In the beginning of 19^th century in some parts of the territory of Austrian-Ugrian Monarchy institutions which have teacher training of primary school teachers are missing. Teacher training was organized at that time at the theological faculties. Johann Ladislaus Pyrker (1772-1847) as a bishop of Spis was creator of the first Teacher Institute in the territory of Slovakia (in Spisska Kapitula) and as an archbishop in Eger in Hungary (in Eger). His activities brought institutional transition in the teacher training of primary school teachers in Slovakia and Hungary.

Teachers Institute in Spisska Kapitula was founded in the 1819/1820 school year and was located in the premises of the Priest Seminary in Spisska Kapitula. The Institute existed until 1949 when its activities were violently interrupted. The importance of the Teachers Institute in Spisska Kapitula lays in the fact that there was the first Teachers Institute of its kind in the whole Central Europe. Even though it could not have been ranked among the Institutes with large number of students, the establishment and rules of the Institute served as an example and a model for establishment of other Teachers Institutes in the Central Europe.

The Teacher Institute in Eger was established in 1828 on November 11^th, 1828 and it existed till 1959, when the Communistic government in Hungary abolished the Institute. We began our research at the Archbishops´ Archive in Eger, where we found the tables with the name and place of birth of students. Our survey showed there were about 40 students from Slovakia studying at the Institute in Eger in 1828-1865. In our contribution we would like to present also the meaning of these institutions for nowadays teacher training.

For nowadays university education it is interesting to study the Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum Educationis proclaimed by Pope Paul VI on October 28, 1965. For this reason we celebrate this year the 50^th anniversary of this document. The picture about Christian formation in universities is possible to find also in Apostolic Constitution of the supreme pontiff John Paul II on Catholic Universities. It engages in the catholic intellectual tradition where faith and reason are compatible in education, and knowledge is cultivated in an environment that fosters intellectual freedom, personal development and equity for all. They develop culture through their research; help to transmit the local culture to each succeeding generation through their teaching, and assists cultural activities through their educational services. Catholic Universities will seek to discern and evaluate both the aspirations and the contradictions of modern culture. They prepare men and women who, inspired by Christian principles and helped to live their Christian vocation in a mature and responsible manner, it will be able to assume positions of responsibility in the Church.

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