[Granting of venia legendi as an indicator of specialization : Victor von Ivánchich de Margita (1812-1892) "Lecturer for surgery of the urogenital organs" in Vienna in 1851].

Alongside Paris, Vienna was one of the early centers of specialization and professionalization in medicine and urology in the 19th century. Especially the 2nd Vienna Medical School (Erna Lesky) with its main representatives Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky (in Czech: Karel Rokytanský; 1804-1878) and Joseph Ritter von Škoda (1895-1881) was able to create the perfect scientific environment for young students to become acquainted with new fields of research often in an interdisciplinary setting, e.g., chemistry, microscopy or pathology in combination with clinical departments like surgery. We analyze the process of habilitation using the example of a urologist to outline this process within the history of science.