A Landsmannschaft (; Latin ''natio'', plural nationes) is a German fraternity of several fraternity forms called ''

Studentenverbindung (; often referred to as Verbindung) is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousan ...

''. The older forms of ''Landsmannschaften'' were part of corporations and are closely aligned with the beginnings of

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in medieval times of the 12th and 13th centuries. The newer forms of ''Landsmannschaften'' are a kind of reform corps and most ''Landsmannschaften'' are members of the Coburger Convent. This is also the term for a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

burial society A burial society is a type of benefit/friendly society. These groups historically existed in England and elsewhere, and were constituted for the purpose of providing by voluntary subscriptions for the funeral expenses of the husband, wife or child ...

landsmanshaft A landsmanshaft ( yi, לאַנדסמאַנשאַפט, also landsmanschaft; plural: landsmanshaftn) is a mutual aid society, benefit society, or hometown society of Jewish immigrants from the same European town or region. History The Landsmanshaf ...

History

In order to understand the history of German fraternities, it needs to be known that the first universities in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

were established in the 12th and 13th century in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

and

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

), and later also in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

(

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

). Students joined groups in regards to region in order to have protection as well as support in being heard in their interests. The two early forms were called

nations A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by t ...

(Nationes) or

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

s (Collegien) and organized not only the work but also social life and had major influence in universities as they elected the head of a university (magister) in some areas. ''Landsmannschaften'' formerly had the character of

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

s. They were loosely organized bodies of students from the same region or nation naturally enough drawn together by their longings for companionship. A good example is the ''Mosellanerlandsmannschaft'' of the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

. It contained members from the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

, Palatinate, Swabia, and

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. The purposes of the organizations in general were: # to encourage friendship; # to compel the adjustment of difficulties arising among members; # to protect a “brother member” against slander or other attack from outsiders; # to share in social enjoyments; # to perform friendly services for one another; # to yield to the will of the majority; # to obey the president as long as he directs for the best interests of the organization. By 1786, this code had grown to 86 paragraphs.This article incorporates text from a work in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

: A

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

reader. The notes are in English for the most part. The copy at archive.org is missing some pages of the notes.

Notable members

Karl von Bardeleben Karl von Bardeleben (7 March 1849 – 19 December 1919) was a German anatomist born in Giessen. He was the son of surgeon Heinrich Adolf von Bardeleben (1819–1895). He received his education at the Universities of Greifswald, Heidelberg, B ...

* Johann Becker (politician) *

Heinrich Biltz Heinrich Biltz (26 May 1865 – 29 October 1943) was a German chemist and professor. Life and career Heinrich Biltz was the son of Karl Friedrich Biltz who was a literary scholar and theatre critic His brother Wilhelm Biltz was also a not ...

Peter Harry Carstensen Peter Harry Carstensen (born 12 March 1947) is a German politician, in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party. From 2005 to 2012 he was Minister President of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, serving as President of the Bundesrat in 2005/ ...

* Johannes Conrad * Christian August Crusius *

Thomas Dehler Thomas Dehler (14 December 1897 – 21 July 1967) was a German politician. He was the Federal Republic of Germany's first Minister of Justice (1949–1953) and chairman of Free Democratic Party (1954–1957). Early life Dehler was born in Lic ...

Wilhelm Dörpfeld Wilhelm Dörpfeld (26 December 1853 – 25 April 1940) was a German architect and archaeologist, a pioneer of stratigraphic excavation and precise graphical documentation of archaeological projects. He is famous for his work on Bronze Age site ...

* Rolf Emmrich * Paul Flechsig * Levin Goldschmidt * Ernst Haeckel *

Otto Hahn Otto Hahn (; 8 March 1879 – 28 July 1968) was a German chemist who was a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is referred to as the father of nuclear chemistry and father of nuclear fission. Hahn and Lise Meitner ...

Herbert Haupt Herbert Haupt (born 28 September 1947) is an Austrian politician and former party chairman of the Austrian Freedom Party. Born in Seeboden, Carinthia, and a veterinarian by training, he was federal Minister of Social Services from 2000 till 20 ...

Oscar Hertwig Oscar Hertwig (21 April 1849 in Friedberg – 25 October 1922 in Berlin) was a German embryologist and zoologist known for his research in developmental biology and evolution. Hertwig is credited as the first man to observe sexual reproduction ...

Gottlob Honold 220px, Gottlob Honold 1910 Gottlob Honold (26 August 1876 – 17 March 1923) was the leading engineer in the workshop of Robert Bosch and, with Bosch, was the inventor of the spark plug and the modern internal combustion engine, as well as headli ...

Theodor Koch-Grunberg Theodor Koch-Grünberg (April 9, 1872, in Grünberg, Hesse, German Empire – October 8, 1924, in Caracaraí, Brazil) was a German ethnologist and explorer who made a valuable contribution to the study of the Indigenous peoples in South America, i ...

Friedrich August Körnicke Friedrich August Körnicke (29 January 1828 – 16 January 1908) was a German agronomist and botanist born in Pratau (now a part of Wittenberg, Saxony-Anhalt). He was the father of agricultural botanist Max Koernicke (1874–1955). Körnic ...

Georg Kükenthal Georg Kükenthal (30 March 1864 in Weißenfels – 20 October 1955 in Coburg) was a German pastor and botanist who specialized in the field of caricology. He was the brother of zoologist Willy Kükenthal (1861–1922). From 1882 to 1885 he studi ...

Hermann Löns Hermann Löns (29 August 1866 – 26 September 1914) was a German journalist and writer. He is most famous as "The Poet of the Heath" for his novels and poems celebrating the people and landscape of the North German moors, particularly the L ...

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

Franz Melde Franz Emil Melde (March 11, 1832 in Großenlüder near Fulda – March 17, 1901 in Marburg) was a German physicist and professor. A graduate of the University of Marburg under Christian Ludwig Gerling, he later taught there, focusing primar ...

* Ernst von Mohl * Gottfried Münzenberg *

Günther Oettinger Günther Hermann Oettinger (born 15 October 1953) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources from 2017 to 2019, as European Commissioner for Digit ...

* Hermann Oncken * Josef Priller *

Johannes Rehmke Johannes Rehmke (1 February 1848 – 23 December 1930) was a German philosopher and since 1885 professor at Greifswald University, later also provost of this university. He offered sharp criticisms of Immanuel Kant's approach to epistemology. In h ...

Walter Reppe Walter Julius Reppe (29 July 1892 in Göringen – 26 July 1969 in Heidelberg) was a German chemist. He is notable for his contributions to the chemistry of acetylene. Education and career Walter Reppe began his study of the natural sciences ...

* Heinrich Sahm *

Ferdinand Sauerbruch Ernst Ferdinand Sauerbruch (; 3 July 1875 – 2 July 1951) was a German surgeon. His major work was on the use of negative-pressure chambers for surgery. Biography Sauerbruch was born in Barmen (now a district of Wuppertal), Germany. He ...

Clemens Schmalstich Clemens Carl Otto Schmalstich (8 October 1880, Posen – 15 July 1960, Berlin) was a German composer, conductor, and Nazi politician. Life Born on 8 October 1880 in Posen, Clemens Carl-Otto Schmalstich was originally a student attending the Posen ...

Ferdinand Schneider Ferdinand Gottlob Schneider (18 June 1911 – 11 May 1984) was a German chemist. Schneider was born in Backnang in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He studied at the University of Tübingen, Freiburg and Munich (Ph.D. 1934) and subsequently held the ...

Joseph Schröter Joseph Schröter (14 March 1837 – 12 December 1894) was a noted German mycologist, doctor and scientist. He wrote several books and texts, and discovered and described many species of flora and fungi. He also spent around fifteen years, from 187 ...

* Ludwig Schwamb * Ernst Siehr * Wilhelm Sievers * Hans-Heinrich Sievert *

Wilhelm Solf Wilhelm Heinrich Solf (5 October 1862 – 6 February 1936) was a German scholar, diplomat, jurist and statesman. Early life Solf was born into a wealthy and liberal family in Berlin. He attended secondary schools in Anklam, western Pomerania, an ...

Heinrich Spoerl Heinrich Christian Johann Spoerl (; 1887–1955) was a German author. Biography Spoerl was born on 8 February 1887 in Düsseldorf, where he also grew up. He studied jurisprudence in Marburg, Berlin and Munich and was a solicitor in Düsseldorf fr ...

Johannes Steinhoff Johannes "Macky" Steinhoff (15 September 1913 – 21 February 1994) was a Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II, German general, and NATO official. He was one of very few Luftwaffe pilots who survived to fly operationally through the whole ...

* Theodor Thierfelder *

Wilhelm Trübner Wilhelm Trübner (February 3, 1851 – December 21, 1917) was a German realist painter of the circle of Wilhelm Leibl. Biography Trübner was born in Heidelberg. He was the third son of a silver- and goldsmith, Johann Georg Trübner, and h ...

Rainer Wieland Rainer Wieland (born 19 February 1957 in Stuttgart) is a German politician and member of the European Parliament for Germany. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union, part of the European People's Party. He has been a member of the Europ ...

* Alexander von Zagareli

References

External links

Homepage of "Landsmannschaft Ulmia Tübingen"
Student societies in Germany {{youth-org-stub

History

Notable members

See also

References

External links