Heidelberg University

Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg

Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
File:Uni-Heidelberg-siegel.png
Latin: Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis
Motto	Semper apertus (Latin for At all times open)
Type	Public university
Established	1386
Rector	Prof. Dr. Bernhard Eitel
Students	25,000
Location	Heidelberg , Germany
Campus	urban
Affiliations	Coimbra Group<br\> LERU<br\> EUA
Website	http://www.uni-heidelberg.de
Data as of 2007

The Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (also known as simply University of Heidelberg) is the oldest German university. It was established in the town of Heidelberg, then the seat of Prince-Electors of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1386. The university's Latin name is Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis. More than 600 years of innovation and independence have made the University of Heidelberg one of Europe's top universities.[1] It acted initially as a center for theologicans and law experts from throughout the Holy Roman Empire. The university quickly became a hub for independent thinkers and developed into a stronghold of humanism. Its refusal to submit to a set doctrine from the Catholic or Evangelical churches, and its ability to balance religion and science ensured a lasting reputation as a haven for open-mindedness. Heidelberg's modern roots are firmly in the sciences, but it retains its metaphysical traditions with large theology, philosophy and law faculties. Having some of the best science institutes in Europe on its doorstep makes it particularly research oriented. Heidelberg University is a member of the Coimbra Group, the League of European Research Universities and the European University Association

History

It was founded at the behest of Rupert I, Count Palatine of the Rhine, in order to provide faculties for the study of philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, and medicine.

The Great Schism in 1378, which split European Christendom into two hostile groups, was initiated by the election of two popes after the death of Pope Gregory XI in the same year. One successor was in Avignon (elected by the French) and the other in Rome (elected by the Italian cardinals). The German secular and spiritual leaders voiced their support for the successor in Rome, which had far reaching consequences for the German students and teachers in Paris: they lost their stipends and had to leave. Palatine Elector Ruprecht I recognized the opportunity and initiated talks with the Curia, which ultimately lead to the creation of the Papal Bull of Foundation which can be considered the establishment of the University of Heidelberg. On October 18, 1386 a ceremonial fair commemorated the opening of the doors of the university. As a motto for the seal, Marsilius von Inghen, the first rector of the university chose "Semper apertus" - the book of learning is always open. At this point in time the city of Heidelberg could not have had more than 3500 inhabitants and in the first year of existence the university had almost 600 enrolled. On October 19 1386 the first lecture was held. Thus, the University of Heidelberg is the oldest university in Germany (the first university in German-speaking world was established in Vienna in 1365).

The aula (assembly hall) in the Alte Universität

The Studentenkarzer (student prison) in Heidelberg: wall paintings by arrested students representing themselves in Studentenverbindung costume from 1901

During the second half of the 16th century the University underwent a flowering time and was converted into a calvinistic institution in the reign of Elector Louis VI. It attracted scholars from all over the continent and developed to a cultural and academic centre of Europe. However, with the beginning of the Thirty Years' War in 1618, the intellectual and fiscal wealth of the university declined. In 1622 the then world-famous Bibliotheca Palatina, the library of the university, was stolen from the Heiliggeistkirche (the University Cathedral) and brought to Rome.

It was not until 1803 that this decline stopped. In this year, the University was reestablished as a state-owned institution by Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden and since then bears his name together with the one of Ruprecht I. The most influential student at that time was Karl Drais, inventor of the two-wheeler principle that started mechanized and later motorized personal transport. During the late 19th century, the Ruperto Carola housed a very liberal and open-minded spirit which was deliberately fostered by Max Weber, Ernst Troeltsch and a circle colleagues around them. In the Weimar Republic, the University was widely recognized as a centre of democratic thinking, coined by professors like Karl Jaspers, Gustav Radbruch, Martin Dibelius and Alfred Weber. Unfortunately, there were also dark forces working within the university: Nazi physicist Philipp Lenard was head of the physical institute during that time. Following the assassination of Walther Rathenau he refused to half mast the national flag on the institute, thereby provoking its storming by communist students.

With the advent of the Third Reich the University, just like all other German universities, supported the Nazis and lost many of its dissident professors (among them Emil Gumbel) and went into decline. But since Heidelberg was for the most part spared from destruction during the war, the reconstruction of the University was realised rather quickly. With the foundation of the Collegium Academicum, Heidelberg became the home of Germany's first and, until today, only self-governed student hall. Newly laid statutes obliged the University to "the living spirit of truth, justice and humanity".

During the sixties and seventies, the University grew dramatically in size. On the outskirts of the city, in the Neuenheimer Feld Area, a large campus for medicine and natural sciences was constructed. Today, most buildings of the arts and humanities faculties are located in the old part of the town while the largest parts of the natural sciences and medicine faculties buildings, including three large university hospitals, are situated in the Neuenheimer Feld. The university developed slowly but ultimately to one of the core cells for the political rumors among students (see student protests). In 1975, a massive police force arrested the entire student parliament "AStA". Shortly thereafter, the "Collegium Academicum", a progressive college in immediate vicinity to the universities main grounds was stormed by over 700 police officers and closed once and for all.

Structure

Today, about 25,000 students are enrolled for studies at the Ruperto Carola. More than 15,000 academics and over 400 professors make it one of Germany's larger universities. After a structural reformation, the University, as of 2003 consists of twelve faculties:

• Faculty of theology
• Faculty of law
• Faculty of medicine
• Faculty of medicine in Mannheim
• Faculty of philosophy
• Faculty of modern languages
• Faculty of economic and social sciences
• Faculty of behavioural sciences and empirical cultural sciences
• Faculty of mathematics and computer science
• Faculty of chemistry and earth sciences
• Faculty of physics and astronomy
• Faculty of biosciences

Each faculty offers a range of different degrees which will change drastically in the upcoming years as a consequence of the Bologna process. Apart from the faculties, a number of independent research institutes take part in the educational tasks. A very incomplete list of them might include

• the German cancer research centre (DKFZ - Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum[2])
• the European Molecular Biology Laboratory EMBL
• Max-Planck-Institutes for astronomy, nuclear physics, medical research and comparative public law and international law.
• an interdisciplinary centre for scientific calculations (IWR - Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für wissenschaftliches Rechnen)
• an institute for astronomical calculations (ARI - Astronomisches Recheninstitut)
• the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences (Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften)

As one can see from the aforementioned lists the Ruperto Carola is strongly dedicated towards fundamental research in humanities, natural sciences and medicine. Although there are some links to commercial sponsors, the University depends mostly on financial support by the state.

Reputation

According to "The Times Higher Education Supplement World University Ranking" of 2005 [3] , Heidelberg University ranks 12th in Europe and 45th in the world, being the foremost German university. With this position, Heidelberg outranks very prestigious institutions of Higher Education, such as Brown, Dartmouth, Georgetown and Northwestern in the US, Durham, St. Andrews and all colleges of the University of London other than LSE and UCL in the UK, as well as all French universities and Grandes Écoles except of the École Polytechnique and the ENS-Paris. This edition of THES ranks Heidelberg 41st in Arts and Humanities tied with Penn, 22nd in science, and 17th in Biomedicine ahead of Caltech and all Ivy League schools other than Harvard and Yale. The Times referred to Heidelberg University as "the oldest and most eminent in the country of Luther and Einstein" and as "jewel of German learning". A study based on a survey of scientific journal referees (Braun et al. 2007) ranks the University of Heidelberg at the top of German universities in academic reputation. Admission is strictly merit-based and Heidelberg is known to be most selective. This is especially true for the Faculties of Medicine and Law, where it is extraordinarily difficult to be accepted. Even finishing one's A-levels at the top of the class is still no guaranty for admission. International students from 130 countries make up 20 percent of the entire student body, making Heidelberg University a truly cosmopolitan place [4]. In October 2007 Heidelberg was officially appointed "elite university" in line with an initiative started by the federal government, thus securing nine-digit additional funds. Twelve Professors and alumni of Heidelberg University are Nobel Laureates.

Alumni

Thinkers associated with the university

• Old Testament's expert scholar Prof.Rev.Dr.Gerhard von Rad
• Claus Westermann, Old Testament scholar in the line of Prof.von Rad
• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
• philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach
• historian Ernst Hartwig Kantorowicz
• existentialist philosopher-psychologist Karl Jaspers
• political theorist Hannah Arendt
• mathematician and pacifist Emil Gumbel
• philosopher of hermeneutics Hans-Georg Gadamer
• critical theorist and philosopher Jürgen Habermas
• philosopher of discourse ethics Karl-Otto Apel
• economists and sociologists Max Weber and Alfred Weber
• Michael Clyne, linguist
• Alan Kreider, pacifist and historian
• G. E. Berrios , epistemologist of psychiatry
• political scientist Carl Joachim Friedrich

Scientists

• medical pioneer Ludolf von Krehl
• chemist Robert Bunsen and physicist Gustav Kirchhoff
• Nazi physicist and Nobel Laureate Philipp Lenard
• 1954 physics Nobel Laureate Walther Bothe
• co-inventor of the nuclear shell model Otto Haxel
• 1991 Nobel Laureate Bert Sakmann.
• 2001 Nobel Laureate Wolfgang Ketterle.
• 2005 Nobel Laureate Theodor W. Hänsch
• chemist Fritz Haber, 1918 Nobel Laureate
• chemists Adolf Posselt & Reimann, who discovered in 1828 that nicotine is the main pharmacologically active component of tobacco
• physicist J. Hans D. Jensen, 1963 Nobel Laureate
• psychiatrist and philosopher Karl Jaspers
• cell physiologist Bert Sakmann, 1991 Nobel Laureate
• physiologist and medical doctor Otto Heinrich Warburg, 1931 Nobel Laureate
• physician and biochemist Otto Fritz Meyerhof 1922, Nobel Laureate
• chemist Georg Wittig, 1979 Nobel Laureate
• medical doctor Albrecht Kossel, 1910]] Nobel Laureate
• biochemist Richard Kuhn, 1938 Nobel Laureate
• mathematician Leo Konigsberger

Literates

• Joseph von Eichendorff
• Jean Paul
• Jose Rizal

See also: Mediaeval university

References

• Braun et al., Journal gatekeepers indicator-based top universities of the world, of Europe and of 29 countries - A pilot study. Scientometrics, 2007, vol. 71, no. 2, pp. 155-178.
• THES - QS World University Ranking of 2005 [5]

External links

• University of Heidelberg
• A Cyber Joint for University of Heidelberg Alumni
• Photo Gallery with Images of the University of Heidelberg
• Homepage of the Heidelberg Center for American Studies Heidelberg Center for American Studies
• Coimbra Group (a network of leading European universities)
• LERU Group