The way leading to the foundation of Comenius University in Bratislava was payed by the National Assembly of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1919. The University was thus the first Slovak tertiary-level institution to be established in the newly-formed Czechoslovakia. Courses at the Faculty of Medicine in the 1919-1920 academic year initiated the work of the university, which took over from the short-lived Hungarian Elizabeth University (1914-1919), also in Bratislava. The foundation of Comenius University was of cardinal importance in the furtherance of education, science and culture in Slovakia.

The importance attached to founding Comenius University has a certain historical parallel with the first ever tertiary-level institution established in Slovakia. Although Academia Istropolitana, founded by King Matthias Corvinus in the year 1467, functioned for only a brief period, it marked the beginning of Bratislava's tradition as a university town - a tradition significantly enriched by the establishment and work of Comenius University.