JGU History
A look into the history of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
With the opening of the University of Mainz in 1477, the Archbishop of Mainz, Elector and Chancellor of the German Nation, Diether von Isenburg, realized the dream of his predecessor. His actions were absolutely in line with the spirit of the time, as regional universities had already been founded in almost all of the larger territorial states.
In Mainz, theology, medicine, and Church and Roman law were taught in addition to the seven liberal arts, i.e. grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. This range of subjects was a quite unique feature at the time, because most European universities offered only one or two of these "higher faculties."
Highly renowned already in the year 1508
The University of Mainz flourished. In its first few decades, the number of students rose to about 200. And in 1508, Mainz University was already “highly renowned,” as Petrus Ravenna chronicled. However, repeated attempts at reform – in 1523, 1535, and 1541 – reflect that the university already experienced its first crisis, caused primarily by its inadequate economic foundation. Moreover, the Protestant Reformation began to take shape and did not fail to leave its mark on the city of Mainz.
By opening a Jesuit college in 1561, the Archbishop of Mainz pursued several goals. So he undertook great educational effort to aid the Catholic Counter-Reformation and helped to renew and stabilize the university. He succeeded in doing so not only in the field of theology but also in the field of medicine. In the end, there was even need of a new building: the Domus Universitatis was built between 1615 and 1618. Today the historical building hosts the university's School of Journalism and the Institute of European History.
In Mainz, as elsewhere, the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) resulted in a significant decline in the number of students. When Swedish troops occupied the city, the members of Mainz University went into “exile” to Cologne, for example, where they continued teaching. After the war, the University of Mainz was only slow to recover.
Secure economic foundation
Following the suppression of the Jesuit Order in 1773, its Mainz college was disbanded that same year. This required another reform of the university statutes. Finally in 1781, the Mainz University Foundation Fund was established creating a secure economic foundation for the university. Moreover, Mainz University now extended its range of subjects and disciplines. Its new Faculty of Historical Statistics focused on various aspects within the field of history as well as on governance, public policy, and statistics. A Faculty of Cameralistics was set up, which included, for example, teaching in mathematics, botany, and veterinary treatment of livestock. Just as in the beginnings, the curriculum also included theology and medicine. This broad range of subjects attracted up to 700 students to come to Mainz in the next few years. At that time, Mainz University was shaped by the Enlightenment and was home to probably one of the best-known scholars of the old university: Georg Forster, who worked as head librarian at the University of Mainz. The flourishing Mainz University from this period served as a model for a great number of other important European universities.
The French Revolution (1789-1799) left many traces in Mainz. In its wake, the first republic on German soil was founded in 1792. Teaching at Mainz University, however, ceased due to the wars and permanent unrest, the conquest and recapture of the city of Mainz. The Faculty of Medicine held on to the end and awarded its doctorates right until 1818, but had to close five years later.
Only the Mainz University Foundation Fund, a Catholic seminary, and the Mainz "Accouchement," a school for midwives founded in 1784, continued to exist over time, preserving a little of the university’s tradition until its reopening in 1946. Before that date, there had been continual discussions about reestablishing the entire university-level teaching operation, but all these plans failed due to a lack of financing.
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
On May 15, 1946, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz resumed its teaching activities under its new name. A total of 2,088 students were enrolled in the opening semester and, for the first time in history, female students were admitted too. Teaching in the natural sciences began in the 1946/47 winter semester and increased the number of students to 4,205.
With the university reopening right after World War II, the French military government sought to make a contribution to educating Germans in a “new spirit.” The new Mainz University was located in former military barracks, which were the foundation of our modern international campus university. Since the JGU campus is located somewhat distant from the Mainz city center, the university has always organized a variety of outreach activities which have resulted in a unique portfolio of formats aiming at the public understanding of science. Activities include, for example, science festivals, researchers’ nights, expositions, and public lectures on the Gutenberg campus as well as in downtown cultural institutions such as the Mainz State Theater or the city’s various museums.
In the following decades, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz experienced a continuous growth in its number of students and the range of disciplines offered. In 2011, for example, JGU counted about 37,000 students from 130 nations and offered 145 different subjects, organized in 119 Bachelor’s and 96 Master’s degree programs. Being a comprehensive university, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz covers almost all academic disciplines, encompassing the Mainz University Medical Center, the Mainz School of Music, and the Mainz Academy of Arts – a rare but beneficial kind of organization within the German landscape of higher education.
The JGU General Studies program, the International Summer Course, the Faculty of Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies in Germersheim, and the university’s numerous international partnerships are fine examples of the goals set by reopening the university. The continued existence of the faculties of Catholic and Protestant theology, the very name of the university, and many street names on campus still forge links between the “old” and the “new” university. Thus, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz can draw on many fine and honored traditions and understands their present-day obligations, as set forth in the JGU Mission Statement.
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is devoted to the spirit of its namesake – fostering innovative ideas, moving people’s minds, and employing knowledge in order to transcend borders. This university-wide philosophy of an active management of change is reflected in the very title of its Institutional Strategy: "THE GUTENBERG SPIRIT: Moving Minds – Crossing Boundaries."
