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Founding
Founding of University of Vienna
public university in Vienna, Austria
- 12 March 1365
- Europe
Founding
public university in Vienna, Austria
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
The University of Vienna (Austrian German: Universität Wien, Austrian German: [univɛrsiˈtɛːt ˈviːn]; Latin: Universitas Viennensis) is a public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation. With around 85,000 students and approximately 11,000 employees, it is one of the largest institutions of higher learning in Europe. As of the academic year 2024–2025, the university offered 185 degree programmes.
The University of Vienna is associated with 17 Nobel Prize laureates and has been home to numerous scholars of historical and academic significance, including Erwin Schrödinger, Karl Popper, Stefan Zweig, Friedrich Hayek, Gustav Mahler, Sigmund Freud, Gregor Mendel, Ludwig von Mises, among others.
The university was founded on March 12, 1365, by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, hence the name "Alma Mater Rudolphina". After the Charles University in Prague (1347) and Jagiellonian University in Kraków (1364), the University of Vienna is the third oldest university in Central Europe and the oldest university in the contemporary German-speaking world; it remains a question of definition as the Charles University in Prague was German-speaking when founded, too. However, Pope Urban V did not ratify the deed of foundation that had been sanctioned by Rudolf IV, specifically in relation to the department of theology. This was presumably due to pressure exerted by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, who wished to avoid competition for the Charles University in Prague.
The pope later granted an endowment to the university in 1365, while papal assent was finally received in 1384. This led to the University of Vienna and its Faculty of Catholic Theology being granted the status of a full university. The first university building opened in 1385. It grew into the biggest university of the Holy Roman Empire, and during the advent of Humanism in the mid-15th century was home to more than 6,000 students.
In its early years, the university had a partly hierarchical, partly cooperative structure, in which the Rector was at the top, while the students had little say and were settled at the bottom. The Magister and Doctors constituted the four faculties and elected the academic officials from amidst their ranks. The students, but also all other Supposita (university members), were divided into four Academic Nations. Their elected board members, mostly graduates themselves, had the right to elect the Rector. He presided over the Consistory which included procurators of each of the nations and the faculty deans, as well as over the University Assembly, in which all university teachers participated. Complaints or appeals against decisions of the faculty by the students had to be brought forward by a Magister or Doctor.
Being considered a Papal Institution, the university suffered a setback during the Reformation. In addition, epidemics, economic stagnation, and the first Siege of Vienna by Ottoman forces had devastating effects on the city, leading to a sharp decline in enrollment. For Emperor Ferdinand I, this meant that the university should be tied to the church to an even stronger degree, and in 1551 he installed the Jesuit Order there. As time went on, conflicts between the Jesuit school and the university arose. This led Emperor Ferdinand II, in 1623, to pass a law that incorporated the Jesuit College into the university.
It was only in the mid-18th century that the Jesuits lost influence over the university and when Empress Maria Theresa ensured that the university went under the control of the monarchy. The university would later focus on the education of physicians and civil servants. Her successor Joseph II continued her reforms and further liberalized the university, abolishing official attire and allowing both Protestants and Jews to enroll by 1782, as well as introducing German as the compulsory language of instruction the year later.
Significant changes were instituted in the wake of the Revolution in 1848, with the Philosophical Faculty being upgraded into equal status as Theology, Law and Medicine. Led by the reforms of Leopold, Count von Thun und Hohenstein, the university was able to achieve a larger degree of academic freedom. The current main building on the Ringstraße was built between 1877 and 1884 by Heinrich von Ferstel. The previous main building was located close to the Stuben Gate (Stubentor) on Iganz Seipel Square, the current home of the old University Church (Universitätskirche) and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften).
Women were admitted as full students in 1897, although their studies were limited to Philosophy. The remaining departments gradually followed suit, although with considerable delay: Medicine in 1900, Law in 1919, Protestant Theology in 1923, and finally Roman Catholic Theology in 1946. Ten years after the admission of the first female students, Elise Richter became the first woman to receive habilitation, becoming professor of Romance languages in 1907; she was also the first female distinguished professor.
In the late 1920s, the university was in steady turmoil because of anti-democratic and anti-Semitic activity by parts of the student body. Professor Moritz Schlick was killed by a former student while ascending the steps of the university for a class. His murderer was later released by the Nazi regime. Following the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the Nazi regime, in 1938 the University of Vienna was reformed under political aspects, and a huge number of teachers and students were dismissed for political and "racial" reasons.
In April 1945, the then 22-year-old Kurt Schubert, later acknowledged doyen of Judaic Studies at the University of Vienna, was permitted by the Soviet occupation forces to open the university again for teaching, which is why he is regarded as the unofficial first rector in the post-war period. On 25 April 1945, however, the constitutional lawyer Ludwig Adamovich senior was elected as the official rector of the University of Vienna.
A large degree of participation by students and university staff was realized in 1975, however, the University Reforms of 1993 and 2002 largely re-established the professors as the main decision-makers. However, also as part of the 2002 reform, the university, after more than 250 years of being largely under governmental control, finally regained its full legal capacity. The number of faculties and centers was increased to 18, and the whole of the medical faculty was separated into the new Medical University of Vienna.
On 22 October 2009, following a solidarity rally for the occupiers of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, the Audimax, Austria's largest lecture hall (opened in 1936), was occupied (see Student protests in Austria in 2009). The protests were directed (among other things) against the implementation of the Bologna Process in Austria, the reintroduction of tuition fees, restrictions on access to higher education, and precarious working conditions at universities. They demanded an increase in the higher education budget to 2% of GDP in order to expand personnel and spatial capacities and improve university facilities, as well as education and curriculum design independent of private economic interests.
In 2015, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra dedicated part of the programme of its New Year's Concert to the University of Vienna on the occasion of its 650th anniversary on 12 March 2015. With a view to implementing the new teacher education programme, regional development associations have been formed in Austria. The University of Vienna, together with other universities in Vienna and Lower Austria, belongs to the North-East Association. The new teacher education programme for secondary education began in 2016.
In 2020, the University of Vienna opened a new location on Kolingasse to expand its infrastructure. In October 2021, the new University of Vienna Biology Building was opened. In October 2022, Sebastian Schütze was elected Rector of the University of Vienna and took office. In October 2022, a new Rectorate took office at the University of Vienna. In October 2022, the University of Vienna congratulated Nobel Prize winner Anton Zeilinger for his outstanding scientific achievements. In May 2025, the University of Vienna opened a new book depository, relocating 2.7 million volumes from the Main Library in the Main Building of the University of Vienna. In the last elections for the Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH) in May 2025, the VSStÖ student organisation achieved 37.01% (12 seats) in the university representation, GRAS achieved 20.87% (6 seats) and KSV-LiLi achieved 11.00% (3 seats). In October 2025, the University of Vienna achieved a place in the top 100 of the global university rankings for the first time.
The University of Vienna does not operate from a single, unified campus. Historically, the university's activities were centred in the city centre. Today, its academic facilities are distributed across Vienna. The university's main building on the Ringstraße serves as its symbolic and administrative centre and is commonly referred to as the Hauptuni (main building). The Main Building houses the Rectorate, most of the deaneries, the central service units, the Main Library, a few departments with their specialist libraries and numerous lecture halls.
The Campus of the University of Vienna was opened in 1998 and was created by converting the old general hospital. It houses a large number of departments and specialist libraries. The University of Vienna does not have one single campus. The remaining facilities of the University of Vienna are spread across more than 60 locations in Vienna and other federal states.
Nearby facilities include the Neues Institutsgebäude (New Institute Building, NIG), located directly behind the main building. Other important locations of the University are the Max Perutz Labs Vienna, the University Centre Althanstraße, the University Vienna Biology Building (UBB), the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Mathematics at Oskar Morgenstern Platz.
Since 2004, the Medical University of Vienna has been an independent university; before, it was part of the University of Vienna as a medical faculty.
The Vienna University Library is the oldest university library in the German-speaking world (founded in 1365) and comprises the Main Library and the 33 departmental libraries at various university locations throughout Vienna. The library's primary responsibility is to the members of the university; however, it is publicly accessible. Use of the books in the reading halls is open to all persons without the need for identification, which is only required for checking out books or other media. The library's website provides direct access to information such as electronic journals, online indices, and databases.
Rudolf IV had already provided for a publica libraria in the Foundation Deed of 12 March 1365, where the valuable books bequeathed by deceased members of the university should be collected. Through many legacies, this collection was subsequently greatly increased and became the basis of the old Libreye that was accommodated in the same building as the student infirmary. In addition, there were libraries in the separate Faculties and in the Duke's College.
Text from the Wikipedia article “University of Vienna”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.