser of academic medical education in Vienna, yet his range of expertise far transcended his specific field. He rearranged public health care and education, headed the Imperial library and loosened the censorship rules.
Since the 1750s, the Empress had initiated the reform politics aimed at dismantling the monopoly the Jesuits held over many areas of life. A specific part of the reform was the fight against blooming superstition and ignorance among peasants, both side effects of religious fanaticism and intolerance cultivated by the Jesuits since the Counter-Reformation. On an official level, superstitious practices were seen to undermine the orthodox religion, or even the authority of the monarchy itself, and to endanger general morality. Van Swieten played a key role here: he inspected rural areas, reported on the local conditions and recommended science-based measures for improving the situation. Many of his ideas were enacted as laws.
No wonder, then, that he is said to be the prototype of Van Helsing, the vampire hunter in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Access to the Metatext via placing an order for an augmented product. See Terms of Use
