University of Leipzig, Leipzig

Leipzig University is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest in Germany, maintaining continuous operation since its founding on December 2, 1409. Established by Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, and his brother William II, Margrave of Meissen, the university originally comprised the four traditional scholastic faculties and was modeled after the University of Prague. This historic institution has been a center of teaching and research for over 600 years, with a legacy that includes ten Nobel laureates, such as Svante Pääbo, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2022.

Leipzig University has a rich history of notable alumni, including prominent figures such as Angela Merkel, Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Leopold von Ranke, Friedrich Nietzsche, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Tycho Brahe, and Georgius Agricola. The university has been an influential center of learning since its inception, with its first rector being Johannes Otto von Münsterberg.

Leipzig University has a history of progressive academic policies. It was among the first German universities to admit women as guest students, a milestone recognized by the General German Women's Association in 1873, the same year Johanna von Evreinov became Germany's first woman to earn a JD. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the university also became a key educational center for state administrators and elites from newly independent Balkan states, hosting over 5,500 students from Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia between 1859 and 1909.

Leipzig University’s urban campus includes 38 locations throughout Leipzig, with its main buildings in the city center on original land from 1409. Reconstructed in 2005 with designs by Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat, the campus houses the University Library, archives, museums, and the university hospital. Notable sites include the Leipzig Botanical Garden, established in 1542 as Europe’s second-oldest, and the Musical Instrument Museum, which features one of only three surviving pianos by Bartolomeo Cristofori, the piano's inventor. The university remains a prominent academic landmark with a rich legacy.