In 14 essays, the volume is devoted to the planning, implementation and perception of Thun-Hohenstein's university reforms. These reforms in the middle of the 19th century marked a deep cut in the Austrian educational landscape. They created the modern Austrian universities and enabled a scientific upswing in the Habsburg monarchy. Although Thun-Hohenstein's influence on the development of the Austrian university system has been recognized in principle, his term of office was always assessed differently by both contemporaries and historians. The present volume examines the politics of Leo Thun on the basis of new sources and thus offers new perspectives on the reforms and their consequences.