Brief history of the university of koenigsberg
In the 1230s the Teutonic Order began its crusade against the Prussians, a Baltic people, who had inhabited the area between the lower Vistula river, the Baltic Sea, and the Nemunas river, since prehistoric times. The German knights invaded the Prussian land in order to bring Christianity to the heathen Prussians, and to defend the frontiers of Poland against their incursions. In 1255, at the mouth of the river Pregel, the crusaders founded a fortress. This fortress was given the name Koenigsberg. Two centuries later, in 1457, Koenigsberg became the administrative centre of the Teutonic Order's state and the residence of the Order's Grand Masters. Koenigsberg assumed this role following the loss of Marienburg, their former administrative centre, to Poland during the Thirty Years War.
The military religious organization was dissolved in 1525 by the last grand master of the Teutonic Order, Albrecht Hohenzollern (1490-1568). This action was strongly influenced by the Reformation, and was carried out with the consent of the Polish king. Albrecht Hohenzollern then converted this territory into a secular Protestant state - the Duchy of Prussia, with Koenigsberg as its capital.
The University of Koenigsberg was established as a direct response to the growing demand for Lutheran preachers, clerks, lawyers, diplomats, teachers and doctors. The University was founded by Duke Albrecht, in an attempt to resist the growing influence of the old Jagello University in Krakow. However, the intellectual potential of the Duchy was not yet fully developed, and so its first lecturers were invited from foreign states.
The University of Koenigsberg first opened its doors on the 17th of August 1544. It was the second institution of higher learning to be established in what was to later become the state of Prussia-Brandenburg (the University of Frankfurt-on-Order was founded some years earlier in 1506). The structure of the University was the same as those of already existing German universities. It was divided into four faculties: three were classed as "superior": theology, law, and medicine; and one was classed as "inferior": philosophy. A 36-year-old poet from Frankfurt-on-Order Georg Sabinus (1508-1560), son-in-law of the Reformation leader Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560), was offered the opportunity to become the University's first rector. The professorial body, with the rector at its head, was made up of 10 professors. The majority of these learned scholars came to Koenigsberg from other German states and principalities.
The history of Koenigsberg University is closely intertwined with the history of the German Protestant state of Prussia. The 'Koenigsberg Academy' was, after all, initially established to serve the political, economic and ideological aims of this aspiring state. The academic profile and structure of Koenigsberg University was clearly influenced by these specific motives and circumstances. However, the general intellectual and spiritual atmosphere of the 16th century Europe also played a key role in the early years of this academic institution.
The humanistic traditions at Koenigsberg were fostered by lofty Renaissance ideals. The University encouraged and supported poetry and fine arts, as well as the development of book printing and the creation of book collections. The duke's court, and the University also, attracted many bright artists and famous poets, noted scholars and public figures. The University of Koenigsberg always tried to remain true to the humanistic values. It sought to hold true to the ideals of European Universities, to be a centre for free intellectual and spiritual life.
However, it should also be noted that the University was seen as an ideological and political instrument of power. This was, after all, the main reason for the foundation of Koenigsberg University. Its existence depended on the state's policies and ideology. And this, of course, led to the introduction of some features, which could be considered "alien" to the traditions of the European establishments of higher learning. For example, the University taught its students to respect and obey powerful authorities, with a strict system of discipline and punishments for those who failed to comply with this principle. In the 16th century the University adopted the custom of appointing members of the ruling family to the position of rector, regardless of whether they were suited to this position. During the first decades of the 18th century, when Prussia became a kingdom, the students of the University were not exempt from military service. Unusual duties were also imposed upon the professors of the University. For example, they were frequently called upon to act as censors of certain materials and ideas.
The University of Koenigsberg also had a well-deserved reputation for being one of the most backward German universities. This is linked to the fact that the University was constantly in dire financial straits, right from its foundation until the beginning of the 19th century. Despite this fact, the University's history is littered with bright personalities and colourful events. In 1595, within the walls of the Protestant university, the mathematician Matthias Menius (1544-1601) spoke in support of the heliocentric model of the universe, which had been suggested by Nikolaus Copernicus. One of the famous graduates of the University is the poet Simon Dach (1605-1659). His poems remain popular throughout Germany even today.
In 1726 Christian Goldbach (1690-1764), a graduate of Koenigsberg University, became the first secretary of the newly opened Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. He was followed by two more Koenigsberg professors - the historian Gottlieb Bayer (1694-1738) and the lawyer Johann Beckenstein (?-1744)- who also became members of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. During these years, in 1736, one of the founding fathers of Lithuanian literature, Christian Donalitius, entered the University as a student of Lutheran theology.
However, none of the above scholars can match the reputation and standing of the University's greatest alumni: the great philosopher, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). His name will be forever linked with the provincial city of Koenigsberg, and the university, which also bore this name. During Kant's tenure at the University, a brilliant circle of young scholars also attended the University. This circle included such illustrious names as the writer and philosopher Johann Hamann (1730-1788), the poet, thinker and preacher Johann Herder (1744-1803), and the satirist Theodor Hippel (1741-1796). E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), a writer of unrestrained fantasy, prominent composer and musician, also attended many of Kant's lectures.
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In the 19th century the University entered a period of rapid growth. Its academic standing and reputation grew considerably during the Napoleonic Wars. While Prussian participation in these wars almost brought the state to its knees, they also served to stimulate and consolidate the progressive patriotic forces of "greater Germany". It is during this period that one can see the beginning of German national self-consciousness. During this time Berlin University was established, thanks to the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835). Naturally, Koenigsberg also played a pivotal role in this "national awakening". A stream of young intellectuals began to gather at Koenigsberg University. The University began to receive more funds for its development, and new research and educational subdivisions were created. Of particular note are the significant breakthroughs achieved in the faculties of Philosophy and Medicine. Any European university would have been proud of the constellation of brilliant names teaching at these faculties in the 19th century.
In 1810 the University invited the astronomer Wilhelm Bessel (1784-1846) to construct the Koenigsberg Observatory. The observatory was completed in 1813 and Bessel served as the director for the rest of his life. During that period the observatory came to be recognized as one of the leading centres for applied astronomy in Europe. During his directorship of the observatory, Bessel completed far-reaching reforms in the theoretical and practical science of astronomy. His work from this period serves as the basis for modern astronomy. He advanced not only the methodology of astronomy, but he was also responsible for several important and groundbreaking inventions and developments in mathematics. He was the first astronomer to measure the distance of a star other than the Sun (1838). In 1841, his calculations led to the most precise model of the Earth - the Bessel's ellipsoid, now named after him. It has been in use in geodetic and cartographic work in Europe and Russia for over a century. His work also played a significant role in developments in Russian science, and he is also noted for several collaborations with the leading Russian scientists of this era. For example, the main Russian observatory in Pulkovo was constructed according to Bessel's principles, and its founder and first director, Friedrich (Vasily in Russia) Struve (1793-1864), was a colleague and friend of Bessel. Struve even visited Bessel in Koenigsberg several times.
In 1826 Franz Neumann (1798-1855), a specialist in physics and crystallography, and Carl Jacobi (1804-1851), left Berlin to begin work in Koenigsberg. Their physics-mathematics seminars led to the establishment of the famous Koenigsberg Physics - Mathematics School. In the Neumann-Jacobi seminars the triple system of studies was introduced: lecture - seminar - laboratory. This method continues to be used today. The seminar was used to introduce students to new methods of research, including the subjection of physical problems to mathematical analysis. These were the first contributions to the development of mathematical physics.
Carl Jacobi made major advances in mathematics during his tenure in Koenigsberg between 1826 and 1843. The Koenigsberg School laid the foundation for electrodynamics and solid-state physics. It produced 54 professors of mathematics, physics, chemistry and astronomy. Fourteen of these professors were members of Academies of Sciences in several countries. The most famous of these scientists were Carl Borchardt, Carl Neumann, Ludwig Sohncke, Friedrich Meyer, Woldemar Voigt, Roland Eotvos, Ludwig Hesse, Johann Rosenhain, Friedrich Richelot, and Rudolf Clebsh. One of the most gifted pupils of Neumann and Jacobi was Gustav Kirchhoff (1824-1875). He is the author of several fundamental works on circuits, mechanics, and optics. In 1875 he was appointed to the chair of mathematical physics at Berlin.
From 1849 to 1855 the prominent naturalist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) was a professor at Koenigsberg University. During this period von Helmholtz successfully conducted research in physiology, electrodynamics and optics. Among Helmholtz's most valuable inventions is the ophthalmoscope (1850). It still remains one of the most useful instruments for research in physics.
In the second half of the 19th century the University welcomed a new generation of physicists and mathematicians. In 1883 Ferdinand von Lindemann (1852-1939) became a professor at Koenigsberg. He was the first to prove that 'Pi' is transcendental, and consequently that the problem of squaring the circle could not be solved. This problem had long frustrated mathematicians. In 1884 another noted mathematician, Adolf Hurwitz (1859-1919), accepted an invitation from Lindemann to take up a chair at Koenigsberg. Lindemann, Hurwitz and Professor Heinrich Weber (1842-1913) strongly influenced the mathematical development of one of the foremost mathematicians of the 20th century - David Hilbert (1862-1943). He gained worldwide recognition not only for his contribution to several branches of mathematics, but also for his famous '23 problems' - the 23 major unsolved problems of mathematics. Hilbert's problems, which he listed at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris in 1900, were to set the basis for the key mathematical works of the 20th century.
A colleague and friend of Hilbert - Hermann Minkowski (1864-1909) - also occupies a prominent position in the world of mathematics. He worked with Hilbert in Koenigsberg, before he took up a post at the University of Goettingen. Minkowski's major works were devoted to theoretical mathematics and the theory of relativity. Other influential alumni from the University in the field of physics include: Arthur Schonflies (1853-1928), Emil Wichert (1861-1928 and Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951), - the latter was a foreign member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
The study of medicine was also flourishing at Koenigsberg University during the 19th century. However, to further appreciate the breakthroughs and advances made in this field, one must be aware of the poor conditions under which these studies were carried out. During this period the students of medicine formed only 3% of the total student body at the University. For example, in 1812 only 2 students enrolled to the Faculty of Medicine. But even during these hard times the faculty was developing as a centre of excellence.
Karl Baer began his teaching at Koenigsberg in 1817, after accepting an invitation from the University's professor of physiology Karl Burdach (1776-1847). Baer remained in Koenigsberg until 1834. In 1827 he discovered the 'mammalian ovum (egg)'. As a result of this discovery, he became known as the father of embryology. He also participated in the construction of a new anatomic institute, not far from the observatory. In 1834 Baer left Koenigsberg for Russia. His successor was the prominent zoologist and embryologist Martin Rathke (1793-1860), who had previously worked in Dorpat.
The University's Faculty of Medicine began to develop rapidly, in the spheres of both research and practice, in the second half of the 19th century. Koenigsberg's prominent scholars in this field during these years include: Ernst Leyden (1832-1910), one of the founders of laboratory methods for diagnostics and experimental pathology; Friedrich Recklinghausen (1833-1910), the founder of the department of pathological anatomy; Paul Baumgarten (1848-1928), a pathologist who discovered a tubercular bacillus independently of Robert Koch. Other influential figures in medical science working at the University include: the bacteriologist Richard Pfeiffer (1858-1945), who discovered a meningitis bacillus; Karl Wagner (1826-1870), who established the Surgery Institute, which long remained standard.
The Faculty of Medicine also included the Botanical Garden. The gardens were laid out by Professor Karl Hagen (1749-1829) in 1811, not far from the observatory hill. The botanist August Schweigger (1783-1821) was appointed the first director. The unique plant collection, with exhibits gathered from all corners of the world over many years, was badly damaged during the Second World War (1941-1945).
In 1894, the year of the University's 350th anniversary, the Faculty of Medicine had grown to become the largest faculty. It had 225 students, from a total student body of 658. There were 98 professors and associate professors. The total number of Albertina's students varied greatly from year to year because there was no plan of enrolment and students could easily move from one university to another. For instance, in the first half of the 17th century the number exceeded a thousand while at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, there were between two and three hundred students. The thousand student mark was not reached again until the year 1904.
Despite some difficulties with the student enrolment and a lack of teachers during the inter-war period, the University continued to extend and strengthen its research fields. In the academic year 1944-1945 there were 6 faculties: theology, law and socio-political sciences, medicine, philosophy, natural sciences and agriculture. All of the faculties, with the exception of the theology faculty, consisted of several specialized scientific research institutes. These institutes were similar to departments, only larger, and they often had their own buildings. For example, the Faculty of Natural Sciences included the following institutes: experimental physics, theoretical physics, chemistry, mineralogical, geologo-paleontological with amber collections, and geography as well as two observatories - astronomical and geophysical.
In its last year, Koenigsberg University had 40 institutes, 7 clinics, 16 seminars operating year round and two observatories. The Institute of Musical Education and Church Music, as well as the Institute of Physical Training, belonged to interfaculty subdivisions. The University also had several libraries. The largest one housed a collection of almost 650,000 books, 380 scientific papers (dissertations) and 4,400 manuscripts.
In 1944 the University celebrated its 400th anniversary. The staff of the University wanted to postpone the festivities to a later date, but the upper echelons of the Nazi party insisted on celebrating the anniversary. When the celebrations were over, lecturers and students were called upon to help with the construction of defensive walls.
During the night of the 30th of August, when allied bombing almost completely destroyed the historical centre of Koenigsberg, 80% of the University's buildings were reduced to rubble. Nevertheless, the autumn semester of 1944 commenced as usual, and the academic year continued as normal until January 1945. On the 28th of January, when the city was surrounded by the Soviet Army, an order was issued for the University to be evacuated to Greifswaldt. During the Soviet attack on Koenigsberg, in April 1945, the last remaining buildings of the University were destroyed.