University of Jena

Organization

The University is organised into ten Faculties

• Theology
• Law
• Economics and Business Administration
• Philosophy
• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Mathematics and Computer Science
• Physics and Astronomy
• Chemical and Earth Sciences
• Biology and Pharmacy
• Medicine

History

In 1547 the elector John Frederick the Magnanimous of Saxony, while a captive in the hands of the emperor Charles V, conceived the plan of founding a university at Jena, which was accordingly established by his three sons. After having obtained a charter from the emperor Ferdinand I, it was inaugurated on February 2, 1558.

Prior to the 20th century, University enrollment peaked in the 18th century. The universities reputation peaked under the auspices of duke Charles Augustus, Goethe's patron (1787–1806), when Gottlieb Fichte, Georg Hegel, Friedrich Schelling, Friedrich von Schlegel and Friedrich Schiller were on its teaching staff.

Founded as a home for the new religious opinions of the sixteenth century, it has ever been in the forefront of German universities for political radicalism. More than any other German university, Jena carried out what were popularly regarded as the characteristics of German student life—duelling and the passion for Freiheit. At the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, the opening of new universities, along with the suspicions of the various German governments as to the democratic opinions which obtained at Jena, militated against the university, which remained unpopular until recent times.

In 1905 it was attended by about 1100 students, and its teaching staff (including privatdozenten) numbered 112. Amongst its numerous auxiliaries are the library, with 200,000 volumes; the observatory; the meteorological institute; the botanical garden; the seminaries of theology, philology, and education; and the well-equipped clinical, anatomical, and physical institutes.

During the 20th century, the cooperation between Zeiss corperation, and the univeristy brought new prosperity and attention to Jena, resulting in a dramatic increase in funding and enrollment.

Notable alumni

• Karl Marx (dissertation only, 1840)

Reference

• This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.

External Links

Referenced By