The period of Empress Maria Theresa‘s and her son, Emperor Joseph II‘s reign constituted a period of rapid economic and educational development. It was during this time that mandatory primary schooling and primary schooling in the Slovenian native language were introduced.

This era of academic initiation (…period of academic beginnings) also influenced the direction of the Moro Foundation’s work. The bee became the registered trademark of the Foundation. The bee, which had extensively been written about by Anton Janša, a recognized Slovenian apiculturist, academic painter and the first Imperial-Royal Professor at the first National Apiculture School in the World, located inVienna. Empress Maria Theresa issued a decree which mandated that all apiculturists teach according to his research.

The copper engraving by Anton Janša is part of the permanent collection of Vienna’s Albertina.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.