German universities existing before 1960 are listed in chronological order with their foundation dates: the principal universities founded since 1960 (or refounded, in which case dates are given) follow in a separate list.
Heidelberg (1386), Köln (1388, dissolved 1798, refounded 1919), Erfurt (1392, dissolved 1816, refoundation initiated 1992/3), Leipzig (1409), Rostock (1419), Greifswald (1456), Freiburg (1457), Munich (1472 in Ingolstadt, 1802-26 in Landshut), Tübingen (1477), Mainz (1477, dissolved 1797, refounded 1946), Marburg (1527), Jena (1557), Würzburg (1575), Gießen (1607), Kiel (1665), Halle (1694) and Wittenberg (1502), now Halle-Wittenberg, Göttingen (1737), Erlangen (now Erlangen-Nürnberg, 1734), Münster (1780), Bonn (1786, dissolved 1796, refounded 1818), Berlin (Humboldt-Universität, 1809), Frankfurt/Main (1914), Hamburg (1921), Saarbrücken (1947), Berlin (Freie Universität, 1948).
Universities founded since 1960 include (in alphabetical order) Augsburg, Bamberg (1648, dissolved 1803), Bayreuth, Bielefeld, Bochum, Bremen (1610, dissolved 1810), Duisburg (1654, dissolved 1818), Frankfurt/Oder (1506, dissolved 1811), Hagen, Hildesheim, Kaiserslautern, Koblenz-Landau, Konstanz, Oldenburg, Osnabrück, Regensburg, Siegen, Trier, Ulm, Witten/Herdecke and Wuppertal. A number of specialist colleges have now been raised to full university status: these include Düsseldorf (1907), Eichstätt (1564: RC), Hannover (1831), Gesamthochschule Kassel (1633), Karlsruhe (1768), Lüneburg (1946), Mannheim (1763), Passau (1612), Potsdam (1948), Stuttgart (1829).
A number of early German foundations have disappeared, notably, Königsberg (1544), Dillingen (1554), Braunsberg (1558), Helmstedt (1576), Herborn (1584), Rinteln (1621), Altdorf (1622), and Fulda (1734). Most of these dissolutions took place after the French Revolution and during the Napoleonic Wars (see also Re-volutionskriege). The universities at Strasburg (1621), Dorpat (1632), and Breslau (1702) are now in France, Estonia, and Poland respectively. For Prague (1348) see KARL IV.
The six Austrian universities are Vienna (1365), Graz (1585), Salzburg (1622, dissolved 1810, refounded 1962), Innsbruck (1669), Klagenfurt (1970), and Linz (1975). The universities of the German-speaking part of Switzerland are Basel (1460), Berne (1528), Zurich (1833), and Freiburg (1889).
In all three German-speaking countries there are also a growing number of technical universities (Technische Hochschulen) and other higher education institutions specializing in music, art, theatre, theology, administration and other subjects.
The Oxford Companion to German Literature. Copyright © 1976, 1986, 1997, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
