University of Graz

University of Graz
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Established	1585
Type	Public
Rector	Christa Neuper
Admin. staff	3,000
Students	22,000
Location	Graz, Styria, Austria
Affiliations	Coimbra Group, Utrecht Network
Website	http://www.uni-graz.at

The University of Graz (German, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz), a university located in Graz, Austria, is the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria.

Karl-Franzens-Universität, also referred to as the University of Graz, is the city's oldest university, founded in 1585 by Archduke Charles II of Austria. For most of its existence it was controlled by the Catholic Church, and was closed in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II in an attempt to gain state control over educational institutions. Joseph II transformed it into a lyceum where civil servants and medical personnel were trained. In 1827 it was re-instituted as a university by Emperor Francis I, thus gaining the name Karl-Franzens-Universität, meaning Charles Francis University. Over 22,000 students are currently enrolled at this university.

Ludwig Boltzmann was professor at the Karl-Franzens Universität twice (1869–1873 and 1876–1890) developing his statistical theory of heat. Nobel Laureate Otto Loewi taught at the University of Graz from 1909 until 1938. Victor Franz Hess (Nobel prize 1936) graduated in Graz and taught here (1920–1931, 1937–1938). Erwin Schrödinger was briefly chancellor of the University of Graz in 1936.

With the establishment of the Department for Slovene language and literature at the University of Graz, foundations were set for the Slovenian university-level Slovene studies.

Nobel prize laureates

• Walther Nernst, 1920 in chemistry - studied in Graz in 1886
• Fritz Pregl, 1923 in chemistry – in Graz 1913 to 1930
• Julius Wagner von Jauregg, 1927 in medicine – in Graz 1889 to 1893
• Erwin Schrödinger, 1933 in physics– in Graz 1936 to 1938
• Otto Loewi, 1936 in medicine – in Graz 1909 to 1938
• Victor Franz Hess, 1936 in physics – studied in Graz 1893-1906 and taught 1919 to 1931 as well as 1937 to 1938
• Gerty Cori, 1947 in medicine - in Graz before 1922
• Ivo Andric, 1961 in literature – received his doctorate in Graz in 1924
• Karl von Frisch, 1973 in medicine – in Graz 1946 to 1950

Other well-known professors

• Rudolf von Jaksch, taught pediatrics 1887-1899
• Ludwig Gumplowicz, taught administration 1897-1909
• Ludwig Karl Schmarda, founder of the school's Zoological Museum (circa 1851)
• Ludwig Boltzmann, professor of Mathematical Physics 1869 to 1873 and Physics 1876 to 1890
• Hermann Beitzke, pathologist, professor at Graz from 1922 to 1941
• Alexius Meinong, philosopher, founder of the Graz School of phenomenology
• Ernst Mally, philosopher, founder of Deontic logic
• Roland Scholl, chemist, professor at the university for some time between 1907–1914
• Joseph Schumpeter, economist, later teaching at Harvard University, in Graz 1912 to 1914
• Leopold Biwald, professor of Physics, late 18th century

Famous alumni

• Gabriel Anton, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist
• Count Anton Alexander von Auersperg, Austrian poet and politician
• Milko Brezigar, Yugoslav economist
• Safet Butka, Albanian politician
• Izidor Cankar, Slovenian art historian and Yugoslav diplomat
• Etbin Henrik Costa, Slovenian politician
• Monika Fludernik, Austrian literary scholar
• Karl Gurakuqi, Albanian linguist and folklorist

• Juraj Habdelić, Croatian writer
• Emil Johann Lambert Heinricher, Austrian botanist
• Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, Archbishop of Athens
• Ernst Kaltenbrunner, prominent Austrian Nazi official
• Janko Kersnik, Slovenian writer
• Ferdinand Konščak, Jesuit missionary and cartographer
• Karel Lavrič, Slovenian politician
• Franc Miklošič, Austrian-Slovene linguist
• Heinz Oberhummer, Austrian physicist
• Vladimir Šubic, Slovenian architect
• Lovro Toman, Slovenian politician
• Franz Unger, Austrian paleontologist
• Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austro-Ukrainian journalist and writer of Masochism
• Gregory Weeks, jurist and historian
• Milan Zver, Slovenian sociologist and politician

Organization

Currently, the university is divided into six different faculties. The faculties of medicine and engineering were extracted from the university years ago and have since been managed as independent universities. The remaining faculties of the University of Graz are:

• the Faculty of Arts and Humanities
• the Faculty of Law
• the Faculty of Natural Sciences
• the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences
• the Faculty of Environmental and Regional Sciences and Education
• the Faculty of Catholic Theology

See also

• University Library of Graz
• List of colleges and universities
• List of early modern universities in Europe
• Utrecht Network

Further studies

• Walter Höflechner, Geschichte der Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz von den Anfängen bis in das Jahr 2005, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, 2006. ISBN ISBN 3-7011-0058-6.

External links

• University of Graz Website (German) (English)
• Video portrait of University of Graz
• Coimbra Group (a network of European universities)
• Study in Austria: A Guide
• Institute of Geography and Regional Science - Karl-Franzens University Graz
• University of Graz - History from the Catholic Encyclopedia
• Pictures from Graz