Central Europe Yearbook

Austrian High Enlightenment

Josephinism, Literature and State Building

Joshkin Aziz Sezer

University of Minnesota

Keywords: Intellectual history, Enlightenment, Joseph II, Pezzl, Austrian Literature

Abstract

This article examines state building under Joseph II in the Habsburg Empire between the period of 1780-1790 and considers the intellectual successes of Josephinism. It analyzes the context of his targeted intellectual audience and focuses in particular on the work of Austrian author Johnn Pezzl who was a contemporary of Joseph II and a member of Masonic and other Enlightenment era groups.