University of Graz
Encyclopedia
The University of Graz a university
located in Graz
, Austria
, is the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria.
Karl-Franzens-Universität, also referred to as the University of Graz, is the city's oldest university, founded in 1585 by Archduke Charles II of Austria. For most of its existence it was controlled by the Catholic Church, and was closed in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II
in an attempt to gain state control over educational institutions. Joseph II transformed it into a lyceum where civil servants and medical personnel were trained. In 1827 it was re-instituted as a university by Emperor Francis I
, thus gaining the name Karl-Franzens-Universität, meaning Charles Francis University. Over 22,000 students are currently enrolled at this university.
Ludwig Boltzmann
was professor at the Karl-Franzens Universität twice (1869–1873 and 1876–1890) developing his statistical theory of heat. Nobel Laureate Otto Loewi
taught at the University of Graz from 1909 until 1938. Victor Franz Hess (Nobel prize 1936) graduated in Graz and taught here (1920–1931, 1937–1938). Erwin Schrödinger
was briefly chancellor of the University of Graz in 1936.
With the establishment of the Department for Slovene language and literature at the University of Graz, foundations were set for the Slovenian university-level Slovene studies.
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...
located in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, 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...
, is the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria.
Karl-Franzens-Universität, also referred to as the University of Graz, is the city's oldest university, founded in 1585 by Archduke Charles II of Austria. For most of its existence it was controlled by the Catholic Church, and was closed in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
in an attempt to gain state control over educational institutions. Joseph II transformed it into a lyceum where civil servants and medical personnel were trained. In 1827 it was re-instituted as a university by Emperor Francis 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...
, thus gaining the name Karl-Franzens-Universität, meaning Charles Francis University. Over 22,000 students are currently enrolled at this university.
Ludwig Boltzmann
Ludwig Boltzmann
Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann was an Austrian physicist famous for his founding contributions in the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics...
was professor at the Karl-Franzens Universität twice (1869–1873 and 1876–1890) developing his statistical theory of heat. Nobel Laureate Otto Loewi
Otto Loewi
Otto Loewi was a German born pharmacologist whose discovery of acetylcholine helped enhance medical therapy. The discovery earned for him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1936 which he shared with Sir Henry Dale, whom he met in 1902 when spending some months in Ernest Starling's...
taught at the University of Graz from 1909 until 1938. Victor Franz Hess (Nobel prize 1936) graduated in Graz and taught here (1920–1931, 1937–1938). Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist and theoretical biologist who was one of the fathers of quantum mechanics, and is famed for a number of important contributions to physics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933...
was briefly chancellor of the University of Graz in 1936.
With the establishment of the Department for Slovene language and literature at the University of Graz, foundations were set for the Slovenian university-level Slovene studies.
Nobel prize laureates
- Walther Nernst, 1920 in chemistry - studied in Graz in 1886
- Fritz PreglFritz PreglFritz Pregl , was an Austrian chemist and physician from a mixed Slovene-German-speaking background...
, 1923 in chemistry – in Graz 1913 to 1930 - Julius Wagner von JaureggJulius Wagner-JaureggJulius Wagner-Jauregg was an Austrian physician, Nobel Laureate, and Nazi supporter.-Early life:...
, 1927 in medicine – in Graz 1889 to 1893 - Erwin SchrödingerErwin SchrödingerErwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist and theoretical biologist who was one of the fathers of quantum mechanics, and is famed for a number of important contributions to physics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933...
, 1933 in physics– in Graz 1936 to 1938 - Otto LoewiOtto LoewiOtto Loewi was a German born pharmacologist whose discovery of acetylcholine helped enhance medical therapy. The discovery earned for him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1936 which he shared with Sir Henry Dale, whom he met in 1902 when spending some months in Ernest Starling's...
, 1936 in medicine – in Graz 1909 to 1938 - Victor Franz Hess, 1936 in physics – studied in Graz 1893-1906 and taught 1919 to 1931 as well as 1937 to 1938
- Gerty CoriGerty CoriGerty Theresa Cori was an American biochemist who became the third woman—and first American woman—to win a Nobel Prize in science, and the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Cori was born in Prague...
, 1947 in medicine - in Graz before 1922 - Ivo AndricIvo AndricIvan "Ivo" Andrić was a Yugoslav novelist, short story writer, and the 1961 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His writings dealt mainly with life in his native Bosnia under the Ottoman Empire...
, 1961 in literature – received his doctorate in Graz in 1924 - Karl von FrischKarl von FrischKarl Ritter von Frisch was an Austrian ethologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973, along with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz....
, 1973 in medicine – in Graz 1946 to 1950
Other well-known professors
- Rudolf von JakschRudolf von JakschRudolf von Jaksch , also Rudolf Jaksch von Wartenhorst, was an Austrian internist. He was the son of physician Anton von Jaksch...
, taught pediatricsPediatricsPediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
1887-1899 - Ludwig GumplowiczLudwig GumplowiczLudwig Gumplowicz, born March 9, 1838 in Kraków, then a republic, now part of Poland, died August 20, 1909 in Graz, Austria, was one of the founders of European sociology. He was also a jurist and political scientist who taught constitutional and administrative law at the University of...
, taught administration 1897-1909 - Ludwig Karl SchmardaLudwig Karl SchmardaLudwig Karl Schmarda was an Austrian naturalist and traveler, born at Olmütz, Moravia. He studied in Vienna and in 1850 became professor at the University of Graz, where he founded the Zoological Museum, and in 1852 at Prague. In 1853–1857 he traveled around the world and in 1862 was appointed...
, founder of the school's Zoological Museum (circa 1851) - Ludwig BoltzmannLudwig BoltzmannLudwig Eduard Boltzmann was an Austrian physicist famous for his founding contributions in the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics...
, professor of Mathematical PhysicsMathematical physicsMathematical physics refers to development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The Journal of Mathematical Physics defines this area as: "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and...
1869 to 1873 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...
1876 to 1890 - Hermann BeitzkeHermann BeitzkeHermann Beitzke was a German pathologist born in Tecklenburg, Westphalia.Beitzke studied medicine at several universities, earning his doctorate in 1899 from the University of Kiel. In 1900-01 he was an assistant at the institute of hygiene in Halle an der Saale, and afterwards worked at the...
, pathologist, professor at Graz from 1922 to 1941 - Alexius MeinongAlexius MeinongAlexius Meinong was an Austrian philosopher, a realist known for his unique ontology...
, philosopher, founder of the Graz SchoolGraz SchoolThe Graz School of experimental psychology and object theory was headed by Alexius Meinong, who was professor and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Graz where he founded the Graz psychological institute ....
of phenomenology - Ernst MallyErnst MallyErnst Mally was an Austrian philosopher affiliated with the so-called Graz School of phenomenology. A pupil of Alexius Meinong, he was one of the founders of deontic logic and is mainly known for his contributions in that field of research.- Life :Mally was born in the town of Kranj in the Duchy...
, philosopher, founder of Deontic logicDeontic logicDeontic logic is the field of logic that is concerned with obligation, permission, and related concepts. Alternatively, a deontic logic is a formal system that attempts to capture the essential logical features of these concepts... - Roland SchollRoland SchollRoland Heinrich Scholl was a Swiss chemist who taught at various European universities. Among his most notable achievements are the synthesis of coronene, the co-development of the Bally-Scholl synthesis, and various discoveries about polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.-Early life and...
, chemist, professor at the university for some time between 1907–1914 - Joseph SchumpeterJoseph SchumpeterJoseph Alois Schumpeter was an Austrian-Hungarian-American economist and political scientist. He popularized the term "creative destruction" in economics.-Life:...
, economist, later teaching at Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, in Graz 1912 to 1914 - Leopold BiwaldLeopold BiwaldLeopold Gottlieb Biwald was a professor at the University of Graz.At the age of sixteen Biwald joined the Jesuits. He became teacher of rhetoric at a secondary school in Laibach and graduated as Dr. theol. in 1761. He became professor of logic and soon afterwards of physics at the University of Graz...
, professor of 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...
, late 18th century
Famous alumni
- Gabriel AntonGabriel AntonGabriel Anton was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist. He is primarily remembered for his studies of psychiatric conditions arising from damage to the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia....
, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist - Count Anton Alexander von Auersperg, Austrian poet and politician
- Milko BrezigarMilko BrezigarMilko Brezigar was a Slovene and Yugoslav liberal economist.Born to a Slovene family the village of Doberdò del Lago in the Austrian Littoral , he attended the State gymnasium in Gorizia. He studied law at the universities of Graz and Vienna, graduating in 1910...
, YugoslavYugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
economist - Safet ButkaSafet ButkaSafet Butka was an Albanian professor, politician and nationalist. Son of famous patriot Sali Butka, he organized the student demonstrations in April 1939 during the Italian invasion and was interned in Ventotene. Upon his return he organized antifascist movements in his native region and was one...
, Albanian politician - Izidor CankarIzidor CankarIzidor Cankar was a Slovenian author, art historian, diplomat, publicist, translator, and liberal conservative politician...
, SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n art historian and Yugoslav diplomat - Etbin Henrik CostaEtbin Henrik CostaEtbin Henrik Costa was a Slovene national conservative politician and author. Together with Janez Bleiweis and Lovro Toman, he was one of the leaders of the Old Slovene political party....
, Slovenian politician - Monika FludernikMonika FludernikMonika Fludernik , a native Austrian, is professor of English literature and culture at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, Germany....
, Austrian literary scholar - Karl GurakuqiKarl Gurakuqi- Life :Born in Shkodër in 1895 he first studied in the Jesuit Saverian College of Shkodër and later Salzburg. In the mid 1910s he graduated from the faculty of humanities of the University of Graz. In 1921 in Vlorë he was elected general secretary of the Fatherland Federation, a democratic...
, Albanian linguist and folklorist
- Juraj HabdelićJuraj HabdelicJuraj Habdelić was a Jesuit and a Croatian writer.His parents was Boldižar Habdelić and Margarita Kraljić. He went to gymnasium in Zagreb, studied philosophy in Graz and theology in Trnava. He worked as a teacher in Rijeka, Varaždin and Zagreb where he became the rector of Jesuit Collegium and...
, CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n writer - Emil Johann Lambert HeinricherEmil Johann Lambert HeinricherEmil Johann Lambert Heinricher was an Austrian botanist from Laibach . In 1879 he received his doctorate at Graz, and later was an assistant to Simon Schwendener in Berlin and Julius von Sachs in Würzburg...
, Austrian botanist - Archbishop Ieronymos II of AthensArchbishop Ieronymos II of AthensIeronymos II is the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and as such the primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece. He was elected on 7 February 2008.-Early life and career:...
, Archbishop of Athens - Ernst KaltenbrunnerErnst KaltenbrunnerErnst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the...
, prominent Austrian Nazi official - Janko KersnikJanko KersnikJanko Kersnik was a Slovene writer and politician. Together with Josip Jurčič, he is considered the most important representative of Literary realism in the Slovene language.- Biography :...
, Slovenian writer - Ferdinand KonščakFerdinand KonšcakFerdinand Konščak was a Jesuit missionary, explorer, and cartographer.-Education:...
, Jesuit missionary and cartographer - Karel LavričKarel LavričKarel Lavrič, also spelled Laurič or Lauritsch , was a Slovene liberal politician and lawyer from the Slovenian Littoral, and one of the most prominent activists of the Young Slovene movement. Together with the conservative Lovro Toman, he was considered among the most popular Slovene politicians...
, Slovenian politician - Franc MiklošičFranc MiklošicFran Miklošič , was a Slovene philologist.-Biography:Miklošič was born in the small village of Radomerščak near the Lower Styrian town of Ljutomer, then part of the Austrian Empire....
, Austrian-Slovene linguist - Heinz OberhummerHeinz OberhummerHeinz Oberhummer is an Austrian physicist.- Biography :Heinz Oberhummer grew up in Obertauern, Austria. He studied physics at the University of Graz and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich....
, Austrian physicist - Vladimir ŠubicVladimir ŠubicVladimir Šubic, was a Slovene architect. He was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which was at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
, Slovenian architect - Lovro TomanLovro TomanLovro Toman was a Slovene politician and author. Together with Janez Bleiweis and Etbin Henrik Costa, he was part of the leadership of the national conservative Old Slovene party....
, Slovenian politician - Franz UngerFranz UngerFranz Joseph Andreas Nicolaus Unger was an Austrian botanist, paleontologist and plant physiologist.- Life and work :...
, Austrian paleontologist - Leopold von Sacher-MasochLeopold von Sacher-MasochLeopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch was an Austrian writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term masochism is derived from his name....
, Austro-Ukrainian journalist and writer of Masochism - Gregory WeeksGregory WeeksDr. Gregory Weeks is Head of the International Relations Department at Webster University in Vienna, Austria. He teaches and researches civil-military relations, genocide prevention, and twentieth century Austrian and German diplomatic and military history....
, jurist and historian - Milan ZverMilan ZverMilan Zver is a Slovenian politician, sociologist and political scientist. He currently serves as vice-president of the Slovenian Democratic Party. Between 2004 and 2008, he was Minister for Education and Sports in Janez Janša's centre right government...
, Slovenian sociologist and politician
Organization
Presently the university is divided into six different faculties. The faculties of medicine and engineering have been extracted from the university years ago and have since been managed as independent universities. Hence, the remaining faculties of the University of Graz are- the Faculty of ArtsARtsaRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
and HumanitiesHumanitiesThe humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
, - the 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...
, - the Faculty of Natural Sciences,
- the Faculty of SocialSocial sciencesSocial science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
and Economic Sciences, - the Faculty of Environmental and Regional Sciences and 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...
and—for historical and traditional reasons— - the Faculty of CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
TheologyTheologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
.
See also
- University Library of GrazUniversity Library of GrazThe University Library of Graz is the largest scientific and public library in Styria and the third largest in Austria. It holds the right of legal deposit...
- List of colleges and universities
- List of early modern universities in Europe
- Utrecht NetworkUtrecht NetworkThe Utrecht Network is a network of European universities. The network promotes the internationalisation of tertiary education through summer schools, student and staff exchanges and joint degrees.- Utrecht Network member universities :...
Further studies
- Walter Höflechner, Geschichte der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz von den Anfängen bis in das Jahr 2005, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, 2006. ISBN ISBN 3-7011-0058-6.
External links
- University of Graz Website
- Video portrait of University of Graz
- Coimbra Group (a network of EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an universities) - Study in Austria: A Guide
- Institute of Geography and Regional Science - Karl-Franzens University Graz
- University of Graz - History from 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...
- Pictures from Graz