The chair of dermatovenerology at Zagreb School of Medicine. On occasion of the 80th anniversary of its foundation (1921-2001).

The development of dermatovenerology in Croatia parallelled more or less this process in other parts of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy throughout the 19th century. The foundation of the first specialized hospitals as well as the establishment of dermatovenerological units and their transformation into academic departments and chairs in the early 20th century was a slow growth provoked by the spread of syphilis and Skrljevo disease. A group of Zagreb physicians were instrumental in this regard. Based on archival sources, this paper illustrates the chronology and circumstances of the foundation of the first chair, on the occasion of its 80th anniversary.