The Agricultural University of Berlin (german: Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule Berlin) was an agricultural university in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, Germany. Established in 1881, it was closed in 1934, and incorporated as a faculty into the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

History

Academic teaching in agricultural science began in Germany only after the publishing of ''Grundsätze der deutschen Landwirtschaft'' (Principles of the German Agriculture) by

Johann Beckmann Johann Beckmann (1739–1811) was a German scientific author and coiner of the word technology, to mean the science of trades. He was the first man to teach technology and write about it as an academic subject. Life He was born on 4 June 1739 at ...

(1739–1811) in 1779. After the foundation of the first agricultural institute in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

, establishment of several educational institutions in this field followed in Germany. Mid-1860s, the then

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n Minister of Agriculture, Count Heinrich Friedrich August von Itzenplitz (1799-1883), set up an agricultural institute in Berlin, which was subordinated to the Ministry, and was affiliated to the university. The institute was initially housed in a private home in the Behrensstraße, and then moved to the Dorotheenstraße in 1873. On 14 February 1881, the Royal Agricultural University (Königliche Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule) was founded by combining the institute and an 1867–established agricultural museum. The university moved in a monumental three-storey building in the

Invalidenstraße The Invalidenstraße is a street in Berlin, Germany. It runs east to west for through the districts of Mitte and Moabit. The street originally connected three important railway stations in the northern city centre: the Stettiner Bahnhof (today N ...

adjacent to the building of Chemical Institute. In 1906, the university was divided in three faculties or departments for agriculture,

geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equival ...

and agricultural commerce. In 1929, the university expanded with the foundation of the Department of

Horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, the first of its sort in Germany. Curriculum was in agriculture, agricultural technology, natural science, political science and jurisprudence. Graduates were awarded the title "Diplom-Landwirt" ( B.Sc.

Agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

). The possibility of carrying out doctoral studies was offered as well. Although the name of the university was changed to Agricultural University of Berlin (Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule Berlin) with the fall of the monarchy in Germany by November 1918, the scientific teaching and research continued. Finally in 1934 following the Nazi regime's takeover, the Agricultural University of Berlin was closed and incorporated as a Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture (german: Landwirtschaftlich-Gärtnerische Fakultät) at the Frederick William University of Berlin, which was later renamed to

(german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin). After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Humboldt University and so the faculty fell to

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...

in the territory of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

-controlled

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

. Following the

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, the Institute of Farming (german: Hochschulinstitut für Landbau) at the

Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

was incorporated into the Faculty of Agriculture at the Humboldt University in 1992, which was renamed to Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture (Landwirtschaftlich-Gärtnerische Fakultät) in 1993. Since its founding in 1881, the university was also home to the collections of the former Berlin Agricultural Museum.

Building

The three-storey building was constructed between 1876–1880. It is part of a three-building complex designed by August Tiede (1834–1911) on the ground of the Royal Iron Foundry (Königliche Eisengießerei) at Neuer Tor in Berlin. The two other buildings in the group house the

Museum für Naturkunde The Natural History Museum (german: Museum für Naturkunde) is a natural history museum located in Berlin, Germany. It exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history and in such domain it is one of three major muse ...

(Museum für Naturkunde) and the Geological Institute and Mining Academy (Geologische Landesanstalt und Bergakademie). The building is decorated with a stone facade in the

Renaissance Revival architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

(Neo-Renaissance). The windows are all round-arched and only the top floor windows are separated by

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s. The building is today a listed one. The marble busts in the foyer feature the agronomist

Albrecht Daniel Thaer Albrecht Daniel Thaer (; 14 May 1752 – 26 October 1828) was a German agronomist and a supporter of the humus theory for plant nutrition. Biography Family and early life Albrecht Daniel Thaer was born in Celle, a neat little town in Hanove ...

(1752–1828), the economist

Johann Heinrich von Thünen Johann Heinrich von Thünen (24 June 1783 – 22 September 1850), sometimes spelled Thuenen, was a prominent nineteenth century economist and a native of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, now in northern Germany.He "ranks alongside Marx as the greatest Ge ...

(1783–1850), the agricultural policymaker Hugo Thiel (1839–1918) and the

agricultural machinery Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the countless kinds of farm implements that ...

manufacturer Heinrich Ferdinand Eckert (1819–1875). On the left wand of the foyer, an artwork made of 30 tiles shows the model plantation of Thaer in Möglin. Inside the building, there is an

atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...

of , one of the biggest in Berlin. In the middle of the inner court, a monument of Thaer is erected, created and began by

Christian Daniel Rauch Christian Daniel Rauch (2 January 1777 – 3 December 1857) was a German sculptor. He founded the Berlin school of sculpture, and was the foremost German sculptor of the 19th century. Life Rauch was born at Arolsen in the Principality of ...

(1777–1857) and later completed by

Hugo Hagen Hugo Hagen (1818 – 14 April 1871, Berlin) was a German sculptor. Life He was a student of Ludwig Wilhelm Wichmann. From 1842 to 1857, he was an assistant in the studios of Christian Daniel Rauch, where he contributed to creating the statu ...

(1818–1871). A sculpture of the Royal Iron Foundry features the rural life.

Faculty

Carl von Münstermann Carl von Münstermann (December 20, 1843 in Werne - 20 September 1930 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf) was a German engineer and land improvement officer. He was a professor of culture and technology at the Agricultural University of Berlin The Agricul ...

(1843–1930), professor of culture and technology

References

{{authority control Humboldt University of Berlin Educational institutions established in 1881 1881 establishments in Germany Educational institutions disestablished in 1934 1934 disestablishments in Germany Defunct universities and colleges in Germany Renaissance Revival architecture in Germany School buildings completed in 1880 Agricultural universities and colleges in Germany