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The University of Graz (German: Universität Graz, formerly: Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz) in Graz is the largest public research university in Styria and the second oldest university in Austria. Its name is derived from Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Francis I of Austria. The University of Graz was founded on 1 January 1585.
The Faculty of Medicine was spun off as the Medical University of Graz on 1 January 2004, under the University Act 2002.
During the Reformation, numerous citizens and nobles from Styria emigrated to universities in protestant principalities of the Holy Roman Empire. The Catholic rulers of Styria wanted to counteract this development by drawing up a plan to establish a university in Graz under the leadership of the Jesuits. The university was founded on 1 January 1585, by Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria, but it was not until 14 April 1586, that the foundation charter, together with the scepter and seal, were ceremoniously presented to the provincial superior of the Societas Jesu and, at the same time, the first rector, Father Heinrich Blyssem SJ (1526–1586), in the Graz parish church of St. Ägidius, today's Graz Cathedral.
The princely foundation was sealed by a papal and an imperial letter of confirmation, granting the university autonomy and special judicial and tax privileges. Originally, the sovereign planned a comprehensive university with four faculties, but initially there were to be only two. The Faculty of Theology was tasked with creating a new, reliable catholic clergy, and the Faculty of Arts dealt with the teaching of the liberal arts (septem artes liberales) – the philosophical disciplines.
In 1607, the lecture halls were moved to the new building erected by Archduke Ferdinand II on the corner of Hofgasse and Bürgergasse, which is now known as the "Old University." Over time, the originally free-standing building was connected to the college to form a single complex. Classes were held on the ground floor of the building, while the two large rooms on the upper floor served as an auditorium. The Old University in the center of Graz remains virtually unchanged to this day and is used by the provincial government of Styria for representative purposes.
As early as the beginning of the 17th century, discussions began about expanding the University of Graz to include a law and medical faculty. However, the Jesuits successfully opposed the establishment of the new faculties for more than 100 years. Nevertheless, from 1648 onwards, the Styrian estates financed a one-year course in Roman law. After the abolition of the Jesuit Order in 1773, the university was taken over by the state and the Jesuits at the Faculty of Theology were replaced without exception by secular clergy. The aims of the education were to train loyal civil servants and to impart exclusively practical knowledge. The Faculty of Law was founded in 1778.
The accession to power in the Habsburg Empire by Emperor Joseph II and the Josephine reforms he promoted had a major impact on all universities, including the University of Graz. In 1782, it was converted into a lyceum and thus lost most of its privileges. The number of professorships was limited. At the same time, medical and surgical training was established in Graz, although doctorates were still only possible in the subjects of theology and philosophy. Only lower-level courses were offered in the fields of law and medicine.
After the death of Emperor Joseph II, the Styrian estates immediately demanded the reestablishment of the university. After the University of Innsbruck was reestablished in 1826, the Styrian estates also submitted a request for the reestablishment of the University of Graz, including a medical faculty. Emperor Francis I granted the request and re-established the University of Graz in 1827. This double foundation is the origin of the university's old name, "Karl-Franzens-Universität."
With the exception of the right to award doctorates to lawyers, the university's re-establishment did not bring about any significant changes. At that time, the university had 23 teaching staff and did not improve significantly until 1848. As a result, many students also attended courses at the Joanneum, founded in 1811, the predecessor of today's Graz University of Technology.
Although the revolutionary year of 1848 was not as turbulent in Graz as it was in Vienna, students and professors at the University of Graz and the Joanneum demanded that the sovereign end censorship and expand freedom of teaching and learning with a high degree of autonomy for the university in accordance with the principles of Wilhelm von Humboldt. These demands were partially granted by the state parliament on 3 April 1848.
In the following years, general study regulations were enacted and separate faculty studies were created. In the 1860s, a further wave of liberalization began. After many years of effort, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Graz became a reality in 1863, making it a comprehensive university. In 1871, a new university building was approved. The first building was ready for occupancy in 1872, and the new construction was finally completed in 1895 with the opening of the new main building. However, the university administration soon announced that it needed more space. As a result, the university acquired additional building land in the vicinity of the campus until 1914. In 1912, the medical faculty was able to move into the new clinics on the grounds of the provincial hospital Graz. Concrete expansion plans were already in place in 1913, but these were shelved with the outbreak of World War I.
In the period before World War I, the University of Graz was home to numerous renowned researchers, such as Ernst Mach, Ludwig Boltzmann, Albert von Ettingshausen, Hans Groß, and many more. The discoverer of cosmic rays, Victor Franz Hess, also received his doctorate from the University of Graz in 1906. In 1898, Seraphine Puchleitner became the first woman to be admitted to study at the University of Graz. In 1902, she received her doctorate in geography, becoming the first woman to do so at the University of Graz. In 1905, Oktavia Aigner-Rollett became the first practicing female doctor to receive her doctorate in Graz.
The outbreak of the World War I marked a turning point for the University of Graz, resulting in a significant reduction in student numbers and a drastic cut in financial resources. The era of austerity at universities in Austria was to last for almost 50 years.
The first years after World War I were marked by political and economic uncertainty for the University of Graz, which also affected the reputation of science among the population. Research was no longer seen as a means to the end of the common good, but served the national political goal of advancement. The University of Graz therefore focused primarily on students from Austria, while students from abroad were merely tolerated.
The government in Vienna was critical of the autonomy of universities, while the universities themselves tried to preserve it. The University of Graz, for example, established its own "Senate Committee for Political Issues," which defined the university's position on all political issues. The role of women in science improved somewhat. After the competence of Germanist Christine Touaillon for a habilitation at the Faculty of Philosophy was questioned in 1920 on the basis of her gender, Dora Boerner-Patzelt became the first woman to habilitate in histology and embryology at the University of Graz in 1929.
A novelty from 1919 onwards was the election of student representatives, which in the following years was marked by competition between German nationalist and Catholic representatives. What united both groups, however, was their rejection of students from the socialist camp. In 1924/25, a list that can be classified as a National Socialist group ran for the first time. In the 1930/31 student representative elections at the University of Graz, openly National Socialist students from the NSDStB ran for office for the first time.
Between 1931 and 1933, the Great Depression led to a drastic deterioration in the budgetary situation of all universities. This led to a campaign in the Wiener Zeitung in September 1931 against the "provincial universities" in Innsbruck, Graz, and Leoben, with the closure of the University of Graz even being considered, which led to protests in Graz. The plans were never realized, but a reduction in academic staff could not be prevented.
Despite these rigid austerity measures, the universities managed to maintain their autonomy until 1933. After the National Socialists came to power in Germany, the political situation escalated. In May 1933, the Constitutional Court was abolished, which led to massive resistance from the law faculties of the universities of Innsbruck, Vienna, and Graz. These constant conflicts between the government and the universities ultimately led to the abolition of university autonomy and the dissolution of all student bodies in the summer of 1933. The measure was justified by the influence of the NSDAP on students, which was particularly strong in Graz, among other places.
From the winter semester of 1933/34 onwards, Austria's universities were completely under the control of the Austro-Fascist government in Vienna under the responsible minister Kurt Schuschnigg. In the years that followed, extensive purges took place at all universities in the country, and the University of Graz was no exception, with a third of its professors affected. Furthermore, numerous disciplinary proceedings were brought against students. From 1935 onwards, universities were obliged to ensure that students were educated to become "moral personalities in the spirit of patriotic community." Around one-fifth of the students at the University of Graz failed these examinations.
Despite all this repression, the University of Graz continued to excel in the field of science. Until 1938, Nobel Prize winners Erwin Schrödinger, Otto Loewi, and Victor Franz Hess, among others, conducted research at the University of Graz.
After the "Anschluss" of Austria in 1938, the universities were immediately brought into line. Large sections of the teaching staff had already been infiltrated by National Socialists and actively contributed to the process of Gleichschaltung. At the University of Graz, Josef Dobretsberger resigned as rector on 12 March 1938, under pressure from National Socialist students and teachers. Only three days later, his interim successor, Adolf Zauner, sent words of thanks to Adolf Hitler for the "long-awaited union with the German Reich."
In April and May 1938, systematic purges of the teaching staff took place, during which political opponents, "foreign race" teachers, and those "unsuitable in character" were removed. Twenty-one teachers were "suspended" or had their teaching licenses revoked "until further notice," including Nobel Prize winner Viktor Franz Hess, a member of the Federal Cultural Council, and ancient historian Franz Schehl. The University of Graz felt compelled to dismiss Nobel Prize winner Otto Loewi and the regional rabbi and professor of Semitic philology David Herzog on the basis of their Jewish heritage in accordance with the Nuremberg Race Laws. "Politically unreliable" individuals such as the third Graz Nobel Prize winner, Erwin Schrödinger, who was expelled shortly thereafter, were also forced to leave the university. On the basis of the "Ordinance on the Reorganization of the Civil Service" of 4 June 1938, another wave of purges took place until the end of August. By the end of the Nazi regime, 20 professors, 14 lecturers, and 13 assistants had been dismissed from the University of Graz.
Text from the Wikipedia article “University of Graz”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.