University of Königsberg
Encyclopedia
The University of Königsberg was the university
of Königsberg
in East Prussia
. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant
academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina.
Following World War II
, the city of Königsberg was transferred to the Soviet Union
according to the 1945 Potsdam Agreement
, and renamed Kaliningrad
. The Albertina was closed and the remaining German population expelled. Today, the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in Kaliningrad claims to maintain the traditions of the Albertina.
on the Kneiphof
island of the Pregel River from the Samland
chapter, where he had an academic gymnasium (school)
erected in 1542. He issued the deed of foundation of the Collegium Albertinum on 20 July 1544, after which the university was inaugurated on August 17.
The newly established Protestant duchy was a fiefdom
of Poland
and the university served as a Lutheran
counterpart to the Catholic Cracow Academy
. Its first rector
was the poet Georg Sabinus
, son-in-law of Philipp Melanchthon
. All professors had to take an oath on the Augsburg Confession
. As the Prussian lands laid beyond the borders of the Holy Roman Empire
, both Emperor Charles V
and Pope Paul III
withheld their approval, nevertheless the Königsberg academy received the royal privilege by King Sigismund II Augustus
of Poland on 28 March 1560.
From 1618 the Prussian duchy was ruled in personal union
by the Margraves of Brandenburg
and in 1657 the "Great Elector" Frederick William of Brandenburg finally acquired full sovereignty over Prussia from Poland by the Treaty of Wehlau
. The Albertina was the second oldest university (after the University of Frankfurt (Oder)) and intellectual centre of Protestant Brandenburg-Prussia
. Initially it comprised four colleges: Theology
, Medicine
, Philosophy
and Law
, later also natural science
s. Subsequent rectors included numerous Hohenzollern
Prussian royals (at last Crown Prince William 1908–1918), who had never been to the university, usually represented by a prorector
in charge of academy affairs.
The Prussian lands remained unharmed by the disastrous Thirty Years' War
, which gained the Königsber university an increasing popularity among students. In the 17th century, it was known as a home to Simon Dach
, serving as rector in 1656/57, and his fellow poets. Tsar Peter I of Russia
visited the Albertina in 1697, leading to increased contacts between Prussia and the Russian Empire
. Notable Russian students at Königbserg were Kirill Razumovsky
, later president of the Russian Academy of Sciences
and General Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich
. The university and the city had profound impact on the development of Lithuanian
culture. The first book in Lithuanian language
was printed here in 1547 and several important Lithuanian writers attended the Albertina. The university was also the preferred educational institution of the Baltic German nobility.
The 18th century went down in cultural history as the "Königsberg Century" of Enlightenment
, a heyday initiated by the Albertina student Johann Christoph Gottsched
and continued by the philosopher Johann Georg Hamann
and writer Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel the Elder. Notable alumni were Johann Gottfried Herder
, Zacharias Werner, Johann Friedrich Reichardt
, E. T. A. Hoffmann, and foremost the philosopher Immanuel Kant
, rector in 1786 and 1788. These scholars laid the foundations of the later Weimar Classicism
and German Romanticism
movements.
The Albertinas magnificent botanical garden
was inaugurated in 1811 during the Napoleonic Wars
. Two years later, Friedrich Bessel
established his outstanding observatory
next door to the garden. Other university professors included such giants of the science world as the philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte
(1806–07), the biologist Karl Ernst von Baer
(1817–34), the mathematician Carl Gustav Jacobi (1829–42), the mineralogist Franz Ernst Neumann
(1828–76) and the physicist Hermann von Helmholtz
(1849–55).
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the university was most famous for its school of Mathematics
, founded by Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, and continued by his pupils Ludwig Otto Hesse, Friedrich Richelot, Johann G. Rosenhain and Ludwig Seidel. It was later associated with the names of Hermann Minkowski
(Albert Einstein
's teacher), Adolf Hurwitz
, Ferdinand von Lindemann
and David Hilbert
, who was one of the greatest modern mathematicians. The mathematicians Alfred Clebsch
and Carl Gottfried Neumann (both born in Königsberg and educated under Ludwig Otto Hesse) founded the Mathematische Annalen
in 1868, which soon became the most influential mathematical journal of the time.
Celebrating the university's 300 years jubilee 0n 31 August 1844, King Frederick William IV of Prussia
laid the foundation for the new main building of the Albertina, which was inaugurated in 1862 by Crown Prince Frederick
and Prorector Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz
. The building on central Paradeplatz was erected in a neo-Renaissance style according to plans designed by Friedrich August Stüler
. The facade was adorned by an equestrian figure in relief of Albert of Prussia. Below it were niches containing statues of the Protestant reformers Martin Luther
and Philipp Melanchthon
. Inside was a handsome staircase, borne by marble columns. The Senate Hall contained a portrait of Emperor Frederick III
by Lauchert
and a bust of Immanuel Kant
by Hagemann and Schadow
. The adjacent hall ("Aula") was adorned with frescoes painted in 1870.
The Albertina library, which contained the municipal library in 1900, was situated on Dritte Fliess Strasse and contained over 230,000 volumes. Also on Dritte Fliess Strasse was the Palaestra Albertina, established in 1898 for the encouragement of the higher forms of sport among the students and citizens. Nearby were the government offices, adorned with mural paintings by Knorr and Schmidt. In 1900, the university had 900 students.
During the university's last years, the Albertina faculty and the German Student Union
after the territorial separation of the Province of East Prussia
by the Treaty of Versailles
stressed its affiliation with the Reich, pushing the intellectual life towards German nationalism
. On 10 July 1944, the university celebrated its 400th anniversary in presence of Reich Minister Walther Funk
. A few weeks later, during the nights of 26/27 and 29/30 August, Königsberg was extensively bombed
by the Royal Air Force
. From January to April 1945 the city was further devastated by the East Prussian Offensive
of the Red Army
and the final Battle of Königsberg
. When General Otto Lasch
signed the capitulation on April 9, the historic inner city was destroyed by the attacks, and 80% of the university campus laid in ruins. The faculty had fled, many of them were received at the University of Göttingen.
The remaining premises including the Albertina main building were used by the Kaliningrad State Pedagogical Institute from 1948, which in 1967 received the status of a Kaliningrad State 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...
of Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina.
Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the city of Königsberg was transferred to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
according to the 1945 Potsdam Agreement
Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement was the Allied plan of tripartite military occupation and reconstruction of Germany—referring to the German Reich with its pre-war 1937 borders including the former eastern territories—and the entire European Theatre of War territory...
, and renamed Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
. The Albertina was closed and the remaining German population expelled. Today, the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in Kaliningrad claims to maintain the traditions of the Albertina.
History
Albert, former Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and first Duke of Prussia since 1525, had purchased a piece of land behind Königsberg CathedralKönigsberg Cathedral
Königsberg Cathedral is a Brick Gothic style building in Kaliningrad on an island in the Pregel . The island was called Kneiphof in German times.-14th Century to World War II:...
on the Kneiphof
Kneiphof
Kneiphof was one of three towns in the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights that became the city of Königsberg . Kneiphof was originally Knypabe , meaning 'area flushed by water' in Old Prussian.As other members of the Prussian Confederation, Kneiphof rebelled against the Teutonic Knights in...
island of the Pregel River from the Samland
Bishopric of Samland
The Bishopric of Samland was a bishopric in Samland in medieval Prussia. It was founded as a Roman Catholic diocese in 1243 by papal legate William of Modena. Its seat was Königsberg, until 1523 the episcopal residence was in Fischhausen. The bishopric became Lutheran in the 16th century during...
chapter, where he had an academic gymnasium (school)
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
erected in 1542. He issued the deed of foundation of the Collegium Albertinum on 20 July 1544, after which the university was inaugurated on August 17.
The newly established Protestant duchy was a fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
of Poland
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
and the university served as a Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
counterpart to the Catholic Cracow Academy
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
. Its first rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
was the poet Georg Sabinus
Georg Sabinus
Georg Sabinus or Georg Schuler was a German poet, diplomat and academic...
, son-in-law of Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...
. All professors had to take an oath on the Augsburg Confession
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation...
. As the Prussian lands laid beyond the borders of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, both Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
and Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
withheld their approval, nevertheless the Königsberg academy received the royal privilege by King Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus I was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548...
of Poland on 28 March 1560.
From 1618 the Prussian duchy was ruled in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
by the Margraves of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
and in 1657 the "Great Elector" Frederick William of Brandenburg finally acquired full sovereignty over Prussia from Poland by the Treaty of Wehlau
Treaty of Bromberg
The Treaty of Bromberg or Treaty of Bydgoszcz was a treaty between John II Casimir of Poland and Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia, ratified at Bromberg on 6 November 1657...
. The Albertina was the second oldest university (after the University of Frankfurt (Oder)) and intellectual centre of Protestant Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia is the historiographic denomination for the Early Modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenzollern intermarried with the branch ruling the Duchy of Prussia, and secured succession...
. Initially it comprised four colleges: Theology
Theology
Theology 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...
, Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy 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 Law
Law
Law 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...
, later also natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
s. Subsequent rectors included numerous Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
Prussian royals (at last Crown Prince William 1908–1918), who had never been to the university, usually represented by a prorector
Prorector
In many countries in Europe , a prorector is deputy to rector and a member of the management body of a university. In cases with more than one prorector each prorector manages a particular area of university life...
in charge of academy affairs.
The Prussian lands remained unharmed by the disastrous Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, which gained the Königsber university an increasing popularity among students. In the 17th century, it was known as a home to Simon Dach
Simon Dach
Simon Dach was a Prussian German lyrical poet and writer of hymns, born in Memel in the Duchy of Prussia.-Early life:...
, serving as rector in 1656/57, and his fellow poets. Tsar Peter I of Russia
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
visited the Albertina in 1697, leading to increased contacts between Prussia and the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. Notable Russian students at Königbserg were Kirill Razumovsky
Kirill Razumovsky
Count Kirill Grigorievich Razumovsky was a Ukrainian Registered Cossack from the Kozelets regiment in north-eastern Ukraine, who served as the last Hetman of Left- and Right-Bank Ukraine until 1764; Razumovsky was subsequently elected Hetman of the sovereign Zaporozhian Host in 1759, a position...
, later president of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
and General Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich
Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich
Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich , spelled Miloradovitch in contemporary English sources was a Russian general prominent during the Napoleonic Wars. He entered military service on the eve of the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 and his career advanced rapidly during the reign of Paul I...
. The university and the city had profound impact on the development of Lithuanian
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
culture. The first book in Lithuanian language
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
was printed here in 1547 and several important Lithuanian writers attended the Albertina. The university was also the preferred educational institution of the Baltic German nobility.
The 18th century went down in cultural history as the "Königsberg Century" of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
, a heyday initiated by the Albertina student Johann Christoph Gottsched
Johann Christoph Gottsched
Johann Christoph Gottsched was a German author and critic.-Biography:He was born at Juditten near Königsberg, Brandenburg-Prussia, the son of a Lutheran clergyman...
and continued by the philosopher Johann Georg Hamann
Johann Georg Hamann
Johann Georg Hamann was a noted German philosopher, a main proponent of the Sturm und Drang movement, and associated by historian of ideas Isaiah Berlin with the Counter-Enlightenment.-Biography:...
and writer Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel the Elder. Notable alumni were Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried Herder
Johann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.-Biography:...
, Zacharias Werner, Johann Friedrich Reichardt
Johann Friedrich Reichardt
Johann Friedrich Reichardt was a German composer, writer and music critic.-Early life:Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and Stadtmusiker Johann Reichardt . Johann Friedrich began his musical training, in violin, keyboard, and lute, as a child...
, E. T. A. Hoffmann, and foremost the philosopher Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
, rector in 1786 and 1788. These scholars laid the foundations of the later Weimar Classicism
Weimar Classicism
Weimar Classicism is a cultural and literary movement of Europe. Followers attempted to establish a new humanism by synthesizing Romantic, classical and Enlightenment ideas...
and German Romanticism
German Romanticism
For the general context, see Romanticism.In the philosophy, art, and culture of German-speaking countries, German Romanticism was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. German Romanticism developed relatively late compared to its English counterpart, coinciding in its...
movements.
The Albertinas magnificent botanical garden
Botanical garden
A 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...
was inaugurated in 1811 during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Two years later, Friedrich Bessel
Friedrich Bessel
-References:* John Frederick William Herschel, A brief notice of the life, researches, and discoveries of Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, London: Barclay, 1847 -External links:...
established his outstanding observatory
Koenigsberg Observatory
Koenigsberg observatory was an astronomical research facility, which was attached to the Albertina University of Königsberg. Astronomers working on her major, such as Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander and Arthur Auwers. In 1838, for first time, the parallax of a star was...
next door to the garden. Other university professors included such giants of the science world as the philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte
Johann Gottlieb Fichte
Johann Gottlieb Fichte was a German philosopher. He was one of the founding figures of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, a movement that developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Kant...
(1806–07), the biologist Karl Ernst von Baer
Karl Ernst von Baer
Karl Ernst Ritter von Baer, Edler von Huthorn also known in Russia as Karl Maksimovich Baer was an Estonian naturalist, biologist, geologist, meteorologist, geographer, a founding father of embryology, explorer of European Russia and Scandinavia, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a...
(1817–34), the mathematician Carl Gustav Jacobi (1829–42), the mineralogist Franz Ernst Neumann
Franz Ernst Neumann
Franz Ernst Neumann was a German mineralogist, physicist and mathematician.-Biography:Neumann was born in Joachimsthal, Margraviate of Brandenburg, located not far from Berlin. In 1815 he interrupted his studies at Berlin to serve as a volunteer in the Hundred Days against Napoleon, and was...
(1828–76) and the physicist Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a German physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science...
(1849–55).
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the university was most famous for its school of Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics 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...
, founded by Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, and continued by his pupils Ludwig Otto Hesse, Friedrich Richelot, Johann G. Rosenhain and Ludwig Seidel. It was later associated with the names of Hermann Minkowski
Hermann Minkowski
Hermann Minkowski was a German mathematician of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, who created and developed the geometry of numbers and who used geometrical methods to solve difficult problems in number theory, mathematical physics, and the theory of relativity.- Life and work :Hermann Minkowski was born...
(Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
's teacher), Adolf Hurwitz
Adolf Hurwitz
Adolf Hurwitz was a German mathematician.-Early life:He was born to a Jewish family in Hildesheim, former Kingdom of Hannover, now Lower Saxony, Germany, and died in Zürich, in Switzerland. Family records indicate that he had siblings and cousins, but their names have yet to be confirmed...
, Ferdinand von Lindemann
Ferdinand von Lindemann
Carl Louis Ferdinand von Lindemann was a German mathematician, noted for his proof, published in 1882, that π is a transcendental number, i.e., it is not a root of any polynomial with rational coefficients....
and David Hilbert
David Hilbert
David Hilbert was a German mathematician. He is recognized as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of...
, who was one of the greatest modern mathematicians. The mathematicians Alfred Clebsch
Alfred Clebsch
Rudolf Friedrich Alfred Clebsch was a German mathematician who made important contributions to algebraic geometry and invariant theory. He attended the University of Königsberg and was habilitated at Berlin. He subsequently taught in Berlin and Karlsruhe...
and Carl Gottfried Neumann (both born in Königsberg and educated under Ludwig Otto Hesse) founded the Mathematische Annalen
Mathematische Annalen
Mathematische Annalen is a German mathematical research journal founded in 1868 by Alfred Clebsch and Carl Neumann...
in 1868, which soon became the most influential mathematical journal of the time.
Celebrating the university's 300 years jubilee 0n 31 August 1844, King Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...
laid the foundation for the new main building of the Albertina, which was inaugurated in 1862 by Crown Prince Frederick
Frederick III, German Emperor
Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
and Prorector Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz
Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz
Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz was a German philosopher and pedagog.-Life:Born at Magdeburg, he read philosophy at Berlin, Halle and Königsberg, devoting himself mainly to the doctrines of Hegel and Schleiermacher...
. The building on central Paradeplatz was erected in a neo-Renaissance style according to plans designed by Friedrich August Stüler
Friedrich August Stüler
Friedrich August Stüler was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterwork is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Stadtschloss.-Life:...
. The facade was adorned by an equestrian figure in relief of Albert of Prussia. Below it were niches containing statues of the Protestant reformers Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
and Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon
Philipp Melanchthon , born Philipp Schwartzerdt, was a German reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems...
. Inside was a handsome staircase, borne by marble columns. The Senate Hall contained a portrait of Emperor Frederick III
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
by Lauchert
Richard Lauchert
Richard Lauchert, a German portrait painter, was born at Sigmaringen in 1823. He studied at Munich in 1839, went for improvement to Paris in 1845, and settled at Berlin in 1860. He was mostly employed by the courts of Germany, England, and Russia, and painted portraits with great taste and ability,...
and a bust of Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
by Hagemann and Schadow
Schadow
Schadow is the name of several German artists:*Johann Gottfried Schadow , sculptor*Rudolph Schadow , his son, sculptor*Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow , second son, painter...
. The adjacent hall ("Aula") was adorned with frescoes painted in 1870.
During the university's last years, the Albertina faculty and the German Student Union
German Student Union
The German Student Union from 1919 until 1945, was the merger of the general student committees of all German universities, including Danzig, Austria and the former German universities in Czechoslovakia.Originally founded during the Weimar Republic period as a democratic representation of...
after the territorial separation of the Province of East Prussia
Province of East Prussia
The Province of East Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1773–1829 and 1878-1945. Composed of the historical region East Prussia, the province's capital was Königsberg ....
by the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
stressed its affiliation with the Reich, pushing the intellectual life towards German nationalism
German nationalism
German nationalism refers to the nationalism of Germans or of German culture. The origins of the beginning of a sense of German identity began with the Protestant Reformation begun by Martin Luther that resulted in the spread of a standardized common German language and literature...
. On 10 July 1944, the university celebrated its 400th anniversary in presence of Reich Minister Walther Funk
Walther Funk
Walther Funk was a prominent Nazi official. He served as Reich Minister for Economic Affairs in Nazi Germany from 1937 to 1945, tried as a major war criminal by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.-Early life:...
. A few weeks later, during the nights of 26/27 and 29/30 August, Königsberg was extensively bombed
Bombing of Königsberg in World War II
The bombing of Königsberg was a series of attacks made on the city of Königsberg in East Prussia during the World War II. The Soviet Air Force had made several raids on the city since 1941. Extensive attacks carried by RAF Bomber Command destroyed most of the city's historic quarters in the...
by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. From January to April 1945 the city was further devastated by the East Prussian Offensive
East Prussian Offensive
The East Prussian Offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front . It lasted from 13 January to 25 April 1945, though some German units did not surrender until 9 May...
of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and the final Battle of Königsberg
Battle of Königsberg
The Battle of Königsberg , was one of the last operations of the East Prussian Offensive during World War II. In four days of violent urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussian Front captured the city of Königsberg...
. When General Otto Lasch
Otto Lasch
Otto Lasch was a German general in the Wehrmacht.Otto Lasch was born in Pleß as son of the high master forrester of the Prince of Pless in Silesia. Lasch after graduation took part in World War I in the Jäger-Battalion „Fürst Bismarck“ Nr. 2 in Kulm . After 1918 he joined the police and in 1935...
signed the capitulation on April 9, the historic inner city was destroyed by the attacks, and 80% of the university campus laid in ruins. The faculty had fled, many of them were received at the University of Göttingen.
The remaining premises including the Albertina main building were used by the Kaliningrad State Pedagogical Institute from 1948, which in 1967 received the status of a Kaliningrad State University.
Notable alumni and faculty
- Immanuel KantImmanuel KantImmanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
- Abraomas KulvietisAbraomas KulvietisAbraomas Kulvietis was a jurist and a professor at Königsberg Albertina University, as well as a reformer of the church....
- Daniel KleinDaniel Klein (grammarian)Daniel Klein was a Lutheran pastor and scholar from Tilsit, Duchy of Prussia, who is best known for writing the first grammar book of the Lithuanian language.Klein studied philosophy, theology, Greek and Hebrew in the University of Königsberg...
- Martynas MažvydasMartynas MažvydasMartynas Mažvydas Martynas Mažvydas Martynas Mažvydas (1510 near Žemaičių Naumiestis (now in Šilutė district municipality) - May 21, 1563 in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) was the author and the editor of the first printed book in the Lithuanian language....
- Kristijonas DonelaitisKristijonas DonelaitisKristijonas Donelaitis was a Prussian Lithuanian Lutheran pastor and poet. He lived and worked in Lithuania Minor, a territory in the Kingdom of Prussia, that had a sizable minority of ethnic Lithuanians...
- Johann Gottfried HerderJohann Gottfried HerderJohann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.-Biography:...
- David HilbertDavid HilbertDavid Hilbert was a German mathematician. He is recognized as one of the most influential and universal mathematicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental ideas in many areas, including invariant theory and the axiomatization of...
- Hermann MinkowskiHermann MinkowskiHermann Minkowski was a German mathematician of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, who created and developed the geometry of numbers and who used geometrical methods to solve difficult problems in number theory, mathematical physics, and the theory of relativity.- Life and work :Hermann Minkowski was born...
- E.T.A. HoffmannE.T.A. HoffmannErnst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann , better known by his pen name E.T.A. Hoffmann , was a German Romantic author of fantasy and horror, a jurist, composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist...
- Adolf HurwitzAdolf HurwitzAdolf Hurwitz was a German mathematician.-Early life:He was born to a Jewish family in Hildesheim, former Kingdom of Hannover, now Lower Saxony, Germany, and died in Zürich, in Switzerland. Family records indicate that he had siblings and cousins, but their names have yet to be confirmed...
- Christian GoldbachChristian GoldbachChristian Goldbach was a German mathematician who also studied law. He is remembered today for Goldbach's conjecture.-Biography:...
- Theodor KaluzaTheodor KaluzaTheodor Franz Eduard Kaluza was a German mathematician and physicist known for the Kaluza-Klein theory involving field equations in five-dimensional space...
- Gustav KirchhoffGustav KirchhoffGustav Robert Kirchhoff was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects...
- Paul Philip Levertoff
- Rudolf Gottschall
- Karl Rudolf König
- Moshe NovomeyskyMoshe NovomeyskyMoshe Novomeysky was an early Israeli pioneer, scientist, and developer of the Palestine Potash Company, precursor of the Dead Sea Works. -Biography:...
- Gotthilf Heinrich Ludwig HagenGotthilf Heinrich Ludwig HagenGotthilf Heinrich Ludwig Hagen was a German physicist and hydraulic engineer.Hagen was born in Königsberg, East Prussia . He studied mathematics, architecture, and civil engineering at the University of Königsberg...
- Ewald Christian von KleistEwald Christian von KleistEwald Christian von Kleist was a German poet and officer.-Life:Kleist was born at Zeblin, near Köslin in Farther Pomerania, to the von Kleist family of cavalry leaders...
- Arnold SommerfeldArnold SommerfeldArnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and groomed a large number of students for the new era of theoretical physics...
- Gábor SzegőGábor SzegoGábor Szegő was a Hungarian mathematician. He was one of the foremost analysts of his generation and made fundamental contributions to the theory of Toeplitz matrices and orthogonal polynomials.-Life:...
- Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias WernerFriedrich Ludwig Zacharias WernerFriedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner was a German poet, dramatist, and preacher. As a dramatist, he is known mainly for inaugurating the era of the so-called “tragedies of fate.”-Biography:...
- Ruth MoufangRuth MoufangRuth Moufang was a German mathematician.Born to a German chemist Dr. Eduard Moufang and Else Fecht Moufang, she studied mathematics at the University of Frankfurt. In 1931 she received her Ph.D. on projective geometry under the direction of Max Dehn, and in 1932 spent a fellowship year in Rome...
See also
- List of early modern universities in Europe
- University of Königsberg alumni
- University of Königsberg faculty