200 years - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 1979 - 2.50 Shilling

The lack of understanding of the deaf goes back in history well into the 18th century. Only the time of the Enlightenment brought here a turn. Austria was the first state in the world to have assumed its responsibility for the special educational tasks of the deaf community. For the first time, education and care for the disabled was seen as a concern of the public. When Josef II was in Paris, he met there the already existing for seven years private deaf-mute school Abbe de l'Eppe. He then sent priests for training in this school for the deaf and founded in 1799, the Vienna Deaf Institute as a free school, from now the state took over the main part of the incurred school and home expenses. In Vienna, training courses for deaf teachers were held on an ongoing basis. It also had a significant impact on all subsequent deaf schools founded in the area of ​​the monarchy and throughout Central, Eastern and Western Europe. On one of the pillars of the monument of Joseph II on the Josefsplatz in Vienna is a medallion reminiscent of this social exploit. The bronze relief can also be seen as the stamp of this special postage stamp.