Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck
Encyclopedia
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
has been a university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
since 1669.
It is currently the largest education facility in the Austrian Bundesland
States of Austria
Austria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder . Since Land is also the German word for a country, the term Bundesländer is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses both terms...
of Tirol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
and third largest in Austria according to student population, behind Vienna University and the University of Graz
University of Graz
The University of Graz , a university located in Graz, Austria, is the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria....
.
History
In 1562 a Jesuit grammar school was established in Innsbruck, today the "Akademisches Gymnasium InnsbruckAkademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck
The Akademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck is a grammar school, or Gymnasium in Innsbruck, Tyrol, founded in 1562 by the Jesuits in the course of the counter-reformation. Thus, it is the oldest school in Western Austria and one of the oldest schools in the German-speaking world.- 16th – 17th Century :At...
". It was financed by the salt mines in Hall in Tirol
Hall in Tirol
Hall in Tirol is a town in the Innsbruck-Land district of Tyrol, Austria. Located at an altitude of 574 m, about 5 km east of the state's capital Innsbruck in the Inn valley, it has a population of about 12,700 .-History:...
and was founded as a university in 1669 by Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
with four faculties. In 1782 this was reduced to a mere lyceum
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...
(as were all other Universities in Austrian Empire, apart from Prague, Vienna and Lviv
Lviv University
The Lviv University or officially the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv is the oldest continuously operating university in Ukraine...
), but it was re-established as the University of Innsbruck in 1826 by Emperor Franz I
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
. The university is therefore named after both of its founding fathers with the official title of: "Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck" (Universitas Leopoldino-Franciscea).
In the 1850s Habsburgs gradually closed University of Olomouc as a consequence of the Olomouc students' and professors' participation on the 1848 revolutions
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...
and the Czech National Revival
Czech National Revival
Czech National Revival was a cultural movement, which took part in the Czech lands during the 18th and 19th century. The purpose of this movement was to revive Czech language, culture and national identity...
. The ceremonial equipment of the University of Olomouc was then transferred to the University of Innsbruck. The original Olomouc ceremonial mace
Ceremonial mace
The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
s from the 1580s are now used as the maces of the Innsbruck Medical University
Innsbruck Medical University
The Innsbruck Medical University is a university in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria. It used to be one of the fours historical faculties of the Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck but became an independent university in 2004.- History :The medical tradition dates back long before the foundation of...
and Theological faculty of University of Innsbruck, while the Olomouc Rector's Chain from the 19th century is nowadays used as the University of Innsbruck Rector's chain. Many years later Innsbruck, in 1998, donated an exact copy of the Rector's Mace to Palacký University, but it is still, in 2011, using the Olomouc University original maces and other regalia
Regalia
Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereign.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'...
as its own ceremonial equipment.
In 2005 copies of letters written by the emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
s Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
and Conrad IV were found in the university's library. They arrived in Innsbruck in the 18th century, having left the charterhouse Allerengelberg in Schnals
Schnals
Schnals is a valley and comune in the province of South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 70 km north of the city of Trento and about 40 km northwest of the city of Bolzano, on the border with Austria.-Geography:As of 30 November 2010, it had a...
due to its abolishment.
The faculties
The new plan of organisation (having become effective on October 1, 2004) installed the following 15 faculties to replace the previously existing six faculties:- Catholic TheologyCovenantal Theology (Roman Catholic)Covenantal theology is a distinctive approach to Catholic biblical theology stemming from the mid-twentieth century recovery of Patristic methods of interpreting Scripture by scholars such as Henri de Lubac...
Faculty, - Faculty of LawLawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, - Faculty of MarketingMarketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, - Faculty of PoliticsPoliticsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and SociologySociologySociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, - Faculty of EconomicsEconomicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and StatisticsStatisticsStatistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, - Educational Science (EducationEducationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, Work Communication and PsychotherapyPsychotherapyPsychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
), - History of Philosophy Faculty,
- PhilosophyPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and Culture Science Faculty, - Faculty of BiologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
- Faculty of ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and PharmacologyPharmacologyPharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
, - Faculty of GeographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and Atmospheric Sciences, - Faculty of MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Computer ScienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, - Faculty of PsychologyPsychologyPsychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and Sports scienceSports scienceSport science is a discipline that studies the application of scientific principles and techniques with the aim of improving sporting performance...
, - Faculty of ArchitectureArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, - Faculty of Civil engineeringCivil engineeringCivil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
.
As of 1 January 2004 the Faculty of Medicine was sectioned off from the main university to become a university in its own right. This is now called the Innsbruck Medical University
Innsbruck Medical University
The Innsbruck Medical University is a university in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria. It used to be one of the fours historical faculties of the Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck but became an independent university in 2004.- History :The medical tradition dates back long before the foundation of...
(Medizinische Universität Innsbruck).
Buildings
The university buildings are spread across the city and there is no university campus as such. The most important locations are:- Theology faculty was opened 1562 as a Jesuit School in 1766 and the University used buildings from the Jesuit church in the Leopoldsaal (the original university).
- In 1924 main building of the university library opened.
- 1969 the scientific faculty and the construction faculty in Hötting west was opened.
- 1976 construction began on “Geiwi tower” for the former Paranormal Science faculty, an addition to the main building.
- 1997 The Social Science faculty (built in the former Fenner barracks) was opened.
- Several university clinics of the medical university in the area became Tyrolian national hospitals.
Points of interest
- Alpengarten Patscherkofel, the university's alpine garden atop PatscherkofelPatscherkofelPatscherkofel is a mountain and ski area in Tyrol in western Austria, 7 km south of Innsbruck. The peak rises to a summit elevation of 7639 feet above sea level...
- Botanischer Garten der Universität InnsbruckBotanischer Garten der Universität InnsbruckThe Innsbruck University Botanic Garden is a 2 hectare botanical garden operated by the University of Innsbruck. It is located in Hötting at Sternwartestraße 15, Innsbruck, Austria...
, the university's botanical gardenBotanical gardenA botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
Nobel laureates
- Hans FischerHans FischerHans Fischer was a German organic chemist and the recipient of the 1930 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.-Early years:...
, Chemist (b. 1881 Höchst a. M., d. 1945 Munich)
- He was widely respected for his research on hemoglobin and chlorophyll, and on the synthesis of haemin. He also succeeded in explaining the constitution of chlorophyll. Fischer held chairs in Innsbruck (1916-18), Vienna (1918-21) and Munich (1921-45). He won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1930.
- Victor Francis HessVictor Francis HessVictor Francis Hess was an Austrian-American physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics, who discovered cosmic rays.-Early years:...
, Physicist (b. 1883 Schloß Waldstein, d. 1964 Mt. Vernon, U.S.A.)
- After studying in Graz he worked under Franz Exner at the Department of Physics in Vienna, becoming a Dozent in 1910 and an assistant at the new Institute of Radium ResearchInstitute for Radium Research, ViennaThe Institute for Radium Research was an Austrian research institute associated with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna. The Institute's researchers won multiple Nobel Prizes...
. The discovery of cosmic radiation is particularly associated with him. Hess was appoined to Graz in 1920 and in 1931 to Innsbruck. In 1937 he returned to Graz but was forced to emigrate in 1938. He obtained a professorship at Fordham University in New York. He won the Nobel prize for Physics in 1936.
- Fritz PreglFritz PreglFritz Pregl , was an Austrian chemist and physician from a mixed Slovene-German-speaking background...
, Physician and Chemist (b. 1869 Laibach (Ljubljana), d. 1930 Graz)
- He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1923 for making important contributions to quantitative organic microanalysis, one of which was the improvement of the combustion train technique for elemental analysis. From 1913 on he was professor of Medical Chemistry in Innsbruck for three years.
- Adolf Windaus, Chemist (b. 1876 Berlin, d. 1959 Göttingen)
- He won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1928 for his work on sterols and their relation to vitamins. He was at the University of Innsbruck from 1916 till 1918 at the Institute of Medical Chemistry.
Victims of political persecution and terror
- Christoph ProbstChristoph ProbstChristoph Hermann Probst was a German student of medicine and a member of the White Rose resistance group.-White Rose:...
(born 6 November 1919 in Murnau am StaffelseeMurnau am StaffelseeMurnau am Staffelsee is a market town in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region of Bavaria, Germany.Murnau is situated on the edge of the Bavarian alps, approx. 70 km south of Munich. Directly to its west is the Staffelsee lake.-History:Murnau was first documented in...
: executed 22 February 1943 in Munich) was a student of medicine and a member of the White RoseWhite RoseThe White Rose was a non-violent/intellectual resistance group in Nazi Germany, consisting of students from the University of Munich and their philosophy professor...
(Weiße Rose) resistance group.
- Ignacio EllacuríaIgnacio EllacuríaIgnacio Ellacuría, S.J. was a Jesuit priest, philosopher, and theologian who did important work as a professor and rector at the Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" , a Jesuit university in El Salvador founded in 1965...
, S.J. (Portugalete, Biscay, Spain, 9 November 1930 – San Salvador, 16 November 1989) was a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, philosopher, and theologian. Ignacio Ellacuría was a close friend and colleague of the scholars Ignacio Martín-Baró and Segundo Montes, all of whom were assassinated with Ellacuría by the Salvadoran army, along with three colleagues and two employees. He earned his master's degree at Innsbruck University.
- Segundo MontesSegundo MontesSegundo Montes, S.J. was a scholar, philosopher, educator, sociologist and Jesuit priest...
, S.J. (Valladolid, Spain, 15 May 1933 - San Salvador, El Salvador, 16 November 1989) was a scholar, philosopher, educator, sociologist and Jesuit priest. Segundo Montes was a close friend and colleague of the scholars Ignacio Martín-Baró and Ignacio Ellacuría, all of whom were murdered with Montes by the Salvadoran army, along with three other colleagues and two other employees. He earned his master's degree at Innsbruck University.
External links
- University of Innsbruck
- Innsbruck Medical University
- Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Tirol
- Innsbruck University @ The Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...