Leipzig University

Leipzig University (German: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and Germany's second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence). The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen, and originally comprised the four scholastic faculties. Since its inception, the university has engaged in teaching and research for over 600 years without interruption.

The university's alumni include 55 prime ministers and presidents, notably Angela Merkel who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. The university is also associated with 19 Nobel laureates, most recently with Leipzig faculty professor Svante Pääbo who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2022. Other alumni include Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Werner Heisenberg, Friedrich Nietzsche, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Theodor Mommsen, Wilhelm Ostwald, Cai Yuanpei, Edward Teller, Gustav Stresemann, Tycho Brahe, Georgius Agricola.

History

Founding and development until 1900

The university was modelled on the University of Prague, from which the German-speaking faculty members withdrew to Leipzig after the Jan Hus crisis and the Decree of Kutná Hora. The Alma mater Lipsiensis opened in 1409, after it had been officially chartered by Pope Alexander V in his Bull of Acknowledgment on (9 September of that year). Its first rector was Johannes Otto von Münsterberg. From its foundation, the Paulinerkirche served as the university church. After the Reformation, the church and the monastery buildings were donated to the university in 1544. In order to secure independent and sustainable funding, the university was endowed with the lordship over nine villages east of Leipzig (university villages). It kept this status for nearly 400 years until land reforms were carried out in the 19th century.

Like many European universities, Leipzig University was structured into colleges (collegia) responsible for organising accommodation and collegiate lecturing. Among the colleges of Leipzig were the Small College, the Large College, the Red College (Rotes Kolleg, also known as the New College), the college of our Lady (Frauenkolleg) and the Pauliner-College (Pauliner Kolleg). There were also private residential halls (bursen, see English 'bursaries'). The colleges had jurisdiction over their members. The college structure was abandoned later and today only the names survive.

During the first centuries, the university grew slowly and was a rather regional institution. This changed, however, during the 19th century when the university became a world-class institution of higher education and research. At the end of the 19th century, important scholars such as Bernhard Windscheid (one of the fathers of the German Civil Code) and Wilhelm Ostwald (viewed as a founder of modern physical chemistry) taught at Leipzig.

Leipzig University was one of the first German universities to allow women to register as "guest students". At its general assembly in 1873, the Allgemeiner Deutscher Frauenverein thanked Leipzig University and the University of Prague for allowing women to attend as guest students. This was the year that the first woman in Germany obtained her JD, Johanna von Evreinov.

During the decline and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and first decade of 20th century together with some other German universities Leipzig University turned into one of the centers of higher education for state administrations and elites of newly independent Balkan states (Romania, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia) educating over 5,500 students from the region in 1859–1909 period.

Campus

The university's urban campus comprises several locations. All in all, the university is spread across 38 locations in Leipzig. The main buildings in the city center (district Mitte) are still located on the same land plots as the earliest university buildings in 1409. The university's buildings in the center of Leipzig underwent substantial reconstruction from 2005, the new university's main building being drafted by Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat. The estimated total cost for the renovation project is 140 million euros. The new buildings were scheduled to be completed in 2009/2010, in time for the university's 600th anniversary celebrations.

Besides the faculties and other teaching institutions, several other bodies serve the university: the University Library, a university archive and administration, numerous museums (e.g. the Museum for Music Instruments and the Museum of Ancient Egypt) and the university hospital. The university's Leipzig Botanical Garden, the second-oldest botanical garden in Europe. was established in 1542.

The university's Musical Instrument Museum includes one of the world's three surviving pianos built by Bartolomeo Cristofori, the piano's inventor. Five other Cristofori instruments are included in the museum's collections.

Key Central institutions of the university are

Library

The University Library of Leipzig was established in 1543. It is one of the oldest German university libraries and it serves as a source of literature and information for the Leipzig University as well as the general public in the region. Its extensive historical and special collections are nationally and internationally recognized. The library consists of the main building "Bibliotheca Albertina" and forty branches situated near their respective academic institutions. The current stock comprises 5 million volumes and about 7,700 periodicals. Collections range from important medieval and modern manuscripts to incunabula, papyri, autographs, ostraka and coins.

The Apel Codex, a manuscript of 16th century music, is housed in the Leipzig University library, as well as the Papyrus Ebers.

The Leipzig University Library also owns parts of the Codex Sinaiticus, a Bible manuscript from the 4th century, brought from Sinai in 1843 by Constantin von Tischendorf. Papyrus Ebers is the longest and oldest surviving medical manuscript from ancient Egypt, dated to around 1600 BC. The Codex contains large parts of the Old Testament and a complete New Testament in ancient Greek, and is one of the most important known manuscripts of the Greek Old Testament and the New Testament. It is the oldest fully preserved copy of the New Testament.

The Oriental Manuscripts of the Leipzig University Library are around 3,200 oriental manuscripts.

Some of the University Library locations in Leipzig are:

• Bibliotheca Albertina at Beethovenstraße 6
• Campus Library at Universitätsstr. 3
• Library of Deutsches Literaturinstitut at Wächterstr. 34
• Library of Arts at Dittrichring 18–20
• Library of Musicology at Neumarkt 9–19
• Library of Law at Burgstr. 27
• Library of Medicine at Johannisallee 34
• Library of Medicine at Käthe-Kollwitz-Str. 82
• Library of Veterinary Medicine at the Tierkliniken 5
• Library of Biosciences at Talstr. 35
• Library of Chemistry and Physics at Johannisallee 29
• Library of Earth Sciences at Talstr. 35
• Library of Geography at Johannisallee 19
• Library of Archaeology, Prehistory and Ancient History at Ritterstr. 14
• Library of Oriental Studies at Schillerstr. 6
• Library of Sports Science at Jahnallee 59

In addition to the university library, one of the two centers of the German National Library is based at Leipzig, the collections of which are open to use for academic research.

Faculties

The original four facilities were the Faculty of Arts, Theology, Medicine, and Law. As of November 2021, the university comprises the following 14 faculties with institutes and centers associated with each one.

Institutes affiliated with the university

International Max Planck Research School- Mathematics in the Sciences (IMPRS MiS), in association with Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences

International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, in association with Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

• International Max Planck Research School "The Leipzig School of Human Origins", in association with Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
• Institute of Non-Classical Chemistry e.V
• Institute for Applied Informatics
• Simon Dubnow Institute for Jewish History and Culture at Leipzig University
• Leipzig Centre for the History and Culture of East Central Europe
• Translational Centre for Regenerative Medicine
• German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)
• Institute of East Asian Studies of the Leipzig University
• Institute of Classical Archaeology of the Leipzig University
• Institute for International Law, European Law and Foreign Public Law (InVEA) of the Leipzig University

Academics

Today, the university has 14 faculties. With over 29,000 students, it is Saxony's second-largest university. There are now more than 150 institutes and the university offers 190 study programs leading to Bachelor's degrees, Master's degrees, Staatsexamen, Diplom (equivalent to master's degree) and Ph.D.s.

The university offers a number of courses in English and other foreign languages, and there are several programs which have been specially designed for foreign students. Exchange partner universities include the universities of Arizona, Oklahoma, Houston, Alberta, Ohio, and Edinburgh. Traditionally contacts to universities in Eastern Europe and the Far East are strong as well. For example, there are cooperations with leading institutions such as Moscow's Lomonosov University and Renmin University in Beijing.

There are several International Master's programs: American Studies, Global Studies, Sustainable Development Studies, SEPT (MBA in SME Promotion) and one Bachelor/Master's/Ph.D. program (International Physics Studies Program) taught in English. American Studies Leipzig was awarded three international professorships: The Fulbright-Leipzig Chair for American Studies, the DAAD Professorship for American and International Studies, and the Picador Guest Professorship for Literature. It is also the home of Aspeers – Emerging voices in American Studies, a graduate-level peer-reviewed scholarly journal for American studies.

Erasmus Mundus Global Studies is an interdisciplinary, research-based Master offered by a consortium of five European universities: Leipzig University, the London School of Economics, University of Vienna, University of Wroclaw and Roskilde University. In the field of anthropology, the university is cooperating with the Leipzig Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. In 1995, the Leibniz-Institute for Jewish History and Culture named after Simon Dubnow was formed as a research institution related to the university. Since 2008 the university is also home to one of Germany's few Confucius Institutes. The institute is based on an agreement of June 2006 between the university administration and representatives of the Chinese Embassy to establish a Confucius Institute in cooperation with the Renmin University and the "National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language". Leipzig University has been the home of the first German chair for Chinese and East Asian Languages in the 19th century, which later became the Institute of East Asian Studies, which still exists today (see Georg von der Gabelentz).

Student life

Leipzig has a thriving student life with a large number of student run bars, sports clubs and recreational facilities for students. The student body in Leipzig is diverse, not only due to the broad spectrum of subjects at the university but also because of the other higher education institutions in the city. The Moritzbastei is the largest student club in Germany, it is part of the historic city fortifications of Leipzig and is famous for its atmosphere and large number of cultural events.The university is home to the Leipzig Academic Orchestra and the University Choir of Leipzig. There are numerous courses offered in performing arts every semester and a dance festival is organised by students once a year. In the field of sports, the university offers training opportunities and courses in almost all disciplines. During the annual Leipzig book fair, the university library and other university institutions organise public events for authors.

Leipzig university has a large body of international students. In winter term 2017, out of its 28,797 students about 11% (3,174) were foreign students.

Notable people

Leipzig University has produced many notable individuals and noble laureates. Some famous people affiliated with Leipzig include:

Music

• Robert Schumann, German music composer
• Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer
• Richard Wagner, German music composer
• Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, German composer, oldest famous son of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer, second famous son of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German composer, third famous son of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer, lived 27 years in Leipzig and wrote music for the city's churches and Leipzig University student ensemble
• Johann Christoph Altnickol, German composer, son-in-law to Johann Sebastian Bach
• Johann Friedrich Agricola, German composer, pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Lorenz Christoph Mizler, German composer and music theorist, pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach
• Friedrich Blume, German music theorist
• Christoph Graupner, German composer
• Johann Kuhnau, German composer, Thomaskantor
• Johann David Heinichen, German composer and music theorist, Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Kapellmeister

Literature

Merskin, Debra L. (2020). The Sage international encyclopedia of mass media and society. Thousand Oaks, California. ISBN 978-1-4833-7551-9. OCLC 1130315057.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Scholars and Literati at the University of Leipzig (1409–1800), in Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae/RETE.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)