The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

research university located in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich history, the university has developed into one of the largest universities in Europe, and also one of the most renowned, especially in the

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

. It is associated with 21

Nobel prize winners The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

and has been the academic home to many scholars of historical as well as of academic importance.

History

From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment

The university was founded on March 12, 1365, by

Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria Rudolf IV (1 November 1339 – 27 July 1365), also called Rudolf the Founder (german: der Stifter), was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria (self-proclaimed archduke), Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count ...

, hence the name "Alma Mater Rudolphina". After the Charles University in Prague and Jagiellonian University in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, the University of Vienna is the third oldest university in Central Europe and the oldest university in the contemporary German-speaking world; it remains a question of definition as the Charles University in Prague was German-speaking when founded, too. However,

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V ( la, Urbanus V; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the ...

did not ratify the deed of foundation that had been sanctioned by Rudolf IV, specifically in relation to the department of theology. This was presumably due to pressure exerted by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, who wished to avoid competition for the Charles University in Prague. The pope later granted an endowment to the university in 1365, while papal assent was finally received in 1384. This led to the University of Vienna and its Faculty of Catholic Theology being granted the status of a full university. The first university building opened in 1385. It grew into the biggest university of the Holy Roman Empire, and during the advent of Humanism in the mid-15th century was home to more than 6,000 students. In its early years, the university had a partly hierarchical, partly cooperative structure, in which the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

was at the top, while the students had little said and were settled at the bottom. The Magister and

Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

s constituted the four faculties and elected the academic officials from amidst their ranks. The students, but also all other Supposita (university members), were divided into four Academic Nations. Their elected board members, mostly graduates themselves, had the right to elect the Rector. He presided over the Consistory which included procurators of each of the nations and the faculty deans, as well as over the University Assembly, in which all university teachers participated. Complaints or appeals against decisions of faculty by the students had to be brought forward by a Magister or Doctor. Being considered a Papal Institution, the university suffered quite a setback during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. In addition, epidemics, economic stagnation and the first Siege of Vienna by Ottoman forces had devastating effects on the city, leading to a sharp decline in enrollment. For Emperor Ferdinand I, this meant that the university should be tied to the church to an even stronger degree, and in 1551 he installed the Jesuit Order there. As time went on, conflicts between the Jesuit school and the university arose. This led Emperor Ferdinand II, in 1623, to pass a law that incorporated the Jesuit College into the university. It was only in the mid-18th century that the Jesuits lost influence over the university and when Empress Maria Theresa ensured that the university went under the control of the monarchy. The university would later focus on the education of physicians and civil servants. Her successor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

continued her reforms and further liberalized the university, abolishing official attire and allowing both Protestants and Jews to enroll by 1782, as well as introducing German as the compulsory language of instruction the year later.

From the 19th century onwards

Big changes were instituted in the wake of the Revolution in 1848, with the Philosophical Faculty being upgraded into equal status as Theology, Law and Medicine. Led by the reforms of Leopold, Count von Thun und Hohenstein, the university was able to achieve a larger degree of academic freedom. The current main building on the

Ringstraße The Vienna Ring Road (german: Ringstraße, lit. ''ring road'') is a 5.3 km (3.3 mi) circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic Innere Stadt (Inner Town) district of Vienna, Austria. The road is located on sites where ...

was built between 1877 and 1884 by

Heinrich von Ferstel Freiherr Heinrich von Ferstel (7 July 1828 14 July 1883) was an Austrian architect and professor, who played a vital role in building late 19th-century Vienna. Life The son of Ignaz Ferstel (17961866), a bank clerk and later director of the ...

. The previous main building was located close to the ''Stuben'' Gate (Stubentor) on Iganz Seipel Square, current home of the old University Church (''Universitätskirche'') and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (''Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften''). Women were admitted as full students from 1897, although their studies were limited to Philosophy. The remaining departments gradually followed suit, although with considerable delay: Medicine in 1900, Law in 1919,

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Theology in 1923 and finally

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Theology in 1946. Ten years after the admission of the first female students, Elise Richter became the first woman to receive '' habilitation'', becoming professor of

Romance Languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...

in 1907; she was also the first female distinguished professor. Students riot at the University of Vienna after Nazi attempt to prevent Jews from entering the university

Students riot at the University of Vienna after Nazi attempt to prevent Jews from entering the university

In the late 1920s, the university was in steady turmoil because of anti-democratic and anti-Semitic activity by parts of the student body. Professor

Moritz Schlick Friedrich Albert Moritz Schlick (; ; 14 April 1882 – 22 June 1936) was a German philosopher, physicist, and the founding father of logical positivism and the Vienna Circle. Early life and works Schlick was born in Berlin to a wealthy Prussian f ...

was killed by a former student while ascending the steps of the university for a class. His murderer was later released by the Nazi regime. Following the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, in 1938 the University of Vienna was reformed under political aspects and a huge number of teachers and students were dismissed for political and "racial" reasons. In April 1945, the then 22-year-old Kurt Schubert, later acknowledged doyen of

Judaic Studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (espe ...

at the University of Vienna, was permitted by the Soviet occupation forces to open the university again for teaching, which is why he is regarded as the unofficial first rector in the post-war period. On 25 April 1945, however, the constitutional lawyer Ludwig Adamovich senior was elected as official rector of the University of Vienna. A large degree of participation by students and university staff was realized in 1975, however, the University Reforms of 1993 and 2002 largely re-established the professors as the main decision makers. However, also as part of the 2002 reform, the university, after more than 250 years of being largely under governmental control, finally regained its full legal capacity. The number of faculties and centers was increased to 18, and the whole of the medical faculty separated into the new Medical University of Vienna.

Location

The University of Vienna does not have one single campus. Historically, the university started functioning from the First District near the Jesuit Church. Now, the academic facilities occupy more than sixty locations throughout the city of Vienna. The historical main building on the Ringstraße constitutes the university's centre and is commonly referred to as "die Uni". Most other larger university facilities and lecture halls are located nearby in the area of Vienna's First and Ninth District: the so-called new Lecture Hall Complex (Neues Institutgebäude, NIG), the lecture hall complex Althanstraße (UZA), the campus on the premises of the Historical General Hospital of Vienna, the Faculty of Law (Juridicum) and others. The

Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna The Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna is a botanical garden in Vienna, Austria. It covers 8 hectares and is immediately adjacent to the Belvedere gardens. It is a part of the University of Vienna. The gardens date back to 1754 when Em ...

is housed in the Third District, as are the Department of Biochemistry and related research centres. Also worth mentioning is the

Vienna Observatory The Vienna Observatory (german: Universitätssternwarte Wien) is an astronomical observatory in Vienna, Austria. It is part of the University of Vienna. The first observatory was built in 1753–1754 on the roof of one of the university buildings ...

, which belongs to the university, and the Institute for University Sports (USI), which offers training and recreational possibilities to all students of the university. In addition, the University of Vienna maintains facilities outside of Vienna in the Austrian provinces of Lower Austria, Upper Austria, and Carinthia. These are mainly research and experimental departments for Biology, Astrophysics and Sports.

Organization

The University of Vienna, like all universities and academies in Austria, once featured a system of democratic representation. Power in the university was divided equally among three groups: students (the largest group), junior faculty and full professors. All groups had the right to send representatives to boards, who then voted on almost every issue. From 2002 on, the government of Austria, headed by chancellor

Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel (; born 7 June 1945) is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in conte ...

, reformed the university system, transforming the institutions into legal entities, but also concentrating power in the hands of the full professors. The reform also introduced a board of governors and tuition fees. In 2013, those amounted to about €381 per semester for students from Austria, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

as well as some non-EU countries, while students from developed non-EU countries usually pay double that amount. The reforms also separated the medical departments into separate medical schools, such as the Medical University of Vienna.

Programmes

Students at the university can select from 181 degree programmes: 55 bachelor programmes, 110 master programmes, 3 diploma programs and 13 doctoral programmes. In the academic year 2013/14, the university awarded 7,745 first degrees (Bachelors and Diplomas), 1,424 Master's degrees and 568 Doctoral degrees. The university offers a number of Masters programs in English, including Quantitative Economics, Management and Finance, Science-Technology-Society, Environmental Sciences, Middle European interdisciplinary Master Programme in Cognitive Science, European Master in Health and Physical Activity, English Language and Linguistics, Anglophone Literatures and Cultures, East Asian Economy and Society, Economics, Botany, Ecology and Ecosystems, Molecular Microbiology, Microbial Ecology and Immunobiology, European Master in Urban Studies, Masters in European and International Business Law, Mathematics, etc. Some 6,900 scholars undertake the research and teaching activity of the university. Of these, approximately 1,000 engage actively in projects financed by third parties. The main fields of research at the university cover a wide spectrum of subjects: Catholic and Protestant Theology, Law, Economic Sciences and Computer Science, Philological-Cultural Studies and Historical-Cultural Studies, Social Sciences and Psychology, Life Sciences and Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Sports Sciences and Teacher Education.

Faculties and centres

The University of Vienna consists of 15 faculties and five centres: # Faculty of Catholic Theology # Faculty of

Protestant Theology Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

# Faculty of Law # Faculty of Business, Economics and Statistics (not to be confused with the Vienna University of Economics and Business) # Faculty of

Computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

# Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies # Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies # Faculty of Philosophy and Education # Faculty of Psychology # Faculty of

Social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

# Faculty of Mathematics # Faculty of

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

# Faculty of Chemistry # Faculty of

Earth Sciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

and Astronomy # Faculty of Life sciences # Centre for

Translation studies Translation studies is an academic interdiscipline dealing with the systematic study of the theory, description and application of translation, interpreting, and localization. As an interdiscipline, translation studies borrows much from the vari ...

# Centre for

Sport science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

and University Sports # Centre for

Molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

# Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science # Centre for

Teacher Education Teacher education or teacher training refers to programs, policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, approaches, methodologies and skills they require to perform their t ...

Notable people

Faculty and scholars

Nobel Prize Laureates who taught at the University of Vienna include Robert Bárány, Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Hans Fischer, Karl Landsteiner,

Erwin Schrödinger Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger (, ; ; 12 August 1887 – 4 January 1961), sometimes written as or , was a Nobel Prize-winning Austrian physicist with Irish citizenship who developed a number of fundamental results in quantum theo ...

, Victor Franz Hess, Otto Loewi,

Konrad Lorenz Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (; 7 November 1903 – 27 February 1989) was an Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch. He is often regarde ...

and Friedrich Hayek. The University of Vienna was the cradle of the Austrian School of economics. The founders of this school who studied and later instructed at the University of Vienna included Carl Menger,

Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk Eugen Ritter von Böhm-Bawerk (; born Eugen Böhm, 12 February 185127 August 1914) was an Austrian economist who made important contributions to the development of the Austrian School of Economics and neoclassical economics. He served intermittent ...

Friedrich von Wieser Friedrich Freiherr von Wieser (; 10 July 1851 – 22 July 1926) was an early (so-called "first generation") economist of the Austrian School of economics. Born in Vienna, the son of Privy Councillor Leopold von Wieser, a high official in the war m ...

Joseph Schumpeter Joseph Alois Schumpeter (; February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950) was an Austrian-born political economist. He served briefly as Finance Minister of German-Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at H ...

, Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek. Other famous scholars who have taught at the University of Vienna are:

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of criti ...

Alexander Van der Bellen Alexander Van der Bellen (; born 18 January 1944) is the current president of Austria. He previously served as a professor of economics at the University of Vienna, and after joining politics, as the spokesman of the Austrian Green Party. Va ...

Manfred Bietak Manfred Bietak (born in Vienna, 6 October 1940) is an Austrian archaeologist.Theodor Billroth Christian Albert Theodor Billroth (26 April 18296 February 1894) was a German surgeon and amateur musician. As a surgeon, he is generally regarded as the founding father of modern abdominal surgery. As a musician, he was a close friend and conf ...

Ludwig Boltzmann Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann (; 20 February 1844 – 5 September 1906) was an Austrian physicist and philosopher. His greatest achievements were the development of statistical mechanics, and the statistical explanation of the second law of ther ...

, Ulrich Brand, Franz Brentano, Anton Bruckner, Rudolf Carnap, Conrad Celtes,

Adrian Constantin Adrian Constantin (born 22 April 1970) is a Romanian-Austrian mathematician who does research in the field of nonlinear partial differential equations.Wittgenstein Preis 2020 to Adrian Constantin' Universität Wien: Fakultät für Mathematik, 17 ...

, Viktor Frankl,

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...

, Karl Samuel Grünhut, Eduard Hanslick, Edmund Hauler, Jalile Jalil, Leon Kellner,

Hans Kelsen Hans Kelsen (; ; October 11, 1881 – April 19, 1973) was an Austrian jurist, legal philosopher and political philosopher. He was the author of the 1920 Austrian Constitution, which to a very large degree is still valid today. Due to the rise ...

, Adam František Kollár,

Johann Josef Loschmidt Johann Josef Loschmidt (15 March 1821 – 8 July 1895), who referred to himself mostly as Josef Loschmidt (omitting his first name), was a notable Austrian scientist who performed ground-breaking work in chemistry, physics (thermodynamics, optics, ...

Franz Miklosich Franz Miklosich (german: Franz Ritter von Miklosich, also known in Slovene as ; 20 November 1813 – 7 March 1891) was a Slovene philologist. Early life Miklosich was born in the small village of Radomerščak near the Lower Styrian town of Lju ...

Oskar Morgenstern Oskar Morgenstern (January 24, 1902 – July 26, 1977) was an Austrian-American economist. In collaboration with mathematician John von Neumann, he founded the mathematical field of game theory as applied to the social sciences and strategic decis ...

Otto Neurath Otto Karl Wilhelm Neurath (; 10 December 1882 – 22 December 1945) was an Austrian-born philosopher of science, sociologist, and political economist. He was also the inventor of the ISOTYPE method of pictorial statistics and an innovator in mu ...

, Johann Palisa, Pope Pius II, Karl Popper, Elise Richter,

Baron Carl von Rokitansky Baron Carl von Rokitansky (german: Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, cs, Karel Rokytanský; 19 February 1804 – 23 July 1878) was a Bohemian physician, pathologist, humanist philosopher and liberal politician, founder of the Viennese School of Medi ...

, Rudolf von Scherer,

Peter Schuster Peter K. Schuster (born 7 March 1941) is a theoretical chemist known for his work with the German Nobel Laureate Manfred Eigen in developing the quasispecies model. His work has made great strides in the understanding of viruses and their replica ...

August Schleicher August Schleicher (; 19 February 1821 – 6 December 1868) was a German linguist. His great work was ''A Compendium of the Comparative Grammar of the Indo-European Languages'' in which he attempted to reconstruct the Proto-Indo-European languag ...

, Ludwig Karl Schmarda,

Joseph von Sonnenfels Joseph Freiherr von Sonnenfels (1732 – 25 April 1817) was an Austrian and German jurist and novelist. He was among the leaders of the Illuminati movement in Austria, and a close friend and patron of Mozart. He is also the dedicatee of Ludwig va ...

Josef Stefan Josef Stefan ( sl, Jožef Štefan; 24 March 1835 – 7 January 1893) was an ethnic Carinthian Slovene physicist, mathematician, and poet of the Austrian Empire. Life and work Stefan was born in an outskirt village of St. Peter (Slovene: ; to ...

Olga Taussky-Todd Olga Taussky-Todd (August 30, 1906, Olomouc, Austria-Hungary (present-day Olomouc, Czech Republic) – October 7, 1995, Pasadena, California) was an Austrian and later Czech-American mathematician. She published more than 300 research papers on ...

, Walter G. Url, Leopold Vietoris,

Carl Auer von Welsbach Carl Auer von Welsbach (1 September 1858 – 4 August 1929), who received the Austrian noble title of Freiherr Auer von Welsbach in 1901, was an Austrian scientist and inventor, who separated didymium into the elements neodymium and praseo ...

, and

Wilhelm Winkler Wilhelm Winkler (29 June 1884 – 3 September 1984) had successful careers as both an academic statistician (despite receiving no formal academic training in the field), and a program director in the Austrian government. Biography Early life Wil ...

Alumni

Some of the university's better-known students include:

Kurt Adler Kurt Adler (March 1, 1907September 21, 1977) was an Austrian classical chorus master, music conductor, author and pianist. He was best known as the chorus master and lead conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1943 to 1973. H ...

, Franz Alt, Wilhelm Altar,

Maria Anwander Maria Anwander (born 1980) is an Austrian conceptual artist who specializes in performance and installation art. Her work has been featured in multiple solo exhibitions in Europe and the United States since 2009. Much of her work focuses on challe ...

Bruno Bettelheim Bruno Bettelheim (August 28, 1903 – March 13, 1990) was an Austrian-born psychologist, scholar, public intellectual and writer who spent most of his academic and clinical career in the United States. An early writer on autism, Bettelheim's wor ...

Rudolf Bing Sir Rudolf Bing, KBE (January 9, 1902 – September 2, 1997) was an Austrian-born British opera impresario who worked in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably being General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York ...

, Lucian Blaga, Hedda Bolgar, Josef Breuer,

F. F. Bruce Frederick Fyvie Bruce (12 October 1910 – 11 September 1990), usually cited as F. F. Bruce, was a Scottish biblical scholar who supported the historical reliability of the New Testament. His first book, ''New Testament Documents: Are They ...

, Elias Canetti,

Ivan Cankar Ivan Cankar (, ) (10 May 1876 – 11 December 1918) was a Slovene writer, playwright, essayist, poet, and political activist. Together with Oton Župančič, Dragotin Kette, and Josip Murn, he is considered as the beginner of modernism in Slov ...

Otto Maria Carpeaux Otto Maria Carpeaux (March 9, 1900 – February 3, 1978), born Otto Karpfen, was an Austrian-born Brazilian literary critic and multilingual scholar. Career overview Carpeaux was born Otto Karpfen in 1900 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, to a Jewish f ...

Christian Doppler Christian Andreas Doppler ( (); 29 November 1803 – 17 March 1853) was an Austrian mathematician and physicist. He is celebrated for his principle – known as the Doppler effect – that the observed frequency of a wave depends on the relative ...

, Felix Ehrenhaft, Mihai Eminescu, Stephen Ferguson,

Paul Feyerabend Paul Karl Feyerabend (; January 13, 1924 – February 11, 1994) was an Austrian-born philosopher of science best known for his work as a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked for three decades (195 ...

Heinz Fischer Heinz Fischer Order of Prince Henry, GColIH Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, OMRI Royal Order of the Seraphim, RSerafO Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, GCollSE (; born 9 October 1938) is a former Austrian politician. He took off ...

O. W. Fischer Otto Wilhelm Fischer (german: O. W. Fischer, ; 1 April 1915 – 29 January 2004) was an Austrians, Austrian film and theatre actor, a leading man of Cinema of Germany, West German cinema during the ''Wirtschaftswunder'' era of the 1950s and 19 ...

Ivan Franko Ivan Yakovych Franko (Ukrainian: Іван Якович Франко, pronounced ˈwɑn ˈjɑkowɪtʃ frɐnˈkɔ 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, ...

, Adolf Albrecht Friedländer,

Alcide De Gasperi Alcide Amedeo Francesco De Gasperi (; 3 April 1881 – 19 August 1954) was an Italian politician who founded the Christian Democracy party and served as prime minister of Italy in eight successive coalition governments from 1945 to 1953. De Gas ...

Hilda Geiringer Hilda Geiringer (28 September 1893 – 22 March 1973), also known as Hilda von Mises and Hilda Pollaczek-Geiringer, was an Austrian mathematician. Life Geiringer was born in 1893 in Vienna, Austria into a Jewish family. Her father, Ludwig Geiri ...

, Kurt Gödel, Ernst Gombrich,

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...

, Werner Gruber,

Jörg Haider Jörg Haider (; 26 January 1950 – 11 October 2008) was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of ...

, Hans Hahn, Theodor Herzl,

Hugo von Hofmannsthal Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist. Early life Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, the son of an upper-cl ...

, Edmund Husserl, Marie Jahoda, Max Jammer,

Elfriede Jelinek Elfriede Jelinek (; born 20 October 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She is one of the most decorated authors writing in German today and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-vo ...

Percy Lavon Julian Percy Lavon Julian (April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975) was an American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine and was a pioneer in ...

, Percy Julian, Karl Kautsky, Elisabeth Kehrer, Leon Kellner,

, Hryhoriy Khomyshyn,

Jan Kickert Jan Kickert (born 19 September 1964) is the Austrian Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He was born in Thailand, studied at the University of Vienna and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, and served in a variety of diplomatic and inte ...

, Rudolf Kirchschläger, Arthur Koestler,

Jernej Kopitar Jernej Kopitar, also known as Bartholomeus Kopitar (21 August 1780 – 11 August 1844), was a Slovene linguist and philologist working in Vienna. He also worked as the Imperial censor for Slovene literature in Vienna. He is perhaps best known ...

, Karl Kordesch,

Arnold Krammer Arnold Paul Krammer () was an American historian who specialized in German and United States history and a professor at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He was twice a Fulbright scholar: in 1992–1993, he studied at the Universi ...

, Karl Kraus, Bruno Kreisky, Karl Samuel Grünhut, Anneliese Hitzenberger, Richard Kuhn, Hermann F. Kvergić,

Paul Lazarsfeld Paul Felix Lazarsfeld (February 13, 1901August 30, 1976) was an Austrian-American sociologist. The founder of Columbia University's Bureau of Applied Social Research, he exerted influence over the techniques and the organization of social rese ...

Ignacy Łukasiewicz Jan Józef Ignacy Łukasiewicz (; 8 March 1822 – 7 January 1882) was a Polish pharmacist, engineer, businessman, inventor, and philanthropist. He was one of the most prominent philanthropists in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, crown land o ...

, Gustav Mahler, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Lise Meitner,

Gregor Mendel Gregor Johann Mendel, OSA (; cs, Řehoř Jan Mendel; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was a biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brünn (''Brno''), Margraviate of Moravia. Mendel was ...

Karl Menger Karl Menger (January 13, 1902 – October 5, 1985) was an Austrian-American mathematician, the son of the economist Carl Menger. In mathematics, Menger studied the theory of algebras and the dimension theory of low- regularity ("rough") curves ...

, Franz Mesmer,

, Alois Mock,

Wolf-Dieter Montag Wolf-Dieter Montag (10 December 1924 – 21 July 2018) was a German physician, sports medicine specialist, mountain rescue doctor, and international sports administrator. His medical career spanned 50 years in his native Bavaria, and included be ...

Matija Murko Matija Murko, also known as Mathias Murko (10 February 1861 – 11 February 1952), was a Slovenian scholar, known mostly for his work on oral epic traditions in Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian. Life Murko was born in the small village of Drs ...

, Joachim Oppenheim, Eduard Pernkopf,

Anton Piëch Anton Piëch (; 21 September 1894 – 29 August 1952) was an Austrian-German lawyer and the son-in-law of Ferdinand Porsche. He headed Volkswagenwerk GmbH between 1941 and 1945, which produced the Volkswagen vehicles ('' KdF-Wagen'') at the factor ...

, Pope Pius III, Hans Popper, Karl Popper,

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

, Wilhelm Reich,

Peter Safar Peter Safar (12 April 19242 August 2003) was an Austrian anesthesiology, anesthesiologist of Czechs, Czech descent. He is credited with pioneering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Early life Safar was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1924 into a m ...

, Monika Salzer,

Mordkhe Schaechter Itsye Mordkhe Schaechter ( yi, איציע מרדכי שעכטער; December 1, 1927 – February 15, 2007) was a leading Yiddish language, Yiddish linguist, writer, and educator who spent a lifetime studying, standardizing and teaching the langua ...

, Karl Schenkl,

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. Biography Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarchy ...

, Marianne Schmidl,

Andreas Schnider Andreas Schnider (born 3 December 1959) is an Austrian theologian, academic teacher, author, publisher, consultant and politician of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). He was the leader of the party's regional section Steirische Volkspartei in S ...

, Albin Schram,

John J. Shea, Jr. John Joseph Shea Jr. (September 4, 1924 – February 8, 2015) was an American medical doctor, professor and surgeon. He attended Christian Brothers High School (Memphis, Tennessee), Christian Brothers High School, Memphis, Tennessee, the Uni ...

, Felix Somary,

Adalbert Stifter Adalbert Stifter (; 23 October 1805 – 28 January 1868) was an Austrian writer, poet, painter, and pedagogue. He was notable for the vivid natural landscapes depicted in his writing and has long been popular in the German-speaking world, while ...

, Countess Stoeffel, Yemima Tchernovitz-Avidar,

Eric Voegelin Eric Voegelin (born Erich Hermann Wilhelm Vögelin, ; 1901–1985) was a German-American political philosopher. He was born in Cologne, and educated in political science at the University of Vienna, where he became an associate professor of poli ...

Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (; 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and president of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for t ...

Otto Weininger Otto Weininger (; 3 April 1880 – 4 October 1903) was an Austrian philosopher who lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1903, he published the book ''Geschlecht und Charakter'' (''Sex and Character''), which gained popularity after his suici ...

, Slavko Wolf, Eduard Zirm, Mordecai Sandberg, Calvin Edouard Ward, Paul Niel, Stefan Zweig, and

Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Univ ...

Nobel Prize Laureates

There are total 16

Nobel Prize Laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

s affiliated to the university as follows:

The University Library

The University Library of the University of Vienna comprises the Main Library and the 50 departmental libraries at the various university locations throughout

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The library's primary responsibility is to the members of the university; however, the library's 350 staff members also provide access to the public. Use of the books in the reading halls is open to all persons without the need for identification, which is only required for checking out books. The library's website provides direct access to information such as electronic journals, online indices and databases.

Library history

Rudolf IV had already provided for a ''publica libraria'' in the Foundation Deed of 12 March 1365, where the valuable books bequeathed by deceased members of the university should be collected. Through many legacies, this collection was subsequently greatly increased and became the basis of the old ''Libreye'' that was accommodated in the same building as the student infirmary. In addition, there were libraries in the separate Faculties and in the Duke's College. From the 17th century onwards, interest in the old library, with its manuscripts and incunabulae, went into decline and the modern library in the Jesuit College came to the fore. In 1756, the oldest university library was finally closed down and its books, 2,787 volumes, were incorporated into the Court Library, of which

Gerard van Swieten Gerard van Swieten (7 May 1700 – 18 June 1772) was a Dutch physician who from 1745 was the personal physician of the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and transformed the Austrian health service and medical university education. He was the fat ...

was then director. After the dissolution of the Jesuit order (1773), the new "Academic Library" was created out of the book collections of the five Lower Austrian Colleges and many duplicates from the Court Library. This was opened on 13 May 1777, the birthday of Maria Theresa of Austria, in the building of the Academic College. Initially, the stock consisted of some 45,000 books and during Emperor Joseph II's dissolution of the monasteries, this was soon considerably extended. In contrast to its antecedents, the new library was open to the general public. Between 1827 and 1829, it acquired the classicist extension (Postgasse 9) to the Academic College, in which it was to be accommodated until 1884. In this year, the main library, with some 300,000 books, moved to

's new Main Building on the Ring, where stacks for some 500,000 volumes had already been prepared. With an annual growth of up to 30,000 volumes, the surplus space was soon filled. Book storage space had to be extended continuously. One hundred years later, the complete library, including departmental and subject libraries, comprised more than 4.3 million volumes. Today, Vienna's University Library is the largest collection of books in Austria, still facing problems of space. In addition to the Main Library, which alone has to cope with an annual growth of 40,000 volumes, it includes three Faculty Libraries, 32 Subject Libraries and 26 Departmental Libraries.

Library statistics

* Book inventory: 7,650,412 (of which 2,900,936 belong to the Main Library) * Journals: 10,100 in print, 80,000 E-Journals * Active borrowers: * Search queries in the online catalogue: 10,942,100 * Borrowings and renewals of books: 3,604,707 * Oldest book:

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, '' Historia naturalis'' (1469
digital Full text
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International acclaim

The University of Vienna has the highest ranking in Arts and

, where it is placed 35 and 54th in the world according to the

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and QS ranking respectively. Outstanding subjects include Geography (ranked 28th globally in 2013), Linguistics and Philosophy (both 46th globally) and Law (ranked 32nd in Europe and 73rd globally). It is rated high in academic reputation and number of international students, but low in terms of faculty to student ratio and citations per faculty. An overview of the QS World University Rankings by subjects: The Times Higher Education World University Rankings by subjects:

Gallery

File:Uni Wien Hallway, Vienna.jpg, A hallway at the University of Vienna File:Uni Wien Ferstel Denkmal, Vienna.jpg, Bust of Heinrich Ferstel, the constructor of the main building File:Erwin Schrodinger at U Vienna.JPG, Bust of

in the courtyard arcade File:Ludwig Boltzmann at U Vienna.JPG, Bust of

in the courtyard arcade File:Rudolf Scherer.jpg, Bust of Rudolf von Scherer in the courtyard arcade File:University of Vienna - Botanical Garden.jpg, Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna File:Festsaal - University of Vienna.JPG, Main Ceremonial Chamber (''Festsaal'') in the Main Building

Notes and references

External links

University of Vienna
(English version)
Information for Students at the University of Vienna
(English version) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vienna, University Of 1360s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1365 establishments in Europe 14th century in Austria Educational institutions established in the 14th century Buildings and structures in Vienna Universities and colleges in Vienna