Anniversary Year 2027
Ideas that Change the World. Since 1402
In 2027, the University of Würzburg will celebrate the 625th anniversary of its foundation and a history full of innovation, change and passion for research. Join in and discover, experience and celebrate ‘Ideas That Change the World. Since 1402’ together with us.
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- When: 14 February 2027
- Target audience: Private event
In 1402, Johann von Egloffstein secured the granting of privileges from Pope Boniface IX, thereby founding the second-oldest university in Germany. The commemoration of our university’s foundation will be at the heart of our celebrations on 14 February 2027.
Under the motto ‘Ideas that move the world. Since 1402’, the long tradition of Germany’s second-oldest university, its academic achievements and its future will be honoured at an official ceremony.
Following a welcome address by the University President, Prof. Paul Pauli, Minister-President Dr Markus Söder will deliver a welcoming address. The keynote speech will be given by Federal Minister Dorothea Bär. On the same day, the new University Heritage Museum (MUG) will be opened in the historic vaulted cellar of the Alte Universität.
A journey through 625 years of JMU history
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1402: Prince-Bishop Johann von Egloffstein founds the University of Würzburg; Pope Boniface IX grants the papal privilege.
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1415: Insufficient financial resources lead to the decline of the university.
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1582: Prince-Bishop Julius Echter restores the university; the cornerstone for the ‘Alte Universität’ building is laid.
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1591: The ‘Alte Universität’ building is completed and houses the faculties of theology, law and humanities; the university church is opened. The faculty of medicine moves into the Juliusspital hospital.
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1619: Prince-Bishop Johann Gottfried von Aschhausen lays the foundations for a general university library.
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1802: The university comes under Bavarian rule and undergoes secularisation and reform.
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1896: The university’s main building, the ‘Neue Universität’ on Sanderring, is opened.
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1945: Large parts of the university are destroyed in World War II.
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From 1945: The university is rebuilt in just a few months.
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1960s: The new Hubland Campus is built in the outskirts of the city.
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2002: The University of Würzburg celebrates the 600th anniversary of its foundation.
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2011: Campus Hubland Nord with its modern lecture hall buildings is opened.
The world comes to Würzburg to study
The University of Würzburg is a place where people from all around the world come together: Students from more than 120 countries learn, research and live here. The diversity of cultures, languages and perspectives on our campus creates an outward-looking atmosphere in which people make new friends, build international networks and gain interesting insights into the everyday lives of others each and every day.
JMU’s historical treasures
Our university library is so much more than just the place where you go to study. It houses precious historical collections and some of the most important written records from past centuries, including numerous Bibles and incunabula, i.e. books printed in the earliest stages of printing before 1501.
A professor, a building
There aren’t many people who can say that a research building was built specifically for them. Renowned mathematician and Humboldt Professor Stefanie Petermichl can: The building on Campus Hubland Nord known as the ‘Humboldt-Bau’ was built for her. It was opened in 2023 and serves as a place for mathematicians from around the world to come together and to conduct research.
From the laboratory to the Nobel Prize
It was a moment that changed history: On 8 November 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, director of the Institute of Physics at the University of Würzburg, discovered a new type of radiation. These rays, which later became known as X-rays, have revolutionised medicine and countless other fields of research. In 1901, Röntgen was awarded the world’s first Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery.
