Anniversary Exhibition: 625 Years of Research and Teaching at Universität Heidelberg
11 April 2011
The history of science and scholarship at Heidelberg University from its earliest beginnings to the present is the subject of an exhibition by the University Library marking the 625th anniversary of Ruperto Carola. Some 200 exhibits, largely from the library’s own holdings, illustrate the exciting and multi-faceted development of Germany’s oldest university through the centuries. On display alongside the founding charter of the university are valuable manuscripts, the death mask of Heidelberg chemist Robert Wilhelm Bunsen and much more. The anniversary exhibition “625 Years of Research and Teaching at Heidelberg University” will be on view from 20 April to 4 December 2011. The opening is on 19 April.
In the first few centuries, the development of Heidelberg University centred on the original Faculty of Arts and the “High Schools” of theology, jurisprudence and medicine. Close ties with the Palatine court and the fruitful engagement with humanism and the Reformation were operative in the initial flourishing of the university in the 15th and 16th centuries. The exhibition points up these connections with manuscripts, incunabula and early prints. After an interim decline, the transfer to the state of Baden in the early 19th century gave the university a new lease of life, manifesting itself to this day in the academic success and the international reputation the university has achieved. With reference to outstanding personalities like Robert Bunsen, Alfred Weber, Gustav Radbruch or Karl Hampe, the exhibition foregrounds Heidelberg’s significant research achievements in the sciences and the humanities.
With this exhibition the University Library also presents itself as a significant part of the university’s history of science and scholarship. It supplies academic literature in printed and electronic form and is also active in research, engaging in national and international projects financed by third-party funding. Its rich historical collections contain not only medieval manuscripts but also the legacies of important Heidelberg scholars and scientists.
The University Library’s exhibition “625 Years of Research and Teaching at Heidelberg University” opens on Tuesday, 19 April 2011 with a ceremony in the Great Hall of the Old University. After words of welcome from Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Friederike Nüssel, chief librarian Dr. Veit Probst will outline the design of the exhibition and Prof. Dr. Eike Wolgast of the Department of History will discuss “Norm and Exception: Heidelberg University and its History”. The opening ceremony begins at 6 p.m. Subsequently, the audience will be given an opportunity to view the exhibition at the University Library.
The exhibition at the University Library (Plöck 107-109, Heidelberg) is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the exception of public holidays.
Note for news desks
Digital picture material is available from the Press Office.
Contact
Dr. Sabine Häußermann
Heidelberg University Library
phone: +49 6221 542581
hauessermann@ub.uni-heidelberg.de
Communications and Marketing
Press Office
phone: +49 6221 542311
presse@rektorat.uni-heidelberg.de
