Ruprecht-Karls-Universität

Heidelberg University was founded in 1386 by Elector Ruprecht I of the Palatinate. It is the oldest university in Germany. Its 600-year history is littered with both triumph and disaster. By the second half of the 16th century, the university had become one of the most important centres of the Reformation and of Calvinism. However, wars in the 17th century led to the destruction of first the university library – the unique Bibliotheca Palatina - and later of all the other buildings.

In 1803, Elector Karl Friedrich von Baden revised the university’s statutes and laid the foundation for what would become one of the outstanding academic centres of the late 19th century. The name of the university – Ruprecht-Karls-Universität – thus commemorates its two founders.

Today the university has more than 27,000 students, including about 5,600 international students, and is an important centre of modern research and teaching in Germany. The 12 university faculties encompass a wide variety of subjects in the humanities, sciences and medicine. Engineering and agriculture are not offered at Heidelberg.