University of Göttingen

The famous Georgia Augusta University of Göttingen was founded by George II in 1734 and opened in 1737. It rapidly attained a leading position, and in 1823 its students numbered 1547. It started with four Schools (referred to as "Fakultäten" in German) and soon became one of the best-attended universities in Europe with its 800 students.

Today the university includes 13 Schools. About 23,000 students are currently enrolled. More than 2,500 professors and other academics presently work at the University, assisted by a technical and administrative staff of about 8,000. The post-war expansion of the University led to the establishment of a new, modern `university quarter` in the north of the town. The architecture of the old university can still be seen in the Auditorium Maximum (1826/1865) and the Great Hall (1835/1837) on the Wilhelmsplatz.

Closely linked with the university are the State and University Library of Lower Saxonia with its 3.5 million volumes and precious manuscripts, the Academy of Sciences, originally founded as the ´Royal Society for Sciences`, and the four research institutes of the Max Planck Society for the Promotion of Science.

The international reputation of the university was founded by many eminent professors who are commemorated by statues and memorial plaques throughout the town. 42 Nobel Prize laureates studied or taught in Göttingen (one of whom being a member of our Training Faculty) and many students attained a place in history – for example Otto von Bismarck, who studied in Göttingen in 1833 and lived in the old fortress tower on the "Wall", now known as "Bismarck Cottage".

The University Campus is divided between several locations around the city: The central University complex with the main library and `Mensa` is located right next to the city and comprises the faculties for Law, Economy, Theology and Linguistics. Closely associated with it are the faculties for Psychology, Ethnology and Educational Sciences as well as the Medical Faculty with its associated hospitals. Just north of the city a new scientific center has been built in which most of the natural sciences (Chemistry, Microbiology, Plant Pathology, Agronomy, Forestry, Geology) are now located, including the GZMB. Other institutes are set around the inner city. The University offers five `Mensae` (canteens) offering lunch at low prizes for the students, one `Mensa` offering dinner for the students and four cafeterias. A variety of student accommodation facilities is available throughout the city. The sports facilities have their own center in Göttingen (see below). Activities The University also offers a wide variety of opportunities to engage in cultural or social affairs. There is for example the Studentenwerk, that organizes parties and special events, or the student cinema clubs offering various movies for students. Other activities are holiday offers ( e.g. skiing excursions in winter), dance balls, concerts and many more.

History

Political disturbances, in which both professors and students were implicated, lowered the attendance to 860 in 1834. The expulsion in 1837 of the famous seven professors - Die Göttinger Sieben - viz, the Germanist, Wilhelm Eduard Albrecht[?] (1800-1876); the historian, Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann (1785-1860); the orientalist, Georg Heinrich August Ewald (1803-1875); the historian, Georg Gottfried Gervinus[?] (1805—1875); the physicist, Wilhelm Eduard Weber (1804-1891); and the philologists, the brothers Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (1785-1863), and Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859),--for protesting against the revocation by King Ernest Augustus of Hanover[?] of the liberal constitution of 1833, further reduced the prosperity of the university.

The events of 1848, on the other hand, told somewhat in its favour; and, since the annexation of Hanover in 1866, it was carefully fostered by the Prussian government. In 1903 its teaching staff numbered 121 and its students 1529.

External links

• The website of the university: http://www.uni-goettingen.de