Ludovica Military Academy

The Royal Hungarian Ludovica Defense Academy, shortened to Ludovica or Ludovica Academy, was Hungary's officer cadets training institute prior to 1945. The main edifice of the academy was erected in 1836 at the Ludovica Garden, in Budapest's centrally located VIIIth district. The building was designed by Mihály Pollack in the classical style. Mission The academy combined the functions of an advanced Military High School level preparatory school, a military academy on the level of United States Military Academy at West Point, and an advanced college to facilitate assignments as junior staff officers to the Austro-Hungarian General Staff. The high school provided volunteers of pre-conscription age, between the ages of 14 and 17, the opportunity to join the Royal Hungarian Honvéd as cadets or junior officers, depending on academic excellence. Ninety students per year were accepted where, 34 students were financed by private foundation grants, 10 students received free tuition provided by the Government, 23 students paid the full annual tuition of 600 Forints, and 23 paid half tuition per annum. The officers training course required four years to complete, and the interdependence of functions fulfilled several needs of the Defense Forces. It provided a well trained officer corps, a training ground for instructional opportunities for officers, and finally, advanced military training to match the academic level of the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.