FULDA UNIVERSITY

Fulda University has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, then enlisted in the UNIVERSITAS category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with a direct linking to the related Blog contents dedicated to the aeternitas and the future of Europe.

	FOUNDATION
Year	1734 A.D.
City	Fulda
Founder	Adolf von Dalberg
Where	Bishopric Fulda (Reich Empire)
Originary subjects	law , theology , phylosophy , medicine

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	NOWADAYS
State	Germany
Name	University of Fulda (Theologische Fakultät Fulda , Alma Mater Adolphiana)
Seates	Fulda , Catholic Theological Seminary in Marburg
Degree programs	Theology, Catholic religion Seminary
Library	Bibliotheca Fuldensis Institute ('Institut Bibliotheca Fuldensis') , Bibliothek des Bischöflichen Priesterseminars
Collegium	NO
Alumni	Student's Union
Famous teachers	benedectine and jesuite monks: S. Sturm , S. Boniface , S. Hrabanus Maurus , Rudolf von Fulda , Gerhard Matern , Gangolf Schrimpf
Famous scholars	Friedrich Münter , Heinrich von Bibra , Sturmius Bruns , Karl von Piesport
Awards

Fulda University is among the oldest of Europe, even if closed since XIX century A.D. to be reopened in 1983 A.D. by the Minister of Education for Hessen Lander. The first step of its history was the foundation of the monastery in 744 A.D. and its school 4 years later, enjoying the apogee under Hrabanus Maurus and Rudolf von Fulda. When Saint Sturm (likely related to the Agilolfing family) founded and became abbot of the monastery of Fulda as one of his master Saint Boniface's outposts in the reorganization of the church in Germany, the initial grant for the abbey was signed by Carloman Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia and son of Charles Martel. His support and later of the early Pippinid and Carolingian rulers was fundamental for the Boniface's success and Fulda University received donations from many of the leading families of the Carolingian clan (future European genealogies), such as the Etichonids and the Conradines (future ruler dinasties of the Holy Roman Emperors). The donations received from these and other important families helped in the establishment of daughter-houses near Fulda University: in 751 A.D., Saint Boniface and his disciple and successor Lullus obtained by Pipin III 'said the short' King of the Franks an exemption for monastery and school, both placed directly under the Papal See, so making them independent of interference by bishops or worldly princes, allowing Fulda University to became a renowned center of learning.

After his martyrdom by the Frisians in 754 A.D., the relics of Saint Boniface were brought back to Fulda. Because of his saint stature this afforded the monastery, the donations increased and Fulda University could establish daughter-houses further away, for example in Hamelin. Meanwhile, Saint Lullus, the successor of Boniface as archbishop of Mainz, tried to absorb the abbey into his jurisdiction, but failed. So, between 790 and 819 A.D. the local community rebuilt the main abbey to more fittingly host the relics of the saint: they based their new church on the original 4th-century Old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, using the transept and crypt plan of that great pilgrimage to frame their own saint as the 'Apostle of the Germans'. The crypt of the original abbey still holds those relics, but the church has been subsumed into a Baroque renovation, while a small 9th-century chapel remains standing within walking distance of the church, as do the foundations of a later women's abbey: the Fulda Abbey owned such works as the 'Res Gestae' by the 4th-century Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus and the Codex Fuldensis, as well as works by Cicero, Servius, Bede and Sulpicius Severus.

The Faculty of Theology continued the monastic tradition of education and during Prince-Abbot Balthasar von Dernbach’s reign, the grammar school was opened in 1571 A.D. by the Jesuits on the site of the ancient Benedictine school: then Pope Gregory XIII founded a papal Seminary College and this attracted students from a wide catchment area. Professorships of philosophy and theology were established during XVII century A.D. and in 1734 A.D. finally Adolf von Dalberg founded the university consisting of 4 faculties by virtue of papal and imperial privileges.

But in 1805 A.D., after the governing Prince Wilhelm Friedrich von Orange-Nassau had suspended the activities of Fulda University, the Seminary College was able to continue delivering academic education to the future priests of the diocese of Fulda. During the course of the XIX century A.D. the Pope and the German episcopate’s planned to establish a free Catholic university in Fulda, but without success, so the Theology and Philosophy Academy and the Seminary College were temporarily closed in 1874 A.D. as a result of the struggle between the state and the Roman Church ('Kulturkampf') which took place at that epoce: both were reopened under Bishop Kopp in 1886 A.D.. The rectorate’s constitution was written only in 1939 A.D. and in 1965 A.D., Bishop Adolf Bolte established the 'Fulda Institute for Higher Education in Philosophy and Theology' as an independent persona moralis in ecclesia and implemented the institute’s statute.

The faculty’s legal status with regards to the government of the Hessen Lander is described both in articles 9 and 12 of the Concordat and in article 60 of the Constitution of the state. As a result of the continued efforts of Bishop Eduard Schick, the Fulda Institute was promoted to a theology faculty effective in 1978 A.D.: this was done through legislation of the 'Holy Congregation for Catholic Education'. In the end, in 1983 A.D. the faculty received a charter from the Minister of Education for Hessen that officially recognised it as an academic institution of higher education, so the Fulda Faculty of Theology had the right to award all the academic qualifications including the 'magister theologiae', licentiate, doctorate and habilitation (a postdoctoral lecturing qualification). There has been close cooperation between the Fulda Faculty of Theology and the Catholic Theological Seminary in Marburg (see down) ever since the latter’s foundation through the episcopal see: Gerhard Matern was its first director, while at the same time holding a professorship in Fulda, and the professors of the Faculty of Theology continue to teach at the Catholic Theological Seminary in Marburg today.

A new 'Magister Theologicae' degree course was introduced beginning with the winter semester of 2010/2011. The 'Agency for quality assurance and accreditation of canonical degree courses' ('Agentur für Qualitätssicherung und Akkreditierung kanonischer Studiengänge e.V.' – AKAST), which was granted the right to accredit degree courses in 2008 A.D. by the German Accreditation Council, accredited the Master’s course in Catholic theology offered by Fulda Faculty of Theology, after then the course was accredited for 5 years by AKAST. From the point of view of church law, the regulations for the degree course and examinations came into force with their publication in the official church gazette for the diocese of Fulda, after being confirmed by the grand chancellor in September 2010 A.D. and after their approbation by the Congregation for Catholic Education. On the feast day of St. Hrabanus Maurus in 2015 A.D., the grand chancellor Bishop Heinz Josef Algermissen signed a law on the administration of universities in the diocese of Fulda ('Gesetz über die Hochschulträgerschaft im Bistum Fulda'): through this law, the Catholic Theological Seminary of the Philipps University of Marburg, which trains students wishing to become teachers in the subject of Catholic religion at grammar schools, was integrated into the Fulda Faculty of Theology.

The Bibliotheca Fuldensis Institute at Fulda Faculty of Theology has its origins thanks to the initiative of the philosopher and mediaevalist Prof. Dr. Gangolf Schrimpf: the Institute’s focus is research into the mediaeval monastic library of Fulda, which was of great age and significance. From the early Eighties onwards, an extensive documentation of the surviving manuscripts and fragments was established and a substantial library specialising in the topic was assembled. From the beginning of the project, Gangolf Schrimpf worked on significant research desiderata, together with the Bibliotheca Fuldensis research group ('Arbeitskreis Bibliotheca Fuldensis'): supporting from the friends’ society of Fulda Faculty of Theology ('Förderkreis der Theologischen Fakultät Fulda') made it possible to create a collection in Fulda consisting of high-quality reproductions of the surviving manuscripts of the once extensive monastic library.

Fulda is a Germany university where is teached 'Catholic Religion' at grammar schools: the course of study for those training to become teachers in the subject of Catholic religion at grammar schools is focused on the practical demands of teaching religion in such a context. The languages necessary for a theology degree are Latin, Greek or Hebrew. It exists connected the Community Education: every semester Fulda Faculty of Theology offers a series of lectures on contemporary issues as part of its community education program, to which priests and the laity, pastors and teachers, as well as anyone interested in these questions, are invited: these lectures are 'free fee' and who attend it in a series will receive a certificate upon request.

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Marburg University had been founded by Philipp I 'said the Magnanimous' Landgrave of Hesse in 1527 A.D. after introduction the Reformation in Hesse state and has also borne his name since early XX century A.D.: the world's oldest Protestant university still in existence began operating with 11 professors and around 90 students at the 4 faculties of theology, law, medicine, and philosophy. At the Philipp's death his territory was divided among his four sons, and initially they directed the university together. Confessional conflicts prompted Landgrave Louis V of Hesse-Darmstadt to establish his own university in Giessen, which was Lutheran unlike Marburg, which was by this time Calvinist. This conflict, that during the Thirty Years' War was also carried out militarily, led to an interruption of university life in Marburg but the re-establishing bound its professors to the reformed denomination. The appointment in 1723 A.D. of the philosopher Christian Wolff, one of the most influential thinkers of the Enlightenment, triggered a period of advancement for Marburg and drew students from near and far, such as the Russian universal scholar Michail Lomonossow. Starting in the 1780's, things began to pick up again, with help from renowned professors of medicine playing a decisive role. Shortly after 1800 A.D., jurist Friedrich Carl von Savigny worked as professor and mentor for the two most well known Marburg students, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

With the establishment of the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807 A.D. under the rule of Napoleon's youngest brother Jérôme, the very existence of the University of Marburg was hanging in the balance. In addition to the universities in Göttingen and Halle, there was to be only one further university in the kingdom and Marburg received the contract: in 1858 A.D. a modern surgical ward was built at the University, which again became a state university of the Electorate of Hesse. Then Wilhelm Roser worked there as the constitutional lawyer Sylvester Jordan (though he was incarcerated in Marburg's castle) and the well-known chemist Robert Bunsen who completed research and teaching in Marburg.

In 1866 A.D. Marburg University became Prussian: along with this came a boom in every sense of the word. The number of professorships doubled by the start of the First World War and the number of students climbed to 2,500, so that renowned professors were teaching in all departments in Marburg. The philosophers Hermann Cohen and Paul Natorp founded around this time the so-called 'Marburg School'. The first Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded in 1901 A.D. to Professor for Hygienics Emil von Behring, discoverer of the serum therapy against diphtheria. The 'Alte Universität' was built from the end of XIX century A.D. on the spot of the dilapidated Dominican cloister, while in 1908 A.D. the first female students were allowed to matriculate at the university. Marburg's scholarly prestige was high in the Twenties, when Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Bultmann were teaching there: the student body was, however, largely nationalistic. The so-called Marburg Student Corps played a significant role in the Mechterstädt murders, whereby 15 workers were shot to death.

Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 A.D., the academic self-government was eliminated and the Führerprinzip was introduced at Marburg University: professors and students were forced from their positions and one of them, the Professor for Indo-Germanic studies Hermann Jacobsohn, committed suicide as a result. Doctoral dissertations by Jews were declared invalid, and not only during the war did the Marburg University Library also profit from the large scale theft of books by the National Socialists. The Faculty of Theology, especially Hans von Soden and Rudolf Bultmann, opposed the Aryan paragraphs and supported the Confessional Church. By the spring semester of 1931 A.D. the Nazi Student Organization had already obtained a majority in the Marburg student Senate so that an authoritarian ideologized university was no longer able to perform at a high level in terms of scholarly and scientific performance, and with the outbreak of the the Second World War these developments worsened.

Marburg University endured the war largely unscathed. Already in September 1945 A.D., the University re-opened: as in case elsewhere, coming to terms with National Socialism was part of the background to the student movement in the late Sixties. Then the Marxist political scientist Wolfgang Abendroth had a tremendous amount of scholarly and political appeal: he contributed to Marburg's reputation as a 'red university', meanwhile the Philipps-Universität Marburg was also developing into a modern university for the masses, with about 10,000 students around 1970 A.D.. Marburg's expansion can be read spatially: numerous new buildings for administration, the humanities institutes and main library were key developments in the 60's. For the natural sciences and medicine, huge buildings were constructed atop the Lahnberge beginning in 1970 A.D., including the University Clinic.

That period had a profound effect on the university's history: there was a fundamental re-organization. The position of Rector was eliminated and replaced by a President. The faculties, which had now reached 5 in number, were dissolved and replaced by 21 departments. The so-called 'Bologna Process', the privatization of the Clinic and new plans for construction, both atop the Lahnberge and also in the Lahn River Valley, have introduced yet another tempestuous phase of the university's development, with no end or results in sight. The university currently has 16 departments and over 22,500 students.

The guiding principle of Marburg University is the combination of basic research, future-oriented practical application and education in a wide range of subjects: it offers excellent teaching and addresses the important issues of our time with exceptional research across the full spectrum of science. In Marburg, ideas and solutions for the world of tomorrow are created in 16 departments, 12 overarching research centers and the University Hospital, thereby fostering a living exchange across disciplinary and generational boundaries. The culture of Marburg University is characterized by action based on trust and responsibility and fosters the community appreciation of, for, and by all university members. Researchers and Scientists, faculty and staff and students make up the university.

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